Of superwomen and stones

See my new, super-cool banner? I adore it! It was created by my handsome husband (who's also a fabulous father and hilarious hombre...hey, what's with the alliterations? But the video sends me into gales of laughter whenever I watch it. And yes, we have three offspring)--in under five minutes...and he was chatting online at the same time at that! His ever-reliable friend Philip had a hand in making the banner, too.

The female figure you see up there is an ever-so-slightly tweaked image of a Philippine heroine known as Darna. Filipino artist extraordinaire Mars Ravelo conceptualized her in the mid-20th century; she has become a prominent and much beloved figure in Philippine pop culture. She's been immortalized not only in the comics, but in films and television as well. Following are pictures of some of the Filipino actresses who have portrayed Darna over the decades.

Vilma Santos

Nanette Medved

Anjanette Abayari

Angel Locsin

As a hero, she's above ordinary mortals because she can fly (well, so can I! At least in my mind.), she's super-strong and super-fast (most of you guys have NOT seen me down a bottle of beer, which I hope I still can do really fast if I set my mind to it), and she's invulnerable to weapons (erm...*squirms in chair*...okay, no similarities when it comes to that--my pain threshold falls well within the chickenshit domain).

Just as Spiderman is Peter Parker in his non-superhero life, Darna is Narda, a simple orphan. How does she transform into her alter ego? In times of distress she calls out to her companion, Ding: "Ding, ang bato!" (Ding, the stone!)--swallows said stone and presto! She wondrously transforms from your everyday, wouldn't-look-twice-at-her girl into a scantily-clad, oddly-headdressed vamp with superpowers.

She isn't perfect by any means--what superhero(ine) is? Maybe she has her quirks, her weaknesses, her wackiness. But she does what she believes she's called to do, making use of her abilities and talents (which can be both a blessing and a curse) the best way she can.

Darna's double-edged sword--so to speak--is the stone, which she uses whenever she has to, whenever the situation warrants...perhaps *gasp!* even if she doesn't want to. Do we hear her cry of "Ding, ang bato! laced sometimes with frustration and bitterness? Maybe. But...can she go against her nature? Does she ever even WANT to try to go against it?

Maybe, just maybe, my thoughts and my writing are my "stone." But even if they are, they surely wouldn't play a role in saving mankind.

However, they do preserve ME (even if I don't have the ornate headdress, the breasts, and the skimpy red outfit).

So, what's YOUR stone?