A Big Eye Friend

Hi Everyone!

Today, I would like to introduce you to a special friend that is only found in the Philippines…the Philippine Tarsier. I, first, became interested when I saw the Lemurs in the movie Madagascar. Dada told me that we had our own similar Lemur call the Philippine Tarsier. That’s when I really became interested in my new animal friend.

Mama and I have done some research on the Internet on my friend. I like the Tarsier because they are so small and have very big eyes. The Philippine Tarsier, (Tarsius syrichta) is very peculiar small animal. In fact it is one of the smallest known primates, no larger than a adult man’s hand. Mostly active at night, it lives on a diet of insects. Folk traditions sometimes has it that Tarsiers eat charcoal, but actually they retrieve the insects from (sometimes burned) wood. It can be found in the islands of Samar, Leyte, Bohol, and Mindanao in the Philippines.

The species is believed to be about 45 million years old, dating back to the early Eocene period, and probably one of the oldest land species continuously existing in the Philippines. The Tarsier was first introduced to Western biologists through the description given to J. Petiver by the missionary J.G. Camel of an animal said to have come from the Philippines. Petiver published Camel’s description in 1705 and named the animal Cercopithecus luzonis minimus which was the basis for Linnaeus’ (1758) Simia syrichta and eventually Tarsius syrichta. Among the locals, the Tarsier is known as “mamag”, “mago”, “magau”, “maomag”, “malmag” and “magatilok-iok”.

The Philippine Tarsier has a gray fur and a nearly naked tail. The middle finger is elongated. Head and body length are around 118-149 mm; It weighs 113-142 grams. Males are larger than females. In comparison with his body size, the eyes of the Tarsier are enormous. In volume, the capacity of the bony eye sockets, is larger than that of the brain case, and also larger than its stomach.

Tarsiers live in and around the base of tree trunks and the roots of plants such as bamboo. They can occasionally be found in holes at the top of trees. In Mindanao, Tarsiers appear to thrive best in second or third growth thickets along the coast and in the valleys. The Philippine tarsier is nocturnal; they hunt at night, exclusively for animal prey. At day time, they hide in hollows close to the ground. When kept in captivity, individuals may huddle together or intertwine their tails. They are believed to live in groups, larger than just one male and one female. The female appears to take care for the young exclusively: no male parental care has been observed. Tarsiers live exclusively on animal prey. Their diet includes primarily insects such as cockroaches and crickets, but may occasionally be extended with reptiles, birds, and bats. A Philippine Tarsier in captivity will eat live shrimp and fish in a bowl of water. Tarsiers can live up to 12 to 20 years old.

Currently, the Philippine Tarsier is categorized as a “lower risk, conservation dependent” species, which means that, although it is not yet categorized as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, it could qualify for one of those categories within five years if the present protection programs are stopped.

Outside the Philippines, a number of relatives of the Philippine Tarsier can be found, among them the Bornean Tarsier of Borneo and Sumatra, the Spectral Tarsier, the lesser Spectral Tarsier or Pygmy Tarsier, and Dian’s Tarsier of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Pygmy Tarsier, by the way, is considerably smaller than the Philippine Tarsier, while the Pygmy Mouse Lemur, found only in Madagascar, is now being recognized as the smallest primate in the world.

So, I hope you were able to learn about an exciting animal that lives in our wonderful country called the Philippines!

Thanks, as always, for your visit. Please Click To Comment

Technorati Tags: Lemur, Madagascar the movie, Philippine Tarsier, Tarsier

Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa PS2 Game

Hi Everyone!

I was really surprised when Mama came home today with a big surprise. She brought the latest PlayStation 2 game: Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a third-person action/adventure game based on the CG film of the same name. Like the movie, the game follows the antics of Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, Melman the Giraffe, and the rest of the Madagascar crew, including the shifty penguins and the fun-loving lemurs. The characters are put through a series of constantly changing activities as they make their way from Madagascar to Africa. And while the game doesn’t boast the same celebrity voice cast of its film counterpart, the stand-ins do an admirable job that will fool all but the savviest of younger gamers.

The main plot of the game is that each character has different abilities. For example, Alex can roar to scare enemies or climb walls using his claws, while Melman can use his long legs to ride around on boulders or spin them to fly like a helicopter. This means that players are constantly changing who they control in order to solve the next task, helping to keep the game play varied and fun. The tasks range greatly, having players drive a jeep one moment, before flying a monkey operated helicopter, followed by kicking around a few soccer balls.

