We went to a Tito who has seldom been visited since we moved out to Laguna, years ago. There was also my Grandma who seldom comes home to the Philippines since we cannot remember when.
It really was a Merry Christmas.
:)
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas Day 2009
We went to a Tito who has seldom been visited since we moved out to Laguna, years ago. There was also my Grandma who seldom comes home to the Philippines since we cannot remember when.
It really was a Merry Christmas.
:)
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Another Eurydice poem by J. Neil Garcia
Understand that I am dead,
dear poet, and do not need your saving.
My underworld sleeps at the bottom of the sea--
a wet conclusion I had long foreseen:
tranquil, yes, but far from dark,
for here shift fish and coral bearing the sun
in their bodies, hammered into such shapes
as only the tides can conceive. Colors? I have those:
the dappled citrons, gentians and pinks
of your hothouse blooms, worn as skin
by prey and cool predator alike.
I am never alone, sweet musician,
for this I have discovered about the ocean:
boundless as dream, it catches
every memory we may care to hold fast,
and casts it as shimmering shadow in water:
clear midnight in your eyes, moles rioting
on your cheeks, your sleek boyish head
tilting as you smile, your slightly turned
lip, the flowing length of your torso
lapping against my thigh, limpid notes
from your harp swimming to me again and again--
fleet accompaniment to the humpbacks’ songs
of mellow war and courtship. Borne out of brine,
these forms I can embrace without fear,
for they and I surge as one wave,
a spangled rhythm, repeating itself without end.
I know you wait, still and teary-eyed
upon the warm and rippled surface.
But you must see: here I am free to love you
beyond the encumbrance of a body, sad
and fickle animal always needing to be fed.
A kind of outpouring, a happiness eddies
through me with every tidal pulse,
the birth of another moon upon the world’s
nether brim, the sheerest stirrings of life
inside the sea’s lambent cradles.
From where you sit, in the pith of your craft,
I may strike you as requiring release,
and indeed your vision plummets now to touch me
with salt-edged words, your hurt elegy.
But understand it is I who have released you
by escaping into meaning’s murmurous deep:
bereft of me, you have needed to strain to hear,
to pitch the net of your voice far, far
into the vast and echoing blue. Listen.
You can sing again, my precious one.
Already you have saved us both.
-J Neil Garcia
Sorry if it's copy paste. No time to write.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
From "Hide and Seek"
Where are we?
What the hell is going on?
Spin me round again
and rub my eyes
This can't be happening
Trains and sewing machines
all those years
they were here first
Ransom notes keep falling off your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut-outs.
Speak no feeling no I don't believe you.
You don't care a bit.
You don't care a bit.
-Imogen Heap
What the hell is going on?
Spin me round again
and rub my eyes
This can't be happening
Trains and sewing machines
all those years
they were here first
Ransom notes keep falling off your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut-outs.
Speak no feeling no I don't believe you.
You don't care a bit.
You don't care a bit.
-Imogen Heap
Friday, November 6, 2009
Terry Eagleton - New in My Reading List
http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=authC2D9C28A1123b1D819TsK1844CB4
One esteemed Literary critic who was able to draw out the development of literary theory.
His works includes Literary Theory: An Introduction, followed by a sequel, After Theory.
One esteemed Literary critic who was able to draw out the development of literary theory.
His works includes Literary Theory: An Introduction, followed by a sequel, After Theory.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Halloween (A Murder Account) by Karla Vizcarra
There’s a corpse down the street.
A dead body covered in white, policemen mumbling in radios, a camera crew and a crowd of people: Latinos, Mexicans, Jewish kids in their hats and curls down the street yesterday morning.
Nothing moved.
I feared the body would rise if I came
too near. Besides, the policemen waved us back.
A Chinese lady, speaking to us, and when we shook our heads she asked, in broken English: The-body is yung?
We did not know.
Nobody knew.
Covered in white, still, frozen.
The murderer had a Halloween mask on, a kid said.
Leaves everywhere. Dead. We are shivering.
He must be very cold.
There was a murder down Clara street yesterday morning. I was lazy, typing in front of the computer. Looking up people that didn’t matter. Poring over their lives. Deliciously, when Ernest called.
“There’s a dead body right in front of me,” he had said.
