MERELY MY OPINION GETS A NEW HEADER

MERELY MY OPINION gets a new blog header. It's more improved and better than the previous one that I have been using since January 2009. Here, try to compare the two below. The new header is above while the old one is below it:

Okay. This present paste-up is composed of sixteen pictures and four graphic buttons. For clarity, each picture tell a story which I am generous to describe here. I will start from the leftmost to the right and swing it in clockwise:

1. CEBU HERITAGE MONUMENT - Located in the Pari-an district, it is a monument depicting the history of Cebu City from the time of the first coming of the Europeans in 1521 up to the granting of independence from the Americans in 1946.
2. IMAGE OF THE HOLY CHILD JESUS – A replica of of the Holy Child of Prague, fondly called as the Santo Niño de Cebu. The original statue is shrouded inside the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and is held in reverence by the whole Cebuano population and throughout the country. Legend says that it is given by Ferdinand Magellan to the wife of Rajah Humabon after a successful baptismal ceremony and was found 21 years later in a burning hut when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi invaded Cebu in 1542.
3. ROAD SIGN IN GAAS – Credit goes to the owner of the camera from whom this shot is taken – Joy Tongco. The image is shot by PinoyApache after the 19th anniversary climb of the Cebu Mountaineering Society (CeMS) in Mt. Manunggal traversing to Mount Gaas.
4. BELFRY OF THE OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE DE CEBU – This is the least exposed of images of the Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Cebu and I will give it life here, being the parish that is where all the outdoor activities of all mountaineering groups in Cebu will start. Officially, this is the gateway to Mount Babag.
5. LAVILLES STREET – A humble memento in honor of my late grandfather, Atty. Gervasio L. Lavilles, formerly of Lambunao, Iloilo, who, as a 12-year old stow-away, rose up from obscurity by becoming a scholar, a lawyer, a newspaper editor up to the time when he became a three-term councilor of the then Municipality of Cebu in 1924-35. He lived out his final years as a Cebu City resident until 1986.
6. CEBU PROVINCIAL CAPITOL – The seat of government of the Province of Cebu. Built in 1935, it survived the destruction of World War II.
7. 2ND FREEDOM CLIMB – From left: PinoyApache, Wil Rhys-Davies of Wales, Ernie Salomon and Boy Toledo. It is held in the Babag Mountain Range. Photo courtesy of Randell Savior.
8. SELF-PORTRAIT – PinoyApache under a power pylon in Bebut's Trail, Guadalupe, Cebu City.
9. BUSHCRAFT COOKING – One of the activities of Camp Red, the only bushcraft and survival group south of Subic Bay. Picture shows milled corn being cooked in bamboo.
10. CHEROKEE – My youngest son. Aptly named in honor of a brave and noble people of the eastern woodlands of America. The least I could do to honor a great nation.
11. CEBUANO FRUITS – Steamed Cavendish banana and green coconuts which is given as refreshments in the trail from Napo to Mount Babag by the Roble family.
12. KAWASAN FALLS – This is the second cataract of the Kawasan River in Badian of southern Cebu. A very popular destination.
13. CEBUANO DELICACY – Raw anchovies prepared in spiced vinegar. Photo taken in Argao, Cebu.
14. MALAPASCUA BEACH – If only you are here. You should be here. Located in the northern tip of Cebu, it could be reached by a regular boat ferry. White pristine sands, perfect diving sites, a home of thresher sharks.

Now, the bottom image on the lower right of my montage. Three are logos and the rest are pictures:

1. CAMP RED LOGO – A Cebu-based bushcraft and survival group which I help establish in January 2010.
2. CEBU MOUNTAINEERING SOCIETY LOGO – Founded in 1989 of which I am a member of and as an officer in 2008-09.
3. TREES FOR LIFE LOGO – I am an environmentalist and I accompany this in all my articles concerning the environment.
4. I LOVE CEBU BUTTON – I am a true-blue Cebuano by heart, by affinity and by heritage. I promote Cebu through MMO.
5. A TOMAHAWK – Only a very few keep this. I have two.
6. A SURVIVAL KNIFE – A standard equipment for bushcrafters and survivalists.

Oh, by the way, Merely My Opinion has also added another niche in its site. This is now a site dedicated also to bushcraft and survival – an interest which I have practiced for many years but keeping it silent so as not to offend others when it came to outdoor ethics. And now that I declare it in the open, I will keep a balance to make my new activity open to both sides.

Document done in OpenOffice 2.1 Writer