This Blog’s Cool Halo

Naks, ang cool ng header ko.  Gawa yan ni Bluepanjeet!  

Bluepanjeet is actually a photoshop prodigy, a prolific blogger and a good friend of mine.   He volunteered to design my header after I hinted on one of my posts that I want to change my header.  I gave him the all the liberty of in designing it  (concept, type of art, etc), but with one request:  Ayoko ng pastel colors.  He, in turn, produced this header, with also a request:  talon-talon muna si Bro. Utoy na parang may inaabot…ü

In case you’re wondering what  is it all about, he’ll answer you with:  “Yan ang pumasok sa utak ko habang ginagawa ko [ang header].   And so, my beloved readers, taking que from his words, let us now all enter into his mind, weave through his PG-15 and R-18 thoughts, and discover the real meaning of my wickedly cool header.

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tinuninuninuninuninuninuninuning…. 

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(sound effect yan ng mind reading.  wag ka magulo.)

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Inside Bluepanjeet’s mind  (hhhmmm…. berde!):

First Layer

1. The base background of the header is black which signifies darkness. The book of Genesis, the first book of salvation history in the Bible states that, “the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters” (Gen 1:2)

Second Layer

2. the second layer of the header is a painting of michaelangelo taken from Sistine chapel frescoes called “the creation of Adam”. This signifies the relationship of man and God. Even though man is so far away from God (due to original sin) yet they constantly seek each other (Psalm 63). Man seeking God and God seeking man, represented by their distance on the right and left side of the header, and fingers pointing at each other and illuminated as if reaching for one another…

 

 

Third Layer

3. The third layer is the lengthy history of Salvation beginning from the expulsion of Adam and eve from the Garden of Eden to the Resurrection of Christ. It stretches from the left side of the header towards the right side end of the banner which signifies continuum and passage of time in light of historical value and revelation. The illustration of various stages of the Salvation history is done by Gustave Dore, the french artist, engraver, illustrator and wood carver who created the magnificent illustrations of the biblical scenes. Gustave Doré is one of my (Bluepanjeet’s) favorite illustrator and it is only fitting to use the works of a French artist for the purpose of the blog, whose author is in France and whose order’s founder was also a French saint hehe…   BTW, the salvation history is divided by the hand above it, into old and new testament…  Below are the list of the illustrations of Salvific events in the History:

 

Explusion of Adam and Eve from Eden

 

The Murder of Abel

The Great Flood

 

Finding Baby Moses by the River Nile

 

Samson's Fury and Death

 

The Reunion of Joseph with His Brothers

 

The Judgment of Solomon

 

Christ's Nativity

 

Christ's Passion

 

Christ's Crucifixion and Death

 

Christ's Resurrection

(Bluepanjeet to Utoy:  sensya na eleven lang ang kasya, dapat nga 22 yan pero kinuha ko lang yung mahalaga. Pag inilagay ko lahat kasama yung tore ng Babel, yung red sea at yung kay Isaac, Jacob and Esau, di na makikita yung pics.  Brother Utoy to Bluepanjeet:  Esau?  Masarap yun kapag isinasawsaw sa suka matapos ihawin!)

Fourth Layer

4. The fourth layer is the statue of hands which can be found in Wat Rong Khun Temple in thailand. These hundreds of hands located beneath the bridge before the main temple depicts hell. I (Bluepanjeet)decided to put hell on the banner not to disturb the readers, but to remind them that Hell really exist and that at the end of our life, we will all be judged accordingly. The hands seems to be reaching the heavens but there is a great chasm above and beneath the earth (Read the parable of Lazarus) The hands also serves as metaphors for the main title of the blog “failed in the salvation history.”

Fifth Layer

5. Layer 5 is a hand from heaven which seems reaching for the man in the center. This depicts our heavenly brethren waiting for us and always praying for us so that all of us would unite with them someday.

Sixth Layer

6. The sixth layer is Bro. Utoy which represents all of us.   He is trying to reach the hand which represents all our struggles to look up to heavens and at the same time stay grounded on earth = the human and the dibine in all of us. He is in the center, at the middle of the banner, signifying man’s journey with the Salvation history which is still happening in our own very lives, our own journeys and our own personal histories. The hands are so near on Brother Utoy, seemingly grasping him from below but is never distracted from reaching the hand, signifying hope amidst our human nature’s failure on the will of God yet will all the hope and faith to unite with him.

 

Seventh Layer

7. the seventh layer is a ray of light coming down from the heavens which signifies grace. For man cannot go to heaven, cannot miss hell or cannot pass the salvation history, without the Grace of God.

 Bluepanjeet:  Alam mo, Utoy, para ako nagrereview ng salvation history ko while I was working on that header. God is truly awesome that sometimes he uses ordinary circumstances (like this) to remind us of his Love. “For man before God is he is and nothing more”.— I love this quote from st. Francis

 Utoy:  Ang galing mo Bluep!  Basta ako, I love the header kasi andaming layer.  Parang wedding cake lang!    Teka, tatalon muna ulit ako na parang may inaabot.   Hehehe…