Pen and Ben

What is "Home?"

2012-01-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

Home... As a child, I grew up in many different places, and not just different towns, cities, but countries as well. All that time, I was with my family. We moved to different countries and had great adventures as we started a new lifestyle. My friends call me "Wind Surfer", the boy who just flows wherever the wind blows and also call me "The Boy with No Home", but what does that mean to me? What is on my mind when I think of home?

All my life living outside of my hometown, Davao City, I always say that that place is my home. I always talk about how much I feel homesick, how I miss my friends and relatives, and how I miss the very air and atmosphere of the place. I rejoice at the very moment when my parents give us the news that we will be returning back to Davao even for just a short visit.

Now, I am back here in Davao City and in a situation that I have dream't about for years, to go to college here and experience school life again with actual classrooms, classmates, strict school rules, and annoying teachers. I don't remember the time when I've ever been happier than when I heard the news that I was going back to my hometown and actually stay there for a really long time. I am now in my second semester of my first year here and boy, is it exhausting, but it still is a ton of fun.

Though I am actually living the "dream come true" saying literally, I realize that "home" is not a place, but rather the people that make up a true home. All my life, I dream't of going back to the place where I was born, to my "home", but now I realize in all those years, I never left. My home is where my family is, wherever they may be. I miss them so much. There really is no place like home.

A Nostalgic Christmas Experience

2011-12-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

It has been far too long since my last Christmas in the Philippines. I am very grateful to be able to experience it this year.
In my opinion, no other country celebrates Christmas better than the Philippines. Though, the Philippines cannot experience the more familiar "White Christmas", Christmas in the tropics is still fun! I don't remember the last time I celebrated Christmas with my relatives here in the Philippines, but I can still remember the great fun times we had, the laughs of the children, the caroling neighbors, and the nonstop pops, booms and whistles of the fireworks. And now, I get to experience all of it again! Though the fireworks have lessened greatly, as the city government has ruled it dangerous but we still get to see the amazing light show from the star rockets in the night sky during Christmas Eve.
One thing I do know that differs the Philippines from the other countries I've been to in celebrating Christmas, is that we start early. Christmas decorations are put up as the 'ber' months begin. All the radios begin playing Christmas tunes. Everywhere you go in the country, you will feel the Christmas spirit from everyone you meet, the places you see, the atmosphere itself. To spend Christmas with the relatives after a decade or so, truly is a wonderful and nostalgic experience.
Thank you God for this opportunity! Happy birthday to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and a very merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year!

University Life is Tiring!!

2011-12-03T00:28:00.000-08:00

Me (4th from the right) and my basketball team.

Not only does the academics in my new school time-pressuring and, of course, quite exhausting, I also am a member of my division's basketball team. The practices are very tiring but nevertheless fun! We played a game during the school sportsfest but lost. We are playing another game next year, and the tournament will be even bigger so practices continue.

Other than the basketball team, I am also representing my division along with my friends and classmates in the cheer dance competition. Boy, it is tiring! My body still aches from the practices and workouts! Anyway, that's the update on me and school for now. Stay tuned! :)

It Has Been a Long Time!!!

2011-11-26T05:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers!!!
It truly has been a long time since my last post, and guess what? I'm in college now!

I apologize for not updating my blog in months, but no worries. My blog has become active again, so expect an update or two weekly. :))

I have a lot of stories to tell. Stick around!

Another Manga Drawing!!!

2011-03-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

Another recent manga drawing I made. In fact, I drew this guy yesterday. I left him uncolored for lack of good coloring materials. So if you do have some, you can print this drawing and color it. You can even name him. :D

Hope you like it!

My Most Recent Manga Drawing

2011-03-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

I drew this guy only last night. I might color this soon though.

I've been drawing more and more manga lately after months of experimenting with Western style comic art.

This is my post for now as I will have to find the other drawings I made these past six months.

What a mess!

Hope you like it!

Art And Me!

2011-03-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

I've neglected my blog for almost six months now but I have never stopped drawing!

