Paintings on the Three Floors of the Plaza Building (THD)

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In my previous blogs, I posted the Paintings decorating on all the Three Floors of the Fairmont Building as wells as all the four Floors of the Heritage Building. This article is the painting on all the Floors of the Plaza Building.  Here are some photos and Christmas Door Decors on the First Floor:

Here are the Decor in the Second Floor:

Here are some of the Paintings in the 3rd Floor: 

My Next posting will be on the Paintings on all the three Floors of the Liberty Building

Meanwhile, Did you know that Bohol's world-famous Chocolate Hills are actually ancient coral formations?

Geologists believe these iconic mounds were formed millions of years ago when the area was underwater, and erosion eventually sculpted them into the hills we see today.

But that's not all! Local folklore has its own captivating explanations. Some stories claim the hills are the result of a giant's tears, while others say they are the remnants of a defeated beast's dung!

Lastly, here's a list of Ongoing Resident Led Activities here at THD.  

The Alignment of the Seven Planets Today after Sunset

Events for Today

On the evening(after sunset) of 28 February 2025, all seven of the other planets in the Solar System will appear in the night sky at the same time, with Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars all lining up in a neat row – a magnificent sky feast for the eyes known as a great planetary alignment.

It’s not uncommon for a few planets to be on the same side of the Sun at the same time, but it’s less common for most, or even all of the planets to align like this.

Any number of planets from three to eight constitutes an alignment. Five or six planets assembling is known as a large alignment, with five-planet alignments significantly more frequent than six.

Seven-planet great alignments are, of course, the rarest of all.

A PLANETARY PARADE will take place in just three days, with Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars all lining up in the evening sky. This combination will not happen again this decade.

Four of them (Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars) will be visible to the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune will require binoculars or a telescope. Saturn will be the hardest to see due to its proximity to the Sun at this time.

To observe this event, it is recommended to choose a location with minimal light pollution and clear skies. The planets will appear just after sunset.

How to watch

Whether you will be able to see the alignments, at what time the planets rise and set, and in which order, depends on where in the world you’re viewing from.

There are tools you can access to get those times and sky locations.

Time and Date has an interactive tool that allows you to set the date you want to view, showing the rise and set times for each planet, where in the sky they can be seen, and how difficult they will be to see.

Stellarium has a similar web tool that shows you the positions of all the planets.

Sky Tonight is a free mobile app that uses your phone’s hardware to gauge where you are located, and shows you real-time positions of celestial objects on a map of the sky above. There is a good list of other options here, too.

You will need some binoculars or a telescope to see the planets in all their glory, so if you haven’t already, start planning now. And keep your fingers crossed for clear skies!

Meanwhile, Here's a short video Of Carenna ( youngest grand daughter ) riding a camel in Morocco, the other day with her college friends from Paris, France 

Lastly, here the latest news about Alzheimer's research from CNN(2-27-25)

CNN — 

Alzheimer’s disease is increasingly widespread, affecting more 

than 55 million people worldwide — a figure that’s expected to nearly triple

 by 2050.Despite the disease’s prevalence, few know the history of research

 on Alzheimer’s and the role played by an important yet long-overlooked

 figure: Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller, the first Black psychiatrist and 

neurologist in the United States. Fuller’s work “not only advanced the 

understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, but also exemplified how diverse

 backgrounds and perspectives in medical research can drive scientific

 progress and improve patient care across different communities,” said

 Dr. Chantale Branson, associate professor of neurology at the Morehouse

 School of Medicine in Atlanta.

Fuller was born on August 11, 1872, in Monrovia, Liberia, to Solomon 

Fuller, a coffee planter and local government official, and Anna Ursula

 James. His paternal grandparents were formerly enslaved in Virginia

 before they bought their freedom and then immigrated to Liberia in 1852.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/27/health/alzheimers-disease-solomon-carter-fuller-wellness/index.html?utm_source=cnn_Evening+Newsletter+-+Thursday%2C+February+27%2C+2025&utm_medium=email&bt_ee=Fapvf4x4k2d3zREsbV7hbg6Hba5aYzSQ7JmF91tovQNyN%2BFn%2BNhz9%2B9InW6DIDqc&bt_ts=1740696619460

Losing Someone Who Loves You Unconditionally and Perfectly

From My Readings This Morning

Do you know what the biggest loss in a person’s life is? It’s losing someone you once loved deeply. But do you know what’s a loss a thousand times greater than that? Losing someone who loved you perfectly and unconditionally.

