Pure Inspiration

Gary Valenciano's "Pure Inspiration" concert at the Macias Sports Complex was by far the most entertaining one I've experienced in Dumaguete. While I also enjoyed the previous successful performances of MYMP at Barefoot and Kitchie Nadal also at Macias, they somehow paled in comparison to Gary V.'s performance. No wonder why he's known as Mr. Pure Energy.

The good thing about the concert was that it was enjoyable for everyone - regardless of age and background. The selection was a mix of soothing gospel songs, fast-paced pop-rock songs, and the very familiar tagalog songs (most of which became even popular due to recent movies and teleseryes).

He was multi-talented - singing, dancing, and in a way, preaching. Thus, it would seem that I was not only attending a concert, but also a Christian sermon. Everyone in the audience were fully entertained and were standing most of the time, singing and dancing with him.

Among the songs he performed which I enjoyed were: Take me out of the dark, How did you know, Warrior is a child, Lead me Lord, Sana maulit muli, Natutulog ba ang Diyos?, and his own version of Anak.

The bottom line is I would not think twice in watching his concert again. It was really a 'pure inspiration.'

New 7 Wonders of the World

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were selected by the Greek philosopher Philon more than 2,000 years ago.

1. Great Pyramid of Giza – Built as the tomb of 4th dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu, it is the only surviving structures of the original seven wonders.
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon – The outer walls were 90 kilometers in length, 24 meters thick and 98 meters high.
3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus – Dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis, it took 120 years to build.
4. Statue of Zeus at Olympia – It occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it, and was 40 feet tall.
5. Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus – This stood approximately 45 meters tall with each of the four sides adorned with sculptural reliefs.
6. Colossus of Rhodes – It was a giant statute of the Greek god Helios, roughly three-fourths as large as today's Statue of Liberty in New York.
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria - Between 115 and 135 meters tall, it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries.

Last July 7, 2007 (07/07/07), a new version of the Seven Wonders of the World was revealed, based on over 100 million votes cast from people in 200 countries. The Pyramids of Giza will retain their status as one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. Almost 200 nominations came in and the list was narrowed to 21 at the beginning of 2006. For inclusion in the list, the new wonders had to be man-made, completed by the year 2000 and in an "acceptable" state of preservation.

1. Colosseum, Italy – This 50,000-seat amphitheater in Rome, which has influenced the design of modern sports stadiums, was an arena where thousands of gladiators dueled to the death and Christians were fed to the lions.
2. Great Wall of China – This 4,160-mile barricade running from east to west in northern China is the longest man-made structure in the world, and was built to protect the dynasties from invasion by other nomadic tribes.
3. Taj Mahal, India – This white marble-domed mausoleum of Mughal architecture combining Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles in Agra was built by Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
4. Petra, Jordan – This ancient city of Petra in southwestern Jordan, built on a terrace around the Valley of Moses is famous for its numerous stone structures carved in rock, like an uncompleted tomb facade that served as a church
5. Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brazil – This 125-foot-tall statue of Christ the Redeemer, with outstretched arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro from atop Mt. Corcovado, and weighs more than 1,000 tons.
6. Machu Picchu, Peru – These giant walls, palaces, temples and dwellings of the Machu Picchu sanctuary are perched in the clouds at 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes mountains.
7. Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico – This step-pyramid surmounted by a temple survives from a sacred site that was part of one of the greatest Mayan centers of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.