Starting from today, I will be posting more of my artworks of the past six months. I hope you enjoy them.

I know some of you might already know that I was enrolled in an art school. Well, I've been really busy drawing and I learned a lot from my time there too. They taught me basic drawing skills far from the manga and cartoonish art style that I usually do. And here they are!

This one is not finished yet but I just thought I might as well share it with you.

This one is my favorite. It took many hours to finish. This is the hardest and most complicated art work I have ever done. Hope you like it!

This was one of my first works during my time in art school.

There will be more drawings posted soon!

A Novel

2010-12-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

I've been enrolled to a new art school and I have been busy with that. I also have a new project these days. I am writing a novel! It's been really fun writing it, and is still progressing. I never knew writing could be this fun.

I've been forming a single story for years now but never really started joining them all together as a novel. Now I have! The story genre is fantasy, adventure, kinda like the books I loved reading like The Lord of the Rings, or the Chronicles of Narnia. It's three chapters long for now and is still progressing...

And would you believe it? I just started on another one! An idea popped up in my mind the other night, and it was so good, I just had to write it down. It is another novel but with a different genre. It is an action, adventure, comedy theme set in numerous universes. It's kinda weird but that's just the way I like it. I just started on chapter one and I sure hope it won't stop there hehe.

Thank you God for giving us the power of literature!!!

How about you? Do you like writing stories? If you do, what kind of story do you have in mind?

Learning To Draw Manga Poses

2010-10-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

Here are another of my manga drawings from my time in art class. My teacher gave me a reference where I could copy this pose but use my own characters and my style of clothing.

I penciled them first then used charcoal to finish them. I hope you like them.

Manga Painting From Art School

2010-10-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! This is one of my paintings from my art classes. My teacher gave me a reference picture where I could copy the pose but use my own characters. It wasn't easy since I don't really use paint much but I hope you like it!

Thanks for visiting my blog! I'll put up more of my artwork soon!

Art School

2010-10-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! It's been a long time since my last post but don't worry, I promise I'll post more this week. I just got enrolled into an art school where I could get more experience in art. I go there every Saturday afternoon and spend two hours drawing and painting. The picture you see above was the first painting I drew and painted on my first day there. Hope you like it!

I will be posting more of my recent drawings and paintings this week, so make sure to visit! :)

A Few More Drawings

2010-08-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a drawing I did recently. You can name this character if you want.

And another one...

And another one, this character might be familiar to some of you. This is a fan art I made a few days ago of the great Monkey D. Luffy of the Strawhat Pirates from my favorite popular manga series "One Piece ".

The Man Who Dreamed

2010-07-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

There once was a Man who dreamed.

He dreamed of castles and knights.

And fought dragons all day and night.

He would dream of running through a forest of flowers.

Or climbing up emerald towers.

In His dreams He could be a king that rules a country, or a superhero that could fly.

Or He can pretend to be a fish in the sea or a cloud in the sky.

This Man spent most of His days under a tree in the grassy plains.

His eyes were always filled with a gleam.

And He never felt sad or pain.

Because all He did was dream.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day Dad!

I wish you a very happy day today! Thank you very much for being my dad! You have given me and my sisters all your love and for that we are very grateful! Thank you! May God bless your life greatly!

Your Loving Son,

Benji

I'm Back!!!

2010-06-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys! Sorry, I was gone for some time and I haven't been able to blog yet. I was in the Philippines, my home country for my two month vacation. Yay! I'll show you some pictures of my time there.

I had my graduation ceremony there!

I spent time with cousins and relatives.

We had some funny times together.

We even went to the beach!

But I spent most of my family time with my Dear Lola (Grandmother).

I also went to a national basketball game with my Grandfather. It was a lot of fun!

I had a lot of fun with my family relatives back in the Philippines and I thank my parents and of course God for this wonderful gift! Thank you!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2010-05-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

Dearest Mom,
I wish you a very happy Mother's Day! I know that Mother's Day is of a different day there in Thailand but I still want to wish you Happy Mother's Day all the same. I thank you for being my Mom. I thank you for all the love and care that you have given me and my sisters. I wish you a happy year and I pray that God will bless you greatly this year. I miss you a lot!

