Aytad Sorvyo*

illustrated by Vircillius Avanzado Mila Jr

Born of fire and water,
Of mists and rainbow,
His strength is of the lion,
His wit, of the eagle.

This is Aytad Sorvyo,
Son of Araw and Bulan,**
Resilient, shining, ever brave,
His saga begins.

Among the mortals,
That’s where he grew,
But truth be told,
Aytad is heaven’s hold.

A place in the firmaments,
Is his true home,
A place among the stars,
Where all peoples look up.

Aytad Sorvyo, the bold,
Child of the skies,
Let all pretty Diwata*** sing,
Sing sweet songs of his mighty quest.

So it came to pass,
Our hero takes his path,
Unfazed, undaunted,
Fearless like the Mighty Flame.

On with a purpose,
Armed with the spear of strength,
And the Great Kalasag****,
Aytad treads the weary earth.

He meets the Old Lalawa*****,
Who’s lived a hundred summers,
Her wisdom, wide as the horizons,
Her heart, deep as the oceans.

For how will our ardent Aytad,
Discuss the world with anyone,
Without the wisdom and heart,
Of the Old Lalawa?

The winds whistle and whisper,
As our splendid champion walks,
Towards the heavens, and the stars,
To prove they are not far.

The winds’ whisper turned to song,
Heralding the great Golden Griffin,
Heart of a lion, Head of an eagle,
Cunning and ever wise.

The great Griffin taught young Aytad,
The ways of the world,
Spirit of a lion, Mind of an eagle
Never broken, never tamed.

And Aytad pressed on,
To his necessary journey,
Journey to the great beyond,
The skies and the stars.

But the road is never friendly,
To warriors like Aytad,
The road is fierce and harsh,
Many have fallen prey.

But never be weary,
For our hero’s friend comes,
The fiery Phoenix of immortality,
From dusts, he shall rise.

Then there is a road ablaze,
Where treads the noble Niaga******,
Fearsome, indeed, is he,
Friendly only to the bright.

Many came and many went,
To ask for the Niaga’s nod,
But who won his rare favor?
Only Aytad with disarming wit.

So our hero was gifted,
The brave Niaga’s shining sword,
Shaped from his scales,
Forged by his very breath.

Now Aytad, the brilliant one,
Meets a wicked scourge,
A monster of pure evil,
Bound to do him ill.

But nothing can put fear,
In Aytad’s chaste spirit.
For the great White Tambalan*******,
Is on his side.

The healer’s hand is swift,
To give warmth to the ailing,
A fixed bosom that heals all,
No monster’s wound can match.

The lone, baffling wilderness,
Is never dark, nor troubling,
For our hero’s aide,
Discerns, descries, sure wise.

No forest, no desert,
Can befuddle and perplex it,
For in just one sweeping stare,
It counts all grains of sand.

The Lynx, craftiest of cats,
Is Aytad’s glittering guide,
In the labyrinthine journey,
Worthy only of a hero’s heart.

As the voyage nears its end,
Valiant Aytad finds a task,
To walk the path of despair,
Blackest of black, merciless.

At the portals, he meets the Tiger,
A creature so refined, so regal.
The grand guardian and giver,
Of the gems of courage.

So now walks with all might,
Our hero, straight and strong,
No flood of darkness,
Could ever shake his soul.

Look at the skies,
The stars are closer now,
But there’s one last quest,
Aytad must hurdle.

To withstand the tests,
To cross borders,
Push beyond the gates,
Be one with Araw and Bulan.

So he sought and asked,
Swiftness of the Silver Wolf,
Time’s trusted ally,
Keeper of the lightning bolt.

Now all corners of the earth,
Knows Of Aytad’s name,
Resilient, shining, ever brave,
Truly wise, boldest of bold,

No tides, no mountains,
No monsters, no borders,
Can overcome Aytad,
Born of fire and water.

Let there no walls,
To cover Aytad’s luster,
Come, let his brilliance shine,
Beyond borders, beyond time.

*Aytad is a mythical hero I created for the 2012 staff to depict this year’s batch of graduates. Set on a quest to find his true place in the world, the hero well-represents the IITians who push limits in search for real victory. Despite overwhelming odds, Aytad, like the IITians, thrives and survives the tests and proves he is a worthy part of a world where resilience is key to survival. Aytad also bears the mark of all the supernatural endowments such as unfathomable wisdom, unbreakable spirit, immortality, exceptional bravery, ability to recover, uncanny courage, and swiftness of thinking given to him by his mythical character and creature friends. These friends parallel MSU-IIT, the Alma Mater, being the source of all traits that make every IITian ready to go beyond borders.

The name Aytad is a phonological play on the syllables of IIT [ai.ai.tI] blended with Tad, which is taken from Tadman – a Meranao term for memoir.

**Sun and Moon
***A deity or fairy
****Shield
*****Spider
******Dragon or Water Monster
*******Healer

How many more years did you say are we going to suffer under this presidency? God bless the Philippines.

A Radical's Nut

Mindanao must pay more to end the rotating brownouts, the President declared in his Power Summit speech. The region, said Aquino, needs more power supply but “cheap” power rates are discouraging private investors from building new power plants to meet Mindanao’s growing energy needs.

