The Ill Giant

CAISAM YVEZ NOPUETO
The Isotopes
Feature Article
September 24, 2008

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The Ill Giant

Dusk. Not dawn. Twilight. Not morning. Darkness, not light.

An eclipse seems to shade China. The sky seems black, not blue. An infernal ambience fills the country as babies shriek their lungs out, because of tremendous pain. Defenseless, they are killed.

Melamine, tainted in most of Chinese Dairy Products, forced a silent assault against Chinese babies. Unaware, parents feed their young with contaminate milk. Like a cloaked assassin, the poison quietly sneaked through its victim, and cursed a deadly disease – kidney stones. Without being able to fight back, the poignant babies can’t do anything but cry.

Melamine is indeed a crafty rogue. It can conceal itself, because of rich nitrogen content. And this nitrogen masks the truth that lies behind milk products, because it can disguise milk’s protein deficiency. It can flawlessly attack, and envenom with much flexibility.

Darkness. Yes, darkness. It seems as if we witness a reenactment of Ancient Egypt’s plague, when God mustered His wrath and strike. Four dead and almost 13,000 poisoned. It’s like divine intervention upon those who are sinful. Divine intervention upon those who are blinded by money, and upon those who never thought of common welfare. Those who exercise self-aggrandizement.

A country shrouded in mist. A giant inhaling fatal smog. China that’s exiled in a vacuous and dark dimension.

Whose matchstick will be able to light the chasm from whence China fell?

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well, this is a feature article about China's tainted milk scandal. It's also a hard topic, because I don't know what kind of feature article would I write. I've decided to make a descriptive article, and i tried to instill fear to readers. And i do hope that i've succeeded. This article is short, because i wrote it exactly one hour.

It's Simply Simple

CAISAM YVEZ NOPUETO

The Isotopes

Feature Writing

September 22, 2008

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It's Simply Simple

The truth is, I don't know what to write. I've tried to use staccato, and to clip some quotes. But I've failed. They just won't fit.

For the past 30 minutes, mu draft is full of non-sense doodles, erasures, scribbles and sketches. I don't know why. I want to express my feelings with figurative speech, but nothing makes sense.

One thing is for sure. Where I am right now. The wind that touches my face. The ambience I can feel. The sounds that I'm hearing. All of them welcomes me home.

I can't brag about modernization. I can't brag about towering skyscrapers. I can't even brag about social developments and urbanization. All i can be proud of is simplicity. Humility.

My home is not a mansion. It's cozy yet massive. It's big enough to shelter my family. Our backyard is full of crops and trees. and even ornaments. We don't need air conditioners, for the wind is cool enough, boosted by the leaves of our plants. We have fish ponds, housing sea creatures of different kinds, enough to help us to gain profit.

Parts of our lot area is leveled higher than others, as if they were mountains. Mountains with peaceful forests, and with terrestrial animals living harmoniously. The symphony of birds' chirping seems to lay me down to rest, after a hard days' work. 

It's indeed a relief when i go home. My family greets me with radiant smiles, leaving my body free of stress. Yet  behind those innocent smiles rests a competitive soul, that excels in various fields. Behind that smile is a writer, an artist, a dancer or even a musician. Talented, but really innocent.

Humble. Simple. That's what we can brag. That's what we can be proud of. You see, highfaluting adjectives are too much.

Not rich. Ain't high-tech. Not even a celebrity. Just Binangonan. Simplicity at its best.

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This is my feature entry for our cliniquing session last Sept 22. Ma'am Virna, our Campus Paper Adviser trained us for the upcoming DSSPC, and she told me to write something about my home town, Binangonan.

What's written is true. Especially the first two paragraphs. Seriously, I've consumed 30 minutes thinking over some figurative speech, quotes, Bible verses while scribbling and sketching. My draft was full of erasures, but I can't really come up with a good article. So because i felt like writing what is really happening, I've written in my introduction that seriously, I didn't know what to write.

Ang Huling El Bimbo

CAISAM YVEZ NOPUETO

The Isotopes

Feature Writing

August 8, 2008

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Ang Huling El Bimbo:

Music Redefined

Music dancing all over my head. Notes grooving waltz of harmonious symphonies. And lyrics filling the gaps of my heart.



My words hardly produce any sense. My ideas are not fit for my paper. Neither can I describe how great is the music of the legendary Eraserheads.



Shouts of awe hatched from boos and disgusts in their early years. The band never thought nor mind the humiliation on their early years. Instead, they are motivated by persecutions and downfalls. But look at them now. Their fineness is printed in everyone's hearts. Their music branded on our souls.



Compositions that enticed the hearts of many. Ely Buendia's vocals mesmerizing the listeners. Marcus Adoro's strum and Buddy Zabala's bass plucks synthesizing rhythms that lift our spirits. Raimund Marasigan's beats that provoke our joints to dance with the band's symphonies.



Years passed and their band's pedestal peaked high enough. But time breached their valent bonds, thus separating the members. And though the musicians part ways, ech of them led their own bands. Marcus fronted Marcus Highway, Buddy played bass in The Dawn, Marasigan sand for Sandwhich, and Ely Buendia led Pupil.



Although the members separated, their fame is preserved as the album Ultra Electromagnetic Jam topped record bars. The said album is a revival of Eraserheads' hits rebirthed by renowned Filipino bands, such as South Border, 6CycleMind, Cueshe and many others. It just proves that Eheads os really in the hearts of Pinoys.



Sadly, Ely Buendia isn't immune against diseases. Lately, the frontman passed out in the middle of a reunion concert last August 30. The fans rushed their concerns adn thoughtfulness. This phenomenon is just saying that fans loved their idols so much.



Their fame is the prodct of their music. It overdrived us beyond clouds, adorned our faces with a smile, andtaught us how to love trully.



Maybe they are not bonded now. Maybe Ely cannot sing fully anymore. But one thing's for sure. This ain't their Last El Bimbo.



Words aren't enough to describe their glory. So just join me as I dance to the tune of the legendary Eraserheads.

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So this is my entry for our cliniquing session in preparation for the upcoming Division Secondray School's Press Conference last August 8. Our topic is about reviving Eraserheads. Sir Berlin Flores is our keynote speaker for this category.


I'm just overwhelmed by his judgments about my article. He said that I have a great intro, my 4th paragraph is nicely done, he loved the eighth paragraph and i did a good development of the topic. To think that Feature Writing(and Editorial Writing) is my waterloo since elementary to third year. I, myself is surprised of my development as a feature writer.