The day you realize that the person who once loved you with tender care, like a doting pet cat, no longer feels the same, you’ll feel a sharp pain in your chest. You’ll wake up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep peacefully.

Not because you lost someone you loved, but because you lost someone who loved you. That regret will tear you apart. The admiration you feel for someone you love may eventually dry up like a river in drought, but the regret of losing someone who truly loved you will burn in your heart for a lifetime, like an eternal flame without a cause.

In this world, countless people will come and go in your life. You may love them deeply and forget them too. But those who love you deeply—such people come into your life only once or twice, and often, not at all.

If you lose a house, you can buy another. If your car breaks down, you can fix it. You can sell, buy, and trade land, owning thousands of properties. But if you lose a cherished person, you’ll never find another like them again.

The person who once waited for you like a faithful dog may still be waiting—but not for you anymore. The person who would’ve gladly died for you just by looking into your eyes may still be ready to die—but not for you. The person who once wanted to live a thousand years resting on your chest may still want to live—but not with their head on your chest.

When you carelessly lose such a perfect person, no compensation in life can ever make up for it.

A person will hold on to their loved one even in the strongest currents, clinging to a straw to survive by the riverbank. But if that person is swept away by the current, they’ll keep going farther and farther, while you do nothing to hold them back. You thought they’d stay, that they wanted to stay, and somehow, they would.

But one day, you wake up on a sunny, sweet morning to find the storm has passed, the flood has subsided—but the person who wanted to stay is no longer there. They’ve been swept away to another river or a different sea. Often, even if a person doesn’t leave on their own, life’s storms will carry them away if you don’t know how to hold on to them.

If you reach out to touch them now, if you go close and say, "Please, caress my head once," you’ll see that in their touch, in their presence, there’s no trace of you anymore.

This is where you’ve suffered your greatest defeat, your biggest loss.

The person is still there—but they’re not yours anymore. This loss will one day make the world, heavy with people, feel like an empty desert to you.

There will be millions of people around you, yet not a single one will feel like your own. There will be countless people who have you, but no one who you truly have.

Such an immense loss can never be compensated for in life. There’s no replacement for such a precious person once they’re gone.

It’s impossible—utterly impossible. Lose someone like this once, and you’ll understand everything clearly. So, while there’s still time, value the ones who truly matter.

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/03/i-was-primary-care-giver-to-loved-one.html

Meanwhile, enjoy this abstract Painting:

Lastly, Seven Places to Stay Silent at All Costs

Losing Someone who Loved You Perfectly

From My Readings This Morning

Do you know what the biggest loss in a person’s life is? It’s losing someone you once loved deeply. But do you know what’s a loss a thousand times greater than that? Losing someone who loved you perfectly and unconditionally.

The day you realize that the person who once loved you with tender care, like a doting pet cat, no longer feels the same, you’ll feel a sharp pain in your chest. You’ll wake up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep peacefully.

Not because you lost someone you loved, but because you lost someone who loved you. That regret will tear you apart. The admiration you feel for someone you love may eventually dry up like a river in drought, but the regret of losing someone who truly loved you will burn in your heart for a lifetime, like an eternal flame without a cause.

In this world, countless people will come and go in your life. You may love them deeply and forget them too. But those who love you deeply—such people come into your life only once or twice, and often, not at all.

If you lose a house, you can buy another. If your car breaks down, you can fix it. You can sell, buy, and trade land, owning thousands of properties. But if you lose a cherished person, you’ll never find another like them again.

The person who once waited for you like a faithful dog may still be waiting—but not for you anymore. The person who would’ve gladly died for you just by looking into your eyes may still be ready to die—but not for you. The person who once wanted to live a thousand years resting on your chest may still want to live—but not with their head on your chest.

When you carelessly lose such a perfect person, no compensation in life can ever make up for it.

A person will hold on to their loved one even in the strongest currents, clinging to a straw to survive by the riverbank. But if that person is swept away by the current, they’ll keep going farther and farther, while you do nothing to hold them back. You thought they’d stay, that they wanted to stay, and somehow, they would.

But one day, you wake up on a sunny, sweet morning to find the storm has passed, the flood has subsided—but the person who wanted to stay is no longer there. They’ve been swept away to another river or a different sea. Often, even if a person doesn’t leave on their own, life’s storms will carry them away if you don’t know how to hold on to them.

If you reach out to touch them now, if you go close and say, "Please, caress my head once," you’ll see that in their touch, in their presence, there’s no trace of you anymore.