And I dressed up in my sweater, pants and slippers, stepped out into the cold November and walked towards where a crowd had begun to gather.
A dead body in a white bag.
The police had made sure there were cars in front of the crime scene, so no one could take a good look unless they sauntered right over and craned their necks, vulgarly, blatantly. I saw the white bag. I had craned my neck just a little.
I wanted to go home.
Ernest kissed me and got the groceries. We were cooking Hainanese chicken for dinner. We saw a Youtube video, while looking up the recipe for bread pudding.
We didn’t go out last night. My swine mask and blonde wig hung there, waiting, expectant. I had wanted to dress up in sequins and fishnets and heels and a blonde drag wig and then the mask. I wanted to be a freak in a dress. A sexy pig. A fat chick. A Fascist pig. Swine flu. Pork. Oink oink.
We ended up watching Dario Argento’s Suspiria. Goblin music. Wet rain.
The dead body had curled up in my head.
We were biking down Prospect Park, leaves rustling under our wheels. It was dark, for 7 o clock. Daylight Savings Time.
We had come from a reading in a basement.
I thought I had left my hat down there. The lights had been turned off.
I had to go down the stairs and look for the lights, located not where lights normally are.
I had to go to the very back row. The last row of chairs.
Empty chairs.
I found the switch, but not my hat.
Nowhere on the shelves at the bookshop upstairs.
We went down the basement a second time.
It was even darker. Emptier.
Goblin music.
Outside, I found my hat slumped beside my bike. On the dark pavement, it looked like a dead rat.
A dead thing on my head.
We cooked Hainanese chicken that night; it was delicious.
(Very indifferent.)
A dead body covered in white, policemen mumbling in radios, a camera crew and a crowd of people: Latinos, Mexicans, Jewish kids in their hats and curls down the street yesterday morning.
Nothing moved.
I feared the body would rise if I came
too near. Besides, the policemen waved us back.
A Chinese lady, speaking to us, and when we shook our heads she asked, in broken English: The-body is yung?
We did not know.
Nobody knew.
Covered in white, still, frozen.
The murderer had a Halloween mask on, a kid said.
Leaves everywhere. Dead. We are shivering.
He must be very cold.
There was a murder down Clara street yesterday morning. I was lazy, typing in front of the computer. Looking up people that didn’t matter. Poring over their lives. Deliciously, when Ernest called.
“There’s a dead body right in front of me,” he had said.
And I dressed up in my sweater, pants and slippers, stepped out into the cold November and walked towards where a crowd had begun to gather.
A dead body in a white bag.
The police had made sure there were cars in front of the crime scene, so no one could take a good look unless they sauntered right over and craned their necks, vulgarly, blatantly. I saw the white bag. I had craned my neck just a little.
I wanted to go home.
Ernest kissed me and got the groceries. We were cooking Hainanese chicken for dinner. We saw a Youtube video, while looking up the recipe for bread pudding.
We didn’t go out last night. My swine mask and blonde wig hung there, waiting, expectant. I had wanted to dress up in sequins and fishnets and heels and a blonde drag wig and then the mask. I wanted to be a freak in a dress. A sexy pig. A fat chick. A Fascist pig. Swine flu. Pork. Oink oink.
We ended up watching Dario Argento’s Suspiria. Goblin music. Wet rain.
The dead body had curled up in my head.
We were biking down Prospect Park, leaves rustling under our wheels. It was dark, for 7 o clock. Daylight Savings Time.
We had come from a reading in a basement.
I thought I had left my hat down there. The lights had been turned off.
I had to go down the stairs and look for the lights, located not where lights normally are.
I had to go to the very back row. The last row of chairs.
Empty chairs.
I found the switch, but not my hat.
Nowhere on the shelves at the bookshop upstairs.
We went down the basement a second time.
It was even darker. Emptier.
Goblin music.
Outside, I found my hat slumped beside my bike. On the dark pavement, it looked like a dead rat.
A dead thing on my head.
We cooked Hainanese chicken that night; it was delicious.
(Very indifferent.)
MRT Blues, MRT Stampede
I woke up at 6 am and left the house at 730 am. At that rate, I expect to arrive in school by 830a.m.
