We have moved out of Forbeswood Heights, Rizal Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.  Nevertheless, if you would like to inquire about special orders or catering, please contact Ms. Tes Maraña at 0917-890-2254 or tmarana@hotmail.com.

Thank you.

The book Introduction is arresting enough with assertions such as “. . . the secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. If you make a few key decisions and then manage them well in your daily agenda, you will succeed. ” He goes on to say that “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. . . . Every day of your life is merely preparation for the next. What you become is the result of what you do today. In other words . . . You are preparing for something. The way you live your life today is preparing you for your tomorrow. The question is What are you preparing for?

You can make every day of your life a masterpiece and the two necessary ingredients are decisions and discipline. They are two sides of the same coin, namely, “goal setting” and “goal getting.” Good Decisions + Daily Discipline = A Masterpiece of Potential.

Maxwell shares with us his philosophy of life which reminds me of the saying ascribed to Socrates that the unexamined life is not worth living. You begin to make a better life by making good decisions in what Maxwell calls the “Daily Dozen” and working on them with a daily discipline:

1. Attitude: Choose and display the right attitude daily.

- Decision: “I am going to keep a positive attitude and use it to influence others.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I will make the adjustments necessary to keep my attitude right.”

2. Priorities: Determine and act on important priorities daily.

- Decision: “I will prioritize my life and give focus and energy to those things that give the highest return.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I will live my life according to my priorities.”

3. Health: Know and follow healthy guidelines daily.

- Decision: “I will take good care of myself by exercising and eating right.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I will eat low-fat foods and exercise for at least thirty-five minutes.”

4. Family: Communicate with and care for my family daily.

- Decision: “Success meant having those closest to me love and respect me the most.”
- Daily Discipline: “Everyday I work hard on gaining the love and respect of those closest to me.”

5. Thinking: Practice and develop good thinking daily.

- Decision: “I will think on things that will add value to myself and others.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I will set aside time to think, and I will determine to think on the right things.”

6. Commitment: Make and keep proper commitments daily.

- Decision: “If something is worth doing, I will commit myself to carry it through.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I will renew my commitment and think about the benefits that come from it.”

7. Finances: Make and properly manage dollars daily.

- Decision: “We will sacrifice today so that we can have options tomorrow.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I will focus on my financial game plan so that each day I will have more, not fewer options.”

8. Faith: Deepen and live out my faith daily.

- Decision: “I will accept God’s gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, as my Saviour.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day to live and lead like Jesus.”

9. Relationships: Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily.

- Decision: “I will initiate and make an investment in relationships with others.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I make the conscious effort to deposit goodwill into my relationships with others.”

10. Generosity: Plan for and model generosity daily.

- Decision: “I will live to give.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I will add value to others.”

11. Values: Embrace and practice good values daily.

- Decision: “I will lead others on the values I embrace.”
- Daily Discipline: “Every day I review and reflect on my values.”

12. Growth: Seek and experience improvements daily.

- Decision: “I will develop and follow a personal growth plan for my life.”
- Daily Discipline: “Ever day I will grow on purpose with my plan.”

I hope that I’ve at least whetted your interest to closely examine Maxwell’s philosophy about making each day a masterpiece by first making the critical decisions and then following through with daily discipline. At best, I hope that your doing so will add a deeper and more meaningful dimension to your life. There’s a lot more to chew on in his book.

The City of Taguig and Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) launched The Mind Museum at the J.Y.Campos Park, Third Avenue, Bonifacio Global City on 6 August 2010. As the Philippines’ first world-class science museum, the museum will welcome visitors in December 2011.

http://www.themindmuseum.org/

Ayn Rand gave a series of informal lectures in 1969 on the art of nonfiction to a group of friends and associates and this book are the edited transcripts of those lectures. There’s a lot that one can learn from the book.  One that I found interesting was her perspective on choosing a subject and a theme in writing a philosophical article.

She begins with “Whenever you have a problem, whether you are writing an article or building a doghouse, do not look inside for the solution. Do not ask: “How do I do it?  Why don’t I know it?” Look outside and ask: “What is the nature of the thing that I want to do?”  Before writing an article, one should ask oneself three questions:  “What do I want to write about? ” “What do I want to say about that subject?” and “What is the element of novelty in my theme?”