This is where you’ve suffered your greatest defeat, your biggest loss.

The person is still there—but they’re not yours anymore. This loss will one day make the world, heavy with people, feel like an empty desert to you.

There will be millions of people around you, yet not a single one will feel like your own. There will be countless people who have you, but no one who you truly have.

Such an immense loss can never be compensated for in life. There’s no replacement for such a precious person once they’re gone.

It’s impossible—utterly impossible. Lose someone like this once, and you’ll understand everything clearly. So, while there’s still time, value the ones who truly matter.

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/03/i-was-primary-care-giver-to-loved-one.html

Meanwhile, enjoy this abstract Painting:

Lastly, Seven Places to Stay Silent at All Costs

Interesting Vignettes from the US- Philippines Relationship

During U.S. rule (1898–1946), Filipinos were often referred to as “Little Brown Brothers” by American officials, particularly by William Howard Taft, the first U.S. Governor-General of the Philippines. This phrase reflected the paternalistic attitude of the U.S., which saw Filipinos as needing American “guidance” toward civilization and self-governance.

The U.S. introduced English as the primary language of education, established a public school system, and promoted democratic institutions. However, American rule also sparked strong resistance, leading to the bloody Philippine-American War (1899–1902)💚, where hundreds of thousands of Filipinos died. Guerrilla fighters continued to resist U.S. control even after the war was officially declared over. Despite these conflicts, American influence left a lasting impact on Filipino culture, politics, and education.

💚 The Philippine-American War, 1899–1902

Meanwhile, After its defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. On February 4, 1899, just two days before the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo who sought independence rather than a change in colonial rulers. The ensuing Philippine-American War lasted three years and resulted in the death of over 4,200 American and over 20,000 Filipino combatants. As many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine, and disease.

The Battle of Pulang Lupa (Filipino: Labanan sa Pulang Lupa, Spanish: Batalla de Tierra Roja) was an engagement fought on September 13, 1900, during the Philippine–American War, between the forces of Colonel Maximo Abad and Devereux Shields, in which Abad's men defeated the American force.

"The severity with which the inhabitants have been dealt would not look well if a complete history of it were written out." —Governor-General of the Philippines William Howard Taft, concerning the U.S. Army campaign on the island of Marinduque during the Philippine–American War of 1899–1902 

Shields' defeat sent shock waves through the American high command. Aside from being one of the worst defeats suffered by the Americans during the war, it was especially significant given its proximity to the upcoming election between President William McKinley and his anti-imperialist opponent William Jennings Bryan, the outcome of which many believed would determine the ultimate course of the war. Consequently, the defeat triggered a sharp response.

Arthur MacArthur, Jr. sent Brig. Gen. Luther Hare with "orders to treat the entire male population over fifteen as potential enemies and to arrest as many as possible and hold them hostages until Abad surrendered." 

Hare secured the release of Shields and his men.  Maj. Frederick A. Smith continued the policy of destroying food and shelter in the interior of the island, and moving all civilians into the towns. Although Abad and most of his command continued to elude the American military, the civilian population was suffering for it, with many landowners and merchants joining the Federal Party, turning against Abad. These new tactics led to the surrender of Abad in April 1901.

A Historical Celebration of the Battle of Pulang Lupa ( Red Earth) is held annually in Marinduque- my second Home

Meanwhile: Here's the latest news on the Philippine-US as of  February 19, 2025.

The United States stands with its ally the Philippines to condemn the unsafe and 

irresponsible actions by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) to interfere 

with a Philippine maritime air operation in the vicinity of Scarborough Reef.  A Chinese 

helicopter came within three meters of a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Resources

 plane conducting routine overflight, endangering the safety of the aircraft and its crew. 

 This incident follows China’s separate unsafe and unprofessional maneuver on 

February 11 that endangered an Australian aircraft that was conducting a routine

 maritime patrol in the South China Sea.

The 1951 United States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks

 on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast 

Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea.

Lastly, Have You Heard of the.....

Naked Man Orchid (Orchis italica)

Orchis italica, the naked man orchid or the Italian orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean Basin. It gets its common name from the lobed lip (labellum) of each flower which mimics the general shape of a naked man. In Italy, it is believed that the consumption of the plant is conducive to virility. It prefers partial shade and low nutrient soil, and flowers in April. Orchis Italica grows up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in height, with bright pink, densely clustered flowers.

Have a Fantastic Wednesday, Every One!