The MRT was temporarily shut down when I got there by 7:50a.m. The queue to enter the boarding area reached 2 flights of stairs. I queued. (Walang sinabi ang stored value card sa bulsa ko.)
By 8:00 am, I was able to get inside the boarding area. When I got there, four trains passed, and I can't get in because they're all loaded up. Four trains with 3-5 minute intervals passed before an empty train came to save our day.
The door wouldn't open. People were panicking. When it finally opened, STAMPEDE!!!! Everyone rushed in!!!!
Heto:
"Easy lang kayo! Magkakasya tayo lahat jan!"
"Yahoooo!!!!!!!"
"Anu ba yan, antay naman."
Well, morning MRT adventures has become constant and enduring companions in my life.
That is followed by a very long walk from EDSA to Makati Avenue, to avoid traffic and longer jeepney queues.
Crowded. Full. Surrounded by so many people.
I do not know them. But we communicate.
We cramp up in one common space.
Sharing this life's hell and hope.
I am a hollow piece of shell in the middle of it all.
The MRT was temporarily shut down when I got there by 7:50a.m. The queue to enter the boarding area reached 2 flights of stairs. I queued. (Walang sinabi ang stored value card sa bulsa ko.)
By 8:00 am, I was able to get inside the boarding area. When I got there, four trains passed, and I can't get in because they're all loaded up. Four trains with 3-5 minute intervals passed before an empty train came to save our day.
The door wouldn't open. People were panicking. When it finally opened, STAMPEDE!!!! Everyone rushed in!!!!
Heto:
"Easy lang kayo! Magkakasya tayo lahat jan!"
"Yahoooo!!!!!!!"
"Anu ba yan, antay naman."
Well, morning MRT adventures has become constant and enduring companions in my life.
That is followed by a very long walk from EDSA to Makati Avenue, to avoid traffic and longer jeepney queues.
Crowded. Full. Surrounded by so many people.
I do not know them. But we communicate.
We cramp up in one common space.
Sharing this life's hell and hope.
I am a hollow piece of shell in the middle of it all.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
For Some stupid reasons, naaliw ako sa post na ito. Got it from ARAH. Magkaiba kami ng sagot. Haha.
1. Nalaman mo na may crush na crush na artista ang syota mo. Ano ang mararamdaman mo?
a. Ok lang yun. Lahat naman nagkakaroon ng crush na artista.
b. Naiintindihan ko naman, pero parang di ako kumportable. Bakiiit? Artistahin din naman ako ah! Charing lang, kahit medyo totoo!
c. Hindi maaari. Nawawala ang atensyon nyang dapit ay akin lang. AAA-KIIIN! (ala Maricel Soriano!) At bawal na syang manood na kahit na anong palabas ng chipipay na artistang yun!
d. Hahuntingin ko kung sino mang artistang yun at sisiguruhin kong di na sya ulit lalabas sa TV o pelikula.
2. Ilang beses mo kung bisitahin ang friendster page ng lovey-dovey mo?
a. Sabi nya wala daw syang friendster account eh.
b. Bihira lang. Pag nakita ko lang sa "recent updates" na nag-add sya ng new pictures o nag-post ng bagong blog entry.
c. Everyday. At saulado ko ang friends list nya, alam ko kung sino ang nadagdag for the day, kung meron man. At kung duda ko dun sa newly-added friend, iimbestigahan ko agad.
d. Hindi ko kailangang bantayan ang friendster nya, dahil alam ko ang password nya dun. May access ako sa lahat ng mga aktibidades nya dun, kaya di sya pwedeng maglumandi sa friendster.
3. Narinig mong may kabulungan at kahagikgikan sa telepono yung sweetie mo, pero pag pasok mo ng kwarto, bigla syang nagba-bye sa kausap nya at binaba agad ang phone. Alam mong sya ang tumawag dun sa other person dahil hindi mo narinig mag-ring yung phone. Ano ang gagawin mo?
a. Wala. I'm sure gusto nya lang i-focus ang attention nya sa akin kaya tinapos nya agad yung phone conversation. How sweet noh?
b. I'll ask nicely, "Sweetheart sino yung kausap mo?" Tapos I'll closely watch and listen while he answers, para ma-sense kung kung may tinatago sya.
c. "A-ha! Huling-huli kita, may kalaguyo ka sa telepono! Bakit mo nagawa yan, may mga pagkukulang na ba ko sayo? Masakit, sweetie, masakiiiit!" hahahaha!!!! :p
d. I'll press the phone's redial button at aawayin ko kung sino man ang sumagot. Tapos ipapakain ko kay sweetie yung telepono. Ako pa sinubukan nyang lokohin!?
