Francisco Arcellana The National Artist

Francisco "Franz" Arcellana (September 6, 1916 – August 1, 2002) was a Filipino writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher. He was born on September 6, 1916. Arcellana already had ambitions of becoming a writer during his years in the elementary. His actual writing, however, started when he became a member of The Torres Torch Organization during his high school years. Arcellana continued writing in various school papers at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He later on received a Rockfeller Grant and became a fellow in creative writing the University of Iowa and Breadloaf's writers conference from 1956- 1957.
He is considered an important progenitor of the modern Filipino short story in English. Arcellana pioneered the development of the short story as a lyrical prose-poetic form within Filipino literature. His works are now often taught in tertiary-level-syllabi in the Philippines. Many of his works were translated into Tagalog, Malaysian, Russian, Italian, and German. Arcellana won 2nd place in 1951 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, with his short story, "The Flowers of May." 14 of his short stories were also included in Jose Garcia Villa's Honor Roll from 1928 to 1939. His major achievements included the first award in art criticism from the Art Association of the Philippines in 1954, the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan award from the city government of Manila in 1981, and the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas for English fiction from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipino (UMPIL) in 1988.
On April 2, 1989, the University of the Philippines conferred upon Arcellana a doctorate in humane letters, honoris causa. Francisco Arcellana was proclaimed National Artist of the Philippines in Literature on 23, 1990 by then Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino.
In 2009, or seven years after his death, his family came out with a book to pay tribute to National Artist for Literature Arcellana. The book entitled, "Franz," is a collection of essays gathered by the Arcellana family from colleagues, friends, students and family members, including fellow National Artist Nick Joaquin, Butch Dalisay, Recah Trinidad, Jing Hidalgo, Gemino Abad, Romina Gonzalez, Edwin Cordevilla, Divina Aromin, Doreen Yu, Danton Remoto, Jose Esteban Arcellana and others.
Arcellana died in 2002. As a National Artist, he received a state funeral at the "Libingan ng mga Bayani."
His grandson Liam Hertzsprung performed a piano concert in 2006 dedicated to him.

Arcellana's published books include:

• Selected Stories (1962)
• Poetry and Politics: The State of Original Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977)
• The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990).
  
  Source:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Arcellana

VI. Parasites

Parasyte is a science fiction horror manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki, and published in Kondanshas Afternoon magazine from 1988 to 1995. The manga was published in North America by first Tokyopop, then Del Rey, and finally Kodansha comic USA. The manga has been adapted into two live-action films in Japan in 2014 and 2015. An anime television series adaptation by Madhouse, titled Parasyte -the maxim- (寄生獣 セイの格率 Kiseijū Sei no Kakuritss, aired in Japan between October 2014 and March 2015.

rasyte centers on a 17-year-old male named Shinichi Izumi, who lives with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo. One night, worm-like creatures called Parasites appear on Earth, taking over the brains of human hosts by entering through their ears or noses. One Parasite attempts to crawl into Shinichi's ear while he sleeps, but fails as Shinichi is wearing headphones, and enters his body by burrowing into his arm instead. In the Japanese version, it takes over his right hand and is named Migi, after the Japanese word for 'right'; Tokyopop's version, in which the images are flipped horizontally, has the Parasite take over Shinichi's left hand and it is named Lefty.

Because Shinichi was able to prevent Migi from travelling further up into his brain, both beings retain their separate intellect and personality. As the duo encounter other Parasites, they capitalize on their strange situation and gradually form a strong bond, working together to survive. This gives them an edge in battling other Parasites who frequently attack the pair upon realization that Shinichi's human brain is still intact. Shinichi feels compelled to fight other Parasites, who devour humans as food, while enlisting Migi's help.

 The movie was really gross at first but as you watch the movie until the end you'll see some funny part and some part was really a heartbreaking scene. Just like when Mr. A used the body of Migi's mom just for her to live. ZFor me it was a heartbreaking scene because the only person you can rely on was used and you need to kill her just to save other people's lives.

Technology and its advantages

Technology ("science of craft", from Greek τέχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia) is the collection of techniques, skills, methods and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation. Technology can be the knowledge of techniques, processes, etc. or it can be embedded in machines, computers, devices and factories, which can be operated by individuals without detailed knowledge of the workings of such things.
The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistoric discovery of how to control fire and the later Neolithic Revolution increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans to travel in and control their environment. Developments in historic times, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. The steady progress of military technology has brought weapons of ever-increasing destructive power, from clubs to nuclear weapons.
Technology has many effects. It has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of Earth's environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.
Philosophical debates have arisen over the use of technology, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar reactionary movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition.
Until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but 21st century scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and passed their knowledge to other generations.

 In today's world, where just about everything is more convenient and accessible due to advances in technology across almost all sectors, it may seem as though it's a misnomer to even mention any disadvantages of technological advances. However, despite how far technology has taken humans and no matter how convenient it may make things, there are some disadvantages accompanying this level of access.

 

Encourages innovation and creativity – Since technology is challenging, it sparks the brain to work to its full potential.  In the past, it used to be very difficult to start a business, one had to have lots of capital and they even had limited access to business information. Today, it is very easy to start a business while at home. Let’s look at companies like Etsy.com which enable creative people sell their works online, this encourages creativity. Another good example is kickstarter.com which helps creative people get funds for their projects through crowd funding. On this platform, creative developers post projects seeking for funding from the community, this helps them generate lots of cash for their good ideas which latter leads to creation of new Jobs.  The other creative works which have been facilitated by modern technology include  Google , Apple , Facebook , Microsoft , Amazon ,  etc

  Improved communication:   Communication is like water to life. We can not develop without communication.  Modern technology has blessed us with advanced communication technology tools. These can include e-fax machines, electronic mail, mobile phones, videoconferencing, instant text messaging applications, social networking applications. All these modern communication technology tools have simplified the way humans and businesses communicate.  I can easily talk to my relative oversees using a mobile phone or video chatting services like Skype.

Convenience of Traveling:  Modern transportation technology makes it very easy to travel long distances.  Transport is a very important both in our lives and in the business world.  Transportation technology has evolved with years. In the past it used to be slow and expensive to move long distances. Now days, I can cover a 10 miles distance with in a few minutes or hours  using electric trains or airplanes.
Improved housing and lifestyle: This is another great way how modern technology has simplified our lives. If you compare the type of housing we used to have in 1900 and the architecture of houses today, the difference is very big. New architectural technology has improved the types of housed we build now days.   People with money can afford town floating housed   and glass homes. Most of the items in our house are now automated, for example, doors use finger prints which guarantee security.  Remote webcams which you can use to monitor what goes on at your home.

Efficiency and Productivity: Modern technology has helped businesses increase production. Humans are slow and some times they fail to deliver on time. So many businesses have integrated modern technology in their production line, most of the hard work has become so simple and the results are better than those of humans. Let’s look at a farmer who uses modern technology right from the day of preparing the farm land to the day of harvesting. They save a lot of time and money during this process.

Social Networking:   Modern technology has made it simple to discover our old friends and also discover new people to network with. This is a benefit to both individuals and businesses. Many businesses have embraced the social networking technology to interact with their customers.  Users of social networks can share information with friends, live chat with them and interact in all sorts of ways.
Changed the health industry: Now days most hospitals have implemented modern technology in surgical rooms, this has reduced on mistakes made by doctors. Humans can easily make mistakes because of work overload and stress factors. Also the business community has developed health applications which can enable us monitor our health and weight. These applications can be used on mobile phones, so users can have them at any time of the day.

 

Source:

Wikipedia

http://www.useoftechnology.com/modern-technology-advantages-disadvantages/