In writing the answers to these questions, one is able to make objective the points that one wants to make and clarify them.  She says as well that “If you cannot write something down clearly and objectively, then you do not really know it.”  Knowledge is acquired in steps and writing is part of the process of learning, articulating and developing one’s knowledge and views. Nonfiction writing, while an exercise in logical reasoning, also involves the subconscious.

For the uninitiated, the following is a brief write-up from Wikipedia. 

Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher,playwright, and screenwriter.  She is known for her two best-selling novels and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism. Born and educated in Russia, Rand immigrated to the United States in 1926. She worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood and had a play produced on Broadway in 1935–1936. She first achieved fame in 1943 with her novel The Fountainhead, which in 1957 was followed by her best-known work, the philosophical novel Atlas Shrugged.

Rand’s political views, reflected in both her fiction and her theoretical work, emphasize individual rights (including property rights) and laissez-faire capitalism, enforced by a constitutionally limited government. She was a fierce opponent of all forms of collectivism and statism, including fascism, communism, socialism, and the welfare state, and promoted ethical egoism while rejecting the ethic of altruism. She considered reason to be the only means of acquiring knowledge and the most important aspect of her philosophy,stating, “I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism; and I am not primarily an advocate of egoism, but of reason. If one recognizes the supremacy of reason and applies it consistently, all the rest follows.”

To learn more about the philosophy of Objectivism  click on http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_peikoff_intro to listen to a 70 minute lecture by Dr. Leonard Peikoff.

To learn more about Ayn Rand and her writings click on http://www.aynrand.org/ and http://www.aynrandbookstore2.com/

Writing letters is an art we can all use more of in expressing our ideas and feelings to people who mean so much to us. I agree that letters written with much thought and care are gifts because you write them with your heart and the recipient can keep them, and read them again and again.

I am reminded of a memorable greeting sent by a friend who has passed away, “May your blessings come a thousand fold, may the love in your heart never get old, and may you find treasures worthier than gold…” Sent by text, I still keep it in my Folders to remind me of meaningful things. Alright, perhaps it came from a greeting card, but I was touched.  If only we can be more articulate!

In the book, the author tackles various kinds of letters, giving tips for the would-be writers:  love letters; erotic letters; good-bye letters; flaming tongue letters; breakup letters; thank you letters; apology letters; sympathy letters; letters requesting acts of amnesty; letters to the editor; business letters;  and, recommendation letters.  Even if one does not have a gift for writing letters, O’Shea’s little book can wake up your creative inclinations and help you write a remarkable letter or two.

Visit Samara O’shea’s website where she offers to write letters for people looking for fresh ways to express themselves that make a lasting impact.

http://www.letterlover.net/

The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs.  I remember that my grandmother told me this little story about a man and his wife who owned a goose that laid the golden eggs. They wanted more gold faster so they killed the goose and opened it up to get the gold.  Instead, of finding more gold, they lost the goose that laid the golden eggs.

The Grasshopper and the Ants.  My grandmother used to tell me, “…don’t be like the grasshopper who was busy singing and didn’t set aside food for a rainy day.” The ants didn’t help the grasshopper when he needed food.  Always set aside a reserve as you may need it one day.

The collection is quite interesting, noting that Aesop was supposed to have written these around 500 B.C. Reading them serves as a good reminder of the lessons to be learned. 

If you want to read them, just look for the title in Amazon’s Kindle Store or access an Aesop’s Fables website.

http://www.amazon.com/Aesops-Fables-new-translation-ebook/dp/B000JML3K0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A2M2E40QUT24JD&s=digital-text&qid=1279463813&sr=1-1

http://www.aesopfables.com/

Afternoon tea is a light meal typically eaten between 3pm and 5pm. The custom of drinking tea originated in England when Catherine of Braganza married Charles II in 1661 and brought the practice of drinking tea in the afternoon with her from Portugal. Various places that belonged to the former British Empire also have such a meal. However, changes in social customs and working hours mean that most Britons will rarely take afternoon tea.