4. Ano ang nararamdaman mo sa tuwing may tumitingin sa honey mo?
a. Proud kasi ibig sabihin attractive ang honey ko.
b. Sanay na ko... attractive naman kasi syang talaga. Kaya nga bagay kami eh.
c. Kelangan di kami magpunta sa mga lugar na maraming makakakita sa kanya. Hindi lang sa gubat matatagpuan ang mga ahas! TRULY!!! harharhar!!!
d. Walang ibang pupwedeng tumingin sa kanya. Pag may tumingin ng matagal at nag-smile pa, dudukutin ko ang mata ng makating nilalang na yun!
5. Na-meet mo ang ex nya for the time, and he/she turns out to be gorgeous. Worse, your bf/gf looked quite happy to see his/her ex again. Ano magiging reaction mo?
a. Happy, kasi ibig sabihin na-maintain ng bf/gf ko ang friendly relations with his/her ex. Walang bitterness between them. That's a good sign, diba?
b. Feeling panalo! Kasi ibig sabihin mas gorgeous ako kasi ako nga yung pinalit sa ex, diba? Makikipag-plastikan ako dun sa ex habang mentally binibilang ko ang mga kapintasan nya.
c. I'll throw the ex an evil look, tapos lilingkis ako kay bg/gf and give him/her a big wet kiss in front of the ex, to send a clear message na akin lang sya!
d. I'll sarcastically say to my bf/gf, "Uy mukhang you look too happy seeing your ex again, huh? Gusto mong umalis muna ko para magka-private moment kayong dalawa, or would you prefer na lokohin ako ng harap-harapan? Halika't umuwi na tayo kung ayaw mong magka-world war 3!" hahahaha!!!! crap!!!
6. Nag ring ang telepono sa bahay nyong mag asawa, hinahanap ang mister mo, at nickname pa ni mister ang ginamit! Maganda ang boses ng babae sa kabilang linya. Ano ang gagawin mo? (Kung lalaki ka, baliktarin mo na lang yung sitwasyon.)
a. Ipapasa ko ang telepono ng walang tanong-tanong. She's probably just a friend.
b. I will ask in a cool and nonchalant voice, "Uhmmm... sino to? Tungkol saan itong tawag na 'to?"
c. "Sino to? Asawa nya kong maganda, bata at sariwa. 24 ang sukat ng bewang ko at 36 ang cup size ko. Anong kelangan mo sa mister kong akin lang at wala ng maaari pang magmay-aring iba?" hahahahaha!!!!! huuuwaaaaattttt!!!!!???? :p ;p ;p
d. Sisigaw ng, "Hooooon! Telepono para sayo. Babae. Sino yan? Pag nalaman ko na kalandian mo yan, humanda kayong pareho!" Sindakan lang yan eh.
7. Umalis ang syota mo for 2 weeks papunta sa ibang lugar dahil kelangan sa trabaho. Tuwing kailan mo sya checheckin?
a. Once a day. Tatanong ko lang kung kumusta na araw nya. I fully trust him/her naman.
b. After every meal. Baka kasi di sya nakakakain ng maayos sa sobrang pagka-miss sa akin. Kawawa naman.
c. No need na i-check ko sya, dahil sasama ako sa business trip nya!
d. Kada oras. Kailangang magreport siya sa akin kung ano ang ginagawa niya. At pababaunan ko sya ng video phone para may visual inspection din ako tuwing tatawagan ko sya. *most likely! hehehehe!!!