In addition to the main story mode, there is also a multiplayer component to the game. Most of these are jungle themed plays on classic games, such as chess, mini-golf, or match, complete with new “jungle” twists on the rules. Overall, there is a total of 10 different games that can be played by more than one person.

I have been playing this game all day and I can say this: if you like the first game, you will love this second edition. For the person who played the first game this one will be no problem as they play every much alike.

Here is a video trailer showing the main characters of the game:

I would give this great game a

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Thanks for your visit. Please Click To Comment

Technorati Tags: Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa PS2 Game, PS2 Games, Video Game for Children

Did You Miss Me?

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I have been away for a long time. I know that my Dada wrote a posting on the reasons I have not posted.

I want to give my blog another try and see if it will grow. I will be posting many new things that interest me and I hope they will interest you too. We will visit new places and explore new areas of interest.

My Dada has replace the old translator widget on the left side of this blog. He has installed a newer one with many more language options for you to chose from. You will notice that there is Filipino on the translator for those that might have a problem with English. I tried it and it works…not perfect but ok.

So tomorrow I will start my new postings. See you then.Please click To Comment

Technorati Tags: postings, translator widget

A Request For Understanding

Hi Everyone!

This is DJ’s Daddy talking with you today. I would like to discuss the future of DJ’s World.

As you may have noticed, DJ has not posted since October 21st. It must be understood by everyone that DJ is a real child. You can see his picture in the About Page. When we started this site with DJ some 6+ months ago, DJ was so excited and happy. His mother and I could not slow him down as he saw a way to make many friends around the world. Of course, DJ being 4 years old needed a lot of help with the idea of developing DJ’s World. Dj’s mother and I with help from his brother and sisters provided a lot of help and moral support. We were lucky to have our friend Darwin to do the art work. Everything was set in place. We launch DJ’s World on DJ’s birthday.

We tried to cover many subjects that greatly interested DJ. We helped him to learn to research information and to allow him to tell his story his way and then “translate” those words into written words that the world at large could understand. As hard as it was for a 4 year old child, Dj stuck with the job of working almost everyday on the site. This is a great feat for any 4 year old child.

With tracking software, we were able to track the visitor traffic each and every day. The visitor rate grew quickly. We knew that the growth in traffic had to be by, mostly, “word of mouth.” Unlike many other start-up blogs, we could not join link groups or blogging catalog groups because we wanted more than anything else to keep the site “child safe.” The problem that has developed over time has been the lack of visitor comments. Comments are so important to the life of a blog. It was the main reason that DJ wanted to do the blog…meeting new people around the world and making friends with children in other countries. Since the start-up last April, we have received only 3 comments. Think about that…only 3 comments. Why? We don’t know.

This is surely discouraging to anyone but to a 4 year old child it is a sorrowful experience. Dj has been very sad about the situation for quite a long time.

Just recently, we were told by Darwin that he doesn’t have time to help on the art work for DJ’s World. We had so many plans for the artistic side of DJ’s World and now we are at a lost as what to do. This has been very hard on DJ. He wanted to move along with DJ’s School and DJ’s Store and we are unable to realize his dream.

Maybe now, you can understand how DJ feels about this experience. He is really “down” about the blog. DJ’s mother and I have had some talks with DJ and he has decided to give DJ’s World a second try. He will start posting next week about educational items and other things that interests him. DJ has stated that he wants to learn new things about the Philippines and the world around us and pass that on to his many visitors.

We need your help. It only takes a few minutes of your day to place a comment to DJ on his daily post. It is not much to ask for a 4 year old child that puts his heart into this project. DJ’s mother and I allowed DJ to do this project as a learning experience. We had hoped that he would learn that there is a big world out there with many nice people. We wanted to teach him, at an early age, that there are more good people than bad people.

Help us to make DJ’s World a success by taking a few minutes and leaving DJ a “Hi! How are you doing” message. You will feel better about yourself for the rest of your day.

As always, thanks for your visit.Please Click To Comment

Technorati Tags: comments, DJ's World, friends

Favorite School Subject Poll Results

Hi Everyone!

As you may have noticed, we have been running our latest poll called “What Is Your Favorite Subject In School.” We had a really great response and I would like to present the final votes.