Your Loving Son,
Benji

Why We Celebrate Easter

2010-04-02T19:04:00.001-07:00

Did you know about the history of Easter?

Easter celebrates the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. For some people, Easter is more significant than Christmas. Jesus Christ's sacrifice is celebrated on Good Friday and the resurrection on Easter Sunday, three days after Good Friday.

Easter reminds us all of the Great Gift that our Lord has given us and we should be very grateful.

Jesus Christ died and rose again!

Happy Easter To Everyone!

To read more Bee Wise posts, click here.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."

I Peter 1:3

The History of Video games

2010-03-25T01:47:00.001-07:00

Did you know that video games have a very long history?

The origin of video games started with the invention of cathode ray tube-based missile defense systems in the late 1940s. These devices were then adapted to simple games in the 1950s.

Tennis for Two 1958

Pong 1972

Pong is Tennis for Two's successor. I'm quite sure some of you may still remember it and I'm also quite sure that a number of people still play this even now.

This is the Atari Home Pong console released in 1975.

This is the upright cabinet of Pong.

The very first video games were already installed in their consoles.

Then came cassettes and tapes.

Then of course with the invention of the compact disks. Game consoles were then designed to use CDs.

The Wii
One of the latest gaming consoles of the present.

The PS3
Also one of the latest gaming consoles of the present.

Then came of course the portable game consoles. You can buy all these in supermarkets or online.

Video games have really gone far from when it first started to now. Video games of now are getting more and more realistic. I wouldn't be surprised that in only a few more years, game developers would be able to make virtual reality games where a player would be able to feel everything in the game as if it was in the real world but such a technology like that would still be very dangerous to use. Like many other people, I am also fond of video games but of course, there are still limits to gaming. Too much exposure would prove to be dangerous and unhealthy. But always remember to have fun.

Some Doodles I Drew Recently

2010-03-23T19:15:00.001-07:00

These characters were just a few doodles I made to pass the time. Well, my best doodles I guess. They're not perfect, some are not done yet and some are not even inked.

Here's one.

And another one. If you want, you can name any of these characters yourself!

And another one. This one I think turned out pretty well don't you think. There were a few slight imperfections though.

Haha, here's another swordsman. I think you may have noticed that most of my characters have swords in their hands or swords sheathed by their side. The thing is I like swords and I'm planning to write a comic book about swordsmen.

OK, now this is a little different. This guy is supposed to be a modern age guitarist. I drew his guitar sideways if you are wondering what he is holding.

Aha! now this guy was supposed to be a Viking or a robot. I don't really remember but this is how he turned out to be.

Ok, now I'm quite sure you know who these two characters are. They were one of my experiments on drawing Western comics. I'm afraid they didn't turn out too well though but I colored them anyway.

Here's another familiar face or should I say mask.

Well, these are just a few of my drawings and hopefully I will be able to post more later. I know it has been a long time since my last post of my drawings and I apologize but I really have been busy with school so I didn't have much time to draw but now I finished school, I will be able to post more. And about my manga project, Rock Hearts , I'm having a few difficulties in drawing it exactly as I want and it will take some time for me to train my drawing skills worthy for my story. Hopefully though, I would still be able to finish it soon.

Well, I hope you like my art! Thank you for visiting!

Positive & Negatives

2010-03-19T05:06:00.000-07:00

Did you know that positive and negative energies must coexist or this world would explode?

It is true that when a positive force plus another positive force are together, they are repelled. This world has two poles, North and South, one is positive and the other negative. If they were both negative or if they were both positive, the whole world would explode.

It is also the same thing with magnets. they have north and south poles. One is positive and the other negative. Notice when you try to join two like poles of two separate magnets. They repel one another right? But when both poles of two separate magnets are different, they join together.