Pay more

“But how can you entice anyone to invest—and this is the question—if their generating cost is more than their selling cost?” Aquino, in his speech, asked. “The simple truth is: we can have a lot more energy, but we have to provide the incentives for businesses to come here to put up those plants. Therefore, there will be a change in what we have to pay. We will have to pay, perhaps, a bit more…You have to pay more because this is the reality of economics… Everything has its price. We have to pay a real price for a real service…

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On my sister trannies joining the Miss Universe

I watch BB Pilipinas and the Miss Universe pageants because the competition is among biologically-born females. I watch them maintain composure and grace amidst pressure. Im sure many would agree with me when i say that this pageants, believe it or not, have been a source of inspiration, too. How so? Because females compete there and there they take pride of their femininity!

Now, to allow transexuals to compete in Miss Universe would be a different thing. I’m sorry, but even if I’m an advocate of equality among the sexes and a staunch opposer of gender discrimination, I certainly don’t think non-biological females should compete in this contest. In the same manner I don’t want biological females to compete in gay beauty pageants.

I believe, each of us are creAted because we serve a divine purpose. But my dear sisters, please hear me. We should also know when it is that we are asking too less and when it is that we are asking too much. So, in this case, I think it’s the latter.

A Reaction on the Article “What Literature Teachers Should Know”

Nobel Prize for Literature winner John Steinbeck once said that “a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”

The American novelist must have had amazing teachers for him to be able to say this. Certainly, I am with Steinbeck when he said that a teacher, especially a literature teacher, indeed is one great artist. I would not become one had I not had wonderful teachers. When I was still younger, I would sometimes imagine that my teachers were fairies. How else would they solve the mystery in a very long prose? How do they manage to lead us through the labyrinthine analysis of a poem? How do they lay open the hidden meanings by merely looking at the images in a story? How do they take me to both fantastic and familiar places? How do they put fire in the depths of my heart? Teachers must be magical creatures, too!

​I have been teaching English 4 (Introduction to Literature) for a little over three years now. The first time I was given the opportunity to teach it, I had some doubts if I can teach the subject well knowing that the literature can be like fire – an often misunderstood element – that if one does not know how to control it or put it under your reigns, he or she may not enjoy it at all.

​The article “What Literature Teachers Should Know”, I believe, is very useful especially for literature teachers who, like me, are still gaining more experiences. It is replete with effective techniques for teaching literature. One of the techniques being advised here is the idea that a piece of literature should be open to interpretation as people come from a variety of backgrounds and take with them differing experiences and knowledge.

Good literature teachers can thus provide opportunity for increased literacy. Literacy, the ideas contained in literature, creates opportunity. If a teacher can open the minds of the students to the many doorways that lead to the understanding of the piece, then he/she is also opening life’s gates of favorable chances. By getting to know the characters and taking a feel of the characters’ triumphs and tragedies, the student is enriched. Not only is he/she richer in intellect but also in spirit, which is equally important in tackling life’s everyday hurdles.

As my little experience has taught me to be able to impart to my class the beauty of the written art, there are also certain instances that I forget some details to make each lessons in literature even more engaging and enticing. I am thankful that the article encapsulates everything that a literature teacher like me needs to know and pay attention to.

NB
Should you want a copy of the said article, please pay us a visit at the English Department, College of Arts and Social Science, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, A. Bonifacio Ave., Tibanga, Iligan City

What I think theater should be

I have always been attracted to the lure of theater since I was still small. Every time, I would imagine myself as a beautiful actor standing on stage basking in the applause of the thousands who adore me and love my show.

At certain times, I also imagined myself crafting a very good drama telling other actors what to do. I remember playing the “mama” whenever I would play “bahaybahayan” with my playmates. No, never would I settle for another role in this game because here, no other character can dictate other characters what to do. In short, the “mama” directs the other characters and gives them their respective roles.

Perhaps, without realizing it, this has prepared me to do some tasks when I got into grade school and high school. Teachers would assign the class to come up with a short production number or a chamber theater and my groupmates would always choose me to lead them. So when I got into college, I immediately grabbed the chance to become part of this wonderful theater guild.

For more than ten years, I was a member of this guild. While in the group, I learned lessons about so many things in the world which I may not have been able to learn inside the classroom. I also gained friends who,until now, I still see as friends. My experience in theater has given me the opportunity to be free. In theater, I can be who I am.

But most importantly, I also realized that theater, while it is a calling, is at the same time a discipline. In the freedom that I found in it, I also learned that that freedom is nothing without being connected with other people. This is how an actor can play a role. And to become a good actor, one has to be free but should not lose connection with the rest of the world.

All these lead me to my opinion on what theater should be. I believe theater should be liberating. It should be an avenue to free the souls of both those who watch it and those who play the roles in it. Theater should show, not tell. Because it is only by showing that the meaning is learned without the risk of being didactic. It is only by showing that theater retains its status as the lively art.

As Edwin Wilson puts it, theater is such a potent tool. Period.