From least to most number of votes we have: Geography with 11 votes, History with 14 votes, Physical Education with 16 votes, Art with 17 votes, Music with 20 votes and Math with 21 votes.

Our top three place winners are: in 3rd Place is Languages with 28 votes, in 2nd Place is Sciences with 29 votes and the WINNER with 46 votes is COMPUTER EDUCATION!

My favorite subjects is; Computer Education, Sciences and Math.

I would like to thank everyone who was kind enough to take time to vote.

Please take some time and vote in our new poll: “What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?” I will let you know what I want to be when we finish the poll. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for your visit! Please Click To Comment

Technorati Tags: Art, Computer Education, Education, Favorite Subject In School, Geography, History, Languages, Math, Music, Physcial Education, Polls, school, Sciences

Ben 10: Protector of Earth

Hi Everyone!

I hope that you had a enjoyable and safe weekend.

I have to be very honest with you: I have had my cousin at my house for the past few days and we have been playing games, non-stop, each and everyday. It has been a great time and I was sad when he had to go home last night.

One of the many games that we were playing was Ben 10: Protector of Earth. Ben 10: Protector of Earth is a video game based on the American animated television series Ben 10. The Emmy®-winning Ben 10 on Cartoon Network has a devoted fan base with over five million boys tuning in each month and millions more logging on to play Ben 10 games online. Two long form movies for the show have debuted, and the series is successful at retail level with a top-selling, award-winning toy line.

At first glance, 10-year-old Ben looks like your average, everyday kid, but upon closer inspection it’s plain to see he’s the world’s youngest action hero stopping evildoers from Earth and space! With the help of the Omnitrix, Ben can transform into heroic alien forms with extraordinary powers. The evil Vilgax, with the help of Kevin 11 and the Forever Knights, has set in motion a plan to capture the Omnitrix and the world is in danger…Ben 10: Protector of Earth is an exciting game full of familiar characters on a quest to stop Vilgax and save the day!

I will, now, ask Dada to help me explain the details of game play.

Thanks, DJ! Get Closer than Ever to Ben 10’s World - For the first time, gamers will direct Ben’s decisions and actions as he works to save the world. Engage in all new experiences with never-before-seen locations, enemies and characters for totally unique adventures, and defend favorite locations from the best of the Ben 10 TV show episodes against familiar foes.
Play As Multiple Aliens with Special Superpowers - The best-loved alien forms from the show are playable and interchangeable as you use their assorted skills to tackle the game’s diverse challenges, puzzles and skirmishes-use the Omnitrix to play as HeatBlast, FourArms, XLR8, CannonBolt or WildVine.

There is an exceptional level of authenticity - The game’s art style, sound effects and music are 100% authentic, with all audio in the game pulled directly from the show sound vaults and all voice acting provided by the original television cast.
Solid and Robust Gameplay - Explore 14 levels across five regions of the USA plus numerous Challenge and Secret Locations; use 80-plus combat combination options, engage in exhilarating boss battles, try out Two-Player Co-Op Mode, and collect Sumo Slammer cards to unlock bonus content.

In the beginning, Ben can stay an alien for a limited amount of time, but after defeating some bosses, Ben unlocks more powers for his aliens and even unlocks the master code, meaning he can stay alien for an infinite amount of time or switch between aliens without draining Omnitrix energy. Attack combos can be unlocked collecting Omnitrix points. Limited power boosts or invincibility can be gathered, as well as bonuses to make the Omnitrix recharge faster. Three Sumo Slammer cards are hidden in each main level, and once collected unlock features, such as movie clips.

After each level, Plumber ranks are rewarded, depending on how fast the player beats that level. If the player gets an A rank, you get a character view, usually a boss or a villan. In the main boss levels, a God of War styled button sequence allows players to execute a special attack at certain points.

Back to you DJ! Thanks, Dada, this is a great game that is difficult enough to give the players hours and hours of fun. I watch Ben 10 everyday on Cartoon Network and I have many of the Ben 10 toys. I guess you can say that I am a great big Ben 10 fan and you would be right.

I give Ben 10: Protector of Earth:

Rating: ★★★★★ 

That’s all for today. Thanks for your visit. Please Click To Comment.

Technorati Tags: Ben 10, Ben 10:Protector of Earth, PlayStation 2, video games