This also applies to everyday life. Don't you find it weird that when something really good happens, an equal negativity always accompanies it? It may not happen all the time but I have experienced it many times. But, every time something bad happens, Someone is always there for you. This world cannot have the perfect, ultimate positive atmosphere that Heaven has and no man can be perfectly good as God is perfect in every way.

If you want to read more great Bee Wise posts, come visit The Learning Center.

Graduation At Last!

2010-03-11T23:10:00.000-08:00

Did you know that I finally finished High School?

Yes! Finally, after schooling for many years, I am finally done! I schooled in many different countries in many different schools and also homeschooled in many different homes.

Did you also know that I never graduated before? I didn't do my last year in elementary school because I had to study a new language so that I could enroll in a local school in Malaysia where we once lived. It was hard yes, but it also was quite fun and was a very good experience.

I've also been switching from homeschooling to public schooling then back to homeschooling. So far, homeschooling was far better for me. In homeschooling, my academic grades were much better. I learn more interesting subjects aside from Mathematics, English, Science, Social Studies, Word Building and Literature. I did some extra subjects like Filipino, College Math, World History and Economics, Health, Music, New Testament Survey and Life of Christ, and I still get time for sports and practical arts. I finished all my required high school subjects just after I turned 16! If I were in public school, I would still have one more year schooling!

Next month, my Mom and I are going back to my home country for the graduation ceremony at the school where I was registered as a homeschooler. I hope all goes well!

Thank you God for all the blessings You have given me!
Thank you for my wonderful education!
Thank you very much!

University life, here I come!

To read more Bee Wise posts click Bee Wise.

My Batik Art

2010-03-07T22:00:00.000-08:00

My Batik Art for Practical Arts

First thing I did was to draw my design on the piece of cloth thumbtacked to a wooden frame.

Then I wax the pencil lines. I'm sorry I didn't have a picture for that. Here I paint my waxed batik art.

Here my Batik Art is finally finished! Looks great doesn't it?

Do you like it?

Great English Writers of the Last Century

2010-03-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

Did you know that there were a lot of great writers in the last century?

Gilbert Keith Chesterton

G.K. Chesterton was an essayist with an opinion on any subject one cared to mention. He was witty, energetic, and conservative. He wrote excellent biographies of Charles Dickens, Robert Browning, and other English authors. Today, he is best known for his Father Brown mystery novels.

Herbert George Wells

H.G. Wells first discovered the rewards of reading when, as a boy, he was laid up with a broken leg. He pursued a career as a science teacher, but tuberculosis forced him to turn to writing. Wells is best known today for such science fiction novels such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds.

Beatrix Potter

Of all the writers of children's literature, perhaps none is better known and loved than Beatrix Potter. Miss Potter was the creator of peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Benjamin Bunny, and other woodland characters in the twenty-five books written and illustrated by herself. Miss potter's first, and most famous, story was The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Peter Rabbit

Sir Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill is perhaps best remembered for his inspiring political leadership during the battle of Britain in 1940. Sir Winston Churchill was also a prolific writer of history and biography. Among his best works are The Second World War in six volumes and a History of the English-Speaking Peoples. In 1953 Churchill received the Nobel Prize for Literature and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Dame Agatha Christie

Dame Agatha Christie was the leading writer of detective novels in the twentieth century. She wrote more than seventy-five successful novels. Her fist highly successful novel was The Murderer of Roger Ackroyd. She received the order of Dame of the British Empire in 1971.

Clive Staples Lewis

C. S. Lewis was a rare Christian author who found wide acceptance among both Christians and non-Christians. He was also a witty and persuasive spokesman for the values of Jesus Christ and the Bible. His best-known work is The Screwtape Letters. Another of his great works are The Chronicles of Narnia.

These great writers are only a few of many other great writers in the history of literature.

I learned this from my English subject.

To read more Bee Wise posts, click The Learning Center.