Traditionally, loose tea is brewed in a teapot and served in tea cups with milk and sugar. This is accompanied by finger sandwiches, such as cucumber, egg and cress, fish paste, ham, and smoked salmon, scones with clotted cream and jam, and usually cakes and pastries such as Battenberg, fruit cake or Victoria sponge. The food is often served on a tiered stand; there may be no sandwiches, but bread or scones with butter or margarine and optional jam or other spread.

A formal afternoon tea is, nowadays, usually taken as a treat in a hotel, café or tea shop. In everyday life, many British take a much simpler refreshment consisting of tea and biscuits at teatime.

High Tea

High tea, also known as meat tea, is an early evening meal, typically eaten between 5pm and 6pm. It is now largely followed by a later lighter evening meal.

High tea would usually consist of cold meats, eggs or fish, cakes and sandwiches.

On farms or other working class environments, high tea would be the traditional, substantial meal eaten by the workers immediately after nightfall, and would combine afternoon tea with the main evening meal.  See also The UK Tea Council Definition.

In recent years, high tea has become a term for elaborate afternoon tea, though this is American usage and mainly unrecognized in Britain. This usage is disfavoured by etiquette advisors, such as Miss Manners.

Source:  Wikipedia

To learn more about The Etiquette of Afternoon Tea, click the Play button in video below.  Happy watching!

The last remake was the 2007 film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. It was the third feature film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel. Previous films on the book were the 1964 The Last Man on Earth and 1971′s The Omega Man.

Information from one source says that Warner Bros. began developing I Am Legend in 1994 but production was delayed due to budgetary concerns related to the script. Production began in 2006 in New York City, filming mainly on location in the city, including a $5 million scene at the Brooklyn Bridge, the most expensive scene ever filmed in the city at the time.  I Am Legend was released on December 14, 2007, and was the seventh highest grossing film of 2007, earning $256 million domestically and $329 million internationally, for a total of $585 million.

Movies are great but the novel itself is more poignant.  Robert Neville is the last living man on earth. Everyone else who has survived the plague has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville’s blood. Immune to the man-made virus originally created to cure cancer, Neville, a virologist, looks for a cure to change back vampires to humans.  By day he hunts his prey while they lie in paralytic sleep in the abandoned ruins of Manhattan. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn. Does he succeed in finding a cure that makes him legend?  Read the novel. The original story is different from the movie adaptation.

More about Richard Matheson at
http://www.richardmatheson.com/
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richardmatheson/

Waldorf Chicken Sandwich (Php 168)

Other sandwiches to try:

Tea House Sandwich (Php 288)
Smoked Tea Chicken w/ Peanut Dressing (Php 188)
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches (Php 138)
Deviled Egg Salad Sandwich (Php 138)
Grilled Ham & Cheese (Php 188)
Grilled Hungarian (Php 228)
Grilled Cheese with Pesto (Php 178)
Marinated Mozarella (Php 228)
Cheese Pimiento (Php 138)
Numa Burger (Php 198) ;  Add Cheese (Php 28)
Healthy Tuna Melt (Php 168)

What you can order:

- Good for 2 (Php 188)
- Good for 4 (Php 328)
- Good for 6-8 (Php 578)

Now, ever wonder where the quotation “Rose is a Rose is a Rose is a Rose” came from?  Quoting from Wikipedia, this sentence “…was written by Gertrude Stein as part of the 1913 poem Sacred Emily, which appeared in the 1922 book Geography and Plays.  In that poem, the first “Rose” is the name of a person.  Stein later used variations on the sentence in other writings, and “A rose is a rose is a rose” is probably her most famous quote, often interpreted as meaning “things are what they are,” a statement of the law of identity, “A is A”.  In Stein’s view, the sentence expresses the fact that simply using the name of a thing already invokes the imagery and emotions associated with it. As the quote diffused through her own writing, and the culture at large, Stein once remarked “Now listen! I’m no fool.  I know that in daily life we don’t go around saying ‘is a … is a … is a …’ Yes, I’m no fool; but I think that in that line the rose is red for the first time in English poetry for a hundred years.”