8. You're supposed to go to a party with this person na ultimate crush mo. Pero nag-backout sya a day before the event. So pumunta ka na lang sa party by yourself. Ng bigla mong nakita dun si ultimate crush, may kasamang iba! Ano ang gagawin mo?
a. Kalimutan na ang party. Maggagantsilyo na lang ako magdamag habang nakaupo sa tumba-tumba. *hahahaha!!! old maid!!
b. Maghahanap ako ng ibang kaharutan dun sa party! I'll show him/her that I can have a great time with other people.
c. Jo-join ako sa kanilang dalawa! Sisiguruhin ko na hindi sila magkakaron ng moment alone together. I'll do my best, and my worst, para mapasaakin si ultimate crush.
d. Titisurin ko sa hagdan yung ka-date nya. Tapos hahanapin ko sa parking area ang kotse nya at bubutasin ang gulong. Lintik lang ang walang ganti!
9. Tinawagan mo ang syota mo sa office phone nya kasi gabi na wala pa sya sa bahay. Kaya lang walang sumasagot. So tinawagan mo sya sa cell. Pagsagot nya, sabi nya nasa office pa daw sya, overtime, at nasira daw ang office phone nila kaya walang sumasagot. Ano ang gagawin mo?
a. "Kawawa ka naman, Honey, baka sobrang mapagod ka. Ingat pag-uwi late ha?"
b. "Naku, ginabi ka na ng kakatrabaho. Trabaho nga ba?"
c. "Sinong niloloko mo?! Siguro may kasama kang iba noh?! Submit a report to me by tomorrow morning explaining in detail all your activities, minimum 5 pages, single space!"
d. Pabubuksan ko sa kanya ang gripo nila sa banyo. Kabisado ko na yata ang tunog ng patak ng tubig sa office restroom nila. Pag nag-iba ng tunog, wala sya sa office. Maghahalo ang balat sa tinalupan!
10. Nagpaalam sayo ang iyong honey. Lalabas daw sila ng mga kaibigan, "for the boys" lang. ("for the girls" kung boy ka.) Pumayag ka naman, pero gusto mong malaman kung ano ang talagang ginagawa at sino ang mga kasama niya. Ano ang gagawin mo?
a. May tiwala akong hindi sya magsisinungaling sa akin. I'll take his/her word for it.
b. So what kung may kasama syang iba maliban sa barkada? Siguro katuwaan lang. Alam ko namang sa akin pa rin ang uwi nya.
c. Kailangan kada 30 minutes nya akong tatawagan para masiguro kong wala syang kalandian.
d. Papakunan ko ng litrato ang lahat ng taong kasama nya, pati ang mga lugar na pupuntahan nila. Tapos kailangan padala nya agad sa kin yung pictures thru MMS. Pag nakita ko na wala sya dun sa lugar na sinabi nyang pupuntahan nila, o kung may nakita akong ibang tao sa pictures aside sa barkada nya, UWI!
11. Nakilala mo ang ex ng bf mo, at ipinakita nya sayo ang singsing na binigay nito sa kanya dati. Ano ang magiging reaksyon mo?
a. Wow, ang nice naman!
b. Wow, ang nice naman! (may halong kaplastikan)
c. Wow, ang nice naman. Pero mas maganda yung binigay nya sa akin. Hindi ko lang suot ngayon dahil takaw-mata sa snatchers, kasi it's very expensive, you know. (kahit hindi ka naman talaga binigyan ng singsing)
d. Wow, ang nice naman. Pero dahil di mo na sya boyfriend, akin na yan! Ambisyosa! (sabay hablot) Hmp!
12. Nagkukwento sayo ang BF mo tungkol sa mga nakaraan nyang mga relasyon, paano mo haharapin ang sitwasyon?
a. Matutuwa ako dahil ipinagkakatiwala nya sa akin ang kanyang mga nakaraan.
b. Makikinig ako, pero if he goes on and on, I'll try to change the topic the first chance I get. Hindi na naman yun relevant sa amin.
c. "Honey, wag na natin silang pag-usapan. Kalimutan mo na sila. Ang mahalaga tayo ang magkasama, forever and ever."
d. "Ano ba? Di mo ba ko tatantanan sa mga kwentong yan? Pag di mo ko tinigilan, iuuntog ko ang ulo mo sa pader ng ilang ulit hanggang makalimutan mo pati pangalan mo!" hahahaha!!!!