My "Other" Workplace

2010-02-26T03:33:00.000-08:00

In my previous post, I've shown you my workplace where I do my drawings. Well, the picture above is my "other" workplace. This is where I do my schoolwork. As you all may know I, along with my sisters are homeschoolers. This is our office. We study here everyday.

This was my "other...other" workplace. This was when I was in 5th grade. This was me then.

The Escalator

2010-02-25T18:37:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the first escalator was simply a moving wooden stairway?

The first escalator was invented by a man named Jesse Reno. It was patented in the year 1892. It was made of wood and because it was new to the people, many were afraid to use it. There was an attendant at the top that gave smelling salts to the ladies and gentlemen that were overcome by the experience. To ride the earliest escalators, you had to pay a fee!

This is one of the early Reno escalators.
Isn't it cool?

I learned this on a book I read recently.

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You can also read other Bee Wise posts there.

The History of Velcro

2010-02-19T00:26:00.000-08:00

Did you know that "velcro" was first thought up in the Swiss Mountains?

The fastener you probably know as Velcro is a hook-and-loop fastener. In 1948, a Swiss mountaineer of the name George de Mestral was on a hike in the mountains, as often as it happens, he was annoyed by the thistles and cockleburs that clung to his pants and socks.
While picking them off, he had an idea. He thought it might be possible to make a fastener that worked in the same way as the burs and thistles. Mestral called his invention "Locking Tape." Later, he came up with the name Velcro. "Vel," for the first syllable of "velvet," was combined with "cro," from the first syllable of the word "crochet."

This is how it looks like from a microscopic viewpoint.

I learned this from a book I read a few years ago.

A Short Novel Waiting to be Published

2010-02-13T05:16:00.000-08:00

Last year, in my English subject, I was supposed to write a short novel using very little information from the book "In His Steps" by Charles M. Sheldon. It is my first short novel though I did write stories years ago but this is be the first one I wrote with dialogues. It tells about a small girl who lost her family during the hard times and is struggling with a new life in a new town with new people. My mom wants it to be published but it still needs a little bit of work and I'm planning to put in a few illustrations.

And I also apologize for my slow postings, I've been very busy with schoolwork but I will still be posting Bee Wise posts every Friday.

Thank you very much for visiting my blog!!!

Fascinating Facts About the Dollar

2010-02-11T21:18:00.001-08:00

Did you know...

1. The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces 38 million notes each day. These notes have a face value totaling approximately $541 million.

2. Of the notes printed each year, 95% are used to replace notes already in circulation.

3. Of the notes printed, 48% are $1 notes.

4. The U.S. Department of the treasury first issued paper currency in 1862 because of a coin shortage and the need to finance the War Between the States.

5. A stack of currency one mile (1.6km) high would contain more than 14.5 million notes.

6. If you had 10 billion $1 notes and spent one every second of every day, it would require 317 years to spend them all.

7.Currency paper is composed of 25% linen and 75% cotton. You would have to fold and unfold a note about 8,000 times before it would tear.

8. In God We Trust became part of the design of U.S. currency in 1957 and has appeared on all currency since 1963.

I learned these in my Economics at school.

The First English Bible

2010-02-05T01:03:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the Romans were the first people that brought the Gospel to the British Isles?

It was A.D. 43 when the Romans first arrived in the British Isles and they introduced the Gospel to the inhabitants there and four centuries later, Roman Catholic missionaries arrived bringing Roman influence to the people. These early missionaries made a meaningful contribution to British literature, for they introduced the practice of keeping written records which led to the translation of the Holy Bible into the English language.

Here is the first part of the Lord's prayer in Old English.

Faeder ure, pu pe eart on heofonum,
"Our Father, which art in Heaven,"

si pin nama gehalgod. Tobecume pin rice.
"hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come."

Gewurpe oin willa on eoroan swa swa on heofonum.
"Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven."

Urne gedaeghwamlican hlaf syle us to darg.
"Give us this day our daily bread."

And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfao urum gyltendum
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

I learned this in my English subject.

Thank you for reading this post. To read more Bee Wise posts, click this link: Bee Wise

Pen and Ben and Me

2010-02-04T02:52:00.000-08:00

Hey look at me! I'm only a few months old at this time.

This is me when I was 5 years old in China.

Me at the age of 8.

I am 10 years old here.

Hehe! The best manga character that "I" made yet! I'm 11 years old here.

This is me now! At the age of 16!

The Founding of McDonald's

2010-01-29T01:52:00.000-08:00

Did you know McDonald's started in early 1900's by two brothers named Mac and Dick McDonald? They had a unique way of serving their customers by what we call fast-food. It was called by another name which was later changed into McDonald's. After many years, a business man by the name Ray Kroc then bought the small chain of McDonald's and it is now one of the most successful fast-food restaurant in the world with hundreds of chain restaurants in many countries.

This is how Ronald McDonald looks in the country of Thailand.

My Try At Poetry or maybe just Nursery Rhyme

2010-01-28T03:40:00.000-08:00

The Zenith by Ben J. S. Morales

In the Great River of Fire
With its flames always in a flurry
There is a Place many Men strive to reach in a hurry
For a Great Prize may be received
But only to Those who believe
In the Great Tree of Immortality
A single bite of its Fruit one can live for eternity
This Great Tree is the Zenith
Some say It is real, to others, a myth

To cross the River of Flames, One must not be afraid
For on the Fire a Great Bridge was laid
At the Great King's Command
The Great Prince went straight at hand
To build the Bridge, it was not simple
To finish the Work, He must be humble
He completed the Work at the cost of His Life
So that everyone may have Eternal Life
Truly Great was His Sacrifice
His Great Deed alone would suffice
To Save every Man to Eternal Life

A few new drawings that I drew

2010-01-26T00:44:00.000-08:00

I drew these three last week. I'm not sure you could call them manga but I just drew them using the techniques I learned from drawing manga, cartoon-style, and western comics style. Hope you like them.

This Is My Workplace

2010-01-22T00:09:00.001-08:00

This is my workplace. This is where I draw, this is where I write, and this is where I dream. As you can see it is messy. I like keeping it that way, it makes me feel professional haha.

These are the pens and pencils I use to draw.

This is a few of the piles of drawing books and papers that I have. Other than drawing though I also love to write. I write short stories and long stories when I'm not drawing. "Rock Hearts" is one of the ideas that I thought up.

This is my "manga" collection. I have "manga" in the original Japanese version and also some of English translation, and some of Thai translation. If I'm not drawing or writing, I read books or comics. I also have Western comics.

Thank You!

2010-01-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

I thank you readers for visiting my new blog and for leaving encouraging comments. I also would like to thank God for the talents that I've been given.

Thank you!

Some Artwork I've Done Last Year

2010-01-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

This one's called the Warrior. I drew him last August I think.This guy doesn't have a name yet. If you want you can name him. Just post some of your ideas in the comments.
My first try at drawing robots the "manga" way. I think it worked out just fine. What do you think?
This one's called the Punch! It was just one of my experiment at drawing characters in action.
This guy, I drew him just for the sake of looking at a person carrying a lot of swords Haha.

And these are just a few of them I drew last year. I have lots more, Piles more. I'll try and post a few more later. Hope you like 'em!

My "Manga" Project

2010-01-10T04:01:00.000-08:00

This will be my very first attempt to draw and write a manga. To those who do not know what manga is; it is a japanese-style of comic art and is quite popular around the world, especially in Asia. This manga is called Rock Heart. It is still not finished but I hope when it is, it will be awesome. It is an adventure, comedy story about a young boy with the rare ability to revive statues or golems using the rare artifact Rock Heart.This is the first page. As you can see it is not yet finished. The whole manga would hopefully be at least 50 pages but it will take some time since I still have school and I'm the only one drawing but I will finish it as soon as I can.

My First Christmas Project

2009-11-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

Starting today, I will be making Christmas Cards to give away to friends or family relatives to use for Christmas. This card will be the first of many, hopefully.