13. Nakasakay kayo ng BF mo sa kotse na kanyang minamaneho (sosyal!), pero napansin mong kanina pa siya walang imik. Ano ang iisipin mo?
a. Baka masakit ang ulo. Hilutin ko na lang pag-uwi.
b. Baka iniisip nya na kung paano sya magpopropose. Ang sweeeeet!
c. Oh no! Baka nawawalan na sya ng gana sa akin! Kailangan makagawa ako ng paraan para mahumaling ulit sya sa alindog ko!
d. Siguro iniisip nya na naman yung babae nya. Siguro iniisip nya na naman kung paano nya ko matatakasan. Siguro... siguro... sabay tili ng, "Manloloko!" paranoid? :p
e. None of the above.
14. Have you ever secretly snooped through your bf/gf's cellphone messages?
a. Never. What for?
b. A few times lang, kapag may malakas na hinala lang ako and I feel na justified yung pag-snoop ko.
c. Many times. Patago. At pag may nabasa akong kahina-hinala, kukuha ako ng kleenex at magpupunas ng patulong luha sa kaliwang mata at sasabihin sa kanya, "Di ko na kaya. Kung sino-sino na naman ang textmates mo."
d. Many times. Minsan lantaran. At pag may nabasa akong kahina-hinala... humanda ka at dudurugin kita! as if!? hehehe!!!
15. Nakita mo ang boyfriend mo na may kausap na babae sa labas ng kanyang school/office, at halatang nagpapa-cute yung girl sa syota mo! Ano ang linyang tatakbo sa isip mo?
a.
b.
c.
d. Ala Fernando Poe: "Isang bala ka lang." BANG!!! UGHh! ;p
16. Bago kayo ikasal ng fiancee mo, binigyan sya ng bachelor/bachelorette's party ng mga kaibigan nya. Nadiskubre mo na may stripper at whipped cream na kasali sa paghahanda. Ano ang gagawin mo?
a. It's no big deal. Sobrang faithful yata nya, I'm sure he/she will only look but not touch.
b. I'll give him/her a friendly warning. It's ok to have some fun sa party, but not too much fun. I'm sure alam na nya ang ibig kong sabihin. (baka kung ano na yan :|)
c. Sasama ako sa party. Ako na lang ang stripper. Parang exciting ang whipped cream all over me habang gumigiling-giling. Hihihi!
d. Magpapa-throw din ako ng sarili kong party. The difference is isang dosenang strippers ang invited, with whipped cream, peanut butter, mayonnaise, at kesong puti. Ano ko papatalo?! hahahahaha!!!!! what a loser!!! ;p
e. none of the above. Letter a is like so TANGA and letter D is like so INSECURE. Takte namang mga sagot to! And the rest... Duh?
17. Hinintay mo ang asawa mo magdamag galing sa trabaho. Madaling araw na ito ng umuwi. Ano ang gagawin mo?
a. Ipaghahanda ko sya ng makakain.
b. Ipaghahanda ko sya ng pampaligo matapos ko syang amoy-amuyin for evidence. bleh! :p
c. Ipaghahanda ko sya ng explanation letter kung bakit sya late umuwi.
d. Ipaghahanda ko na sya ng maleta para magbalot-balot na sya ng mga gamit nya.
e. none of the above. Letter a is like so TANGA and letter C is like so INSECURE. Takte namang mga sagot to!
18. Nagpaalam sayo ang asawa mo na may bibilhin lang sa 7-11 sa may kanto. Naligo ito, nagbihis, nagpagwapo at nagpabango. Ano ang iisipin mo?
a. Ang swerte ko naman. Very hygienic ang mister ko.
b. Hhhmmm... teka... amoy fishda (fishy) ang scenario... "teka honey, may bibilin din pala ko, sama ko..." (kala nya ha!)
c. Hhhmmm... masundan nga... at pag nahuli ko na may kalandian lang pala sya sa labas, ihanda na ng FAMAS ang best actress award para sa mga dramatic confrontation scenes na magaganap!
d. "Sinong inuuto mo? Walang bili-bili. Itatali kita sa kama. Bawal lumabas ng bahay!"
e. Putek! None of the above!
19. In general, when it comes to boyfriends/girlfriends and cheating, your thinking is:
a. If your partner really loves you, he or she will be forever faithful. *because love is not just a feeling but a commitment! <3 (bullshit na sagot ito, yuck!)
b. Sure, everyone has fantasies, at lahat naman inaatake ng kakatihan paminsan-minsan. Pero at most, dapat hanggang harmless flirting lang.
c. Chances are, your partner will stray if he/she has a guarantee of never getting caught. Kaya dapat mala-Jaworski ako sa pagbabantay.
d. Chances are, your partner will stray if he/she has a guarantee of never getting caught. Kaya dapat, sindakin ko agad ang partner ko, para simula pa lang matakot na syang gumawa ng kalokohan. Or else.
20. Nasa bar kayo ng ka-date mo, ng may biglang lumapit sa kanya at magtanong ng kanyang phone number. Ano ang gagawin mo?
a. I'm impressed. Very desirable pala ang kasama ko.
b.I'll just stand back at hahayaan ko syang i-handle ang sitwasyon.
c. Ngingiti at sasabihing, "Hi, I'm his/her date. Can I help you?"
500 Days of Summer's Best Quote
Summer: "Ok. I, like being on my own. I think relationships are messy and people’s feelings get hurt. Who needs it? We’re young, we live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world; might as well have fun while we can and, save the serious stuff for later."
A traumatized person imbibes stuff like this.
I would NEVER, ever, fall for someone else again, EVER!!!
SAMPALIN niyo ako pag hindi ko ULIT tinupad yan.
A traumatized person imbibes stuff like this.
I would NEVER, ever, fall for someone else again, EVER!!!
SAMPALIN niyo ako pag hindi ko ULIT tinupad yan.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
unwittingly posted
Nagtagal ang pic na ito sa account ko for like 12 hours?
Upon receiving TinTin's text about this, takbo agad ako sa PhilCOA kanina kahit 15pesos pamasahe sa kinalalagyan ko na one way! haha!
Sorry, autoupload kasi ko sa facebook and just imported this here. Well, since I still want to have this pic here, pinost ko na lang siya na ang makakaview lang ay ang ating barkada. ü Unwittingly ko din ito nagawa. Sorry talaga. ü
Don't worry, tatlo pa lang ang nakakaview nung album ko kanina.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Turpentine Chaser - Dashboard Confessionals
This paint has been tasting of lead
And the chips will fall as they may,
But it's not just my finish that's peeling,
And it's not alone fleeing these walls.
Well sooner of later this cold
it's gonna break
so our hands will be warm again,
but all I want is not to need you now.
And sooner or later this code
it's gonna break
And our words will be heard again,
but all I want are vows of silence now.
This turpentine chaser's got kick
And the rag that it's soaked in is rich.
The fumes aid the pace of my cleaning
And as soon as I'm done I am gone.
The frightening facts
we've been facing our backs to
for so long now
are begging for eyes
to bear witness to lies
And indifference.
Now we're saying aloud
the things we've declared in our silence
The new coats of paint will not reaquaint
broken hearts to broken homes
And the chips will fall as they may,
But it's not just my finish that's peeling,
And it's not alone fleeing these walls.
Well sooner of later this cold
it's gonna break
so our hands will be warm again,
but all I want is not to need you now.
And sooner or later this code
it's gonna break
And our words will be heard again,
but all I want are vows of silence now.
This turpentine chaser's got kick
And the rag that it's soaked in is rich.
The fumes aid the pace of my cleaning
And as soon as I'm done I am gone.
The frightening facts
we've been facing our backs to
for so long now
are begging for eyes
to bear witness to lies
And indifference.
Now we're saying aloud
the things we've declared in our silence
The new coats of paint will not reaquaint
broken hearts to broken homes
Friday, October 23, 2009
Recent Facebook posts...
Hay out of nowhere nagpakita ng spite. Like heller... Inaano ka ba namin!? Haha!
Clinically depressed ata ako. hindi na normal ang reactions ko sa mga bagay-bagay.
Facebook is a reflection of how natural human culture is being commodified. Lahat ng emosyon natin, kalungkutan maging ang pag-ibig at pagkakaugnay ugnay ng mga tao... nagiging isa na lamang kalakal, sa bawa't click at pagalaw ng mouse, sa bawa't takatak ng keyboard...
haven't started a single thing... bound to be the world's greatest failure...
Positivity. Positivity. Everything will be okay.
I AM NOT WORKING DILIGENTLY.
I have to start learning how to be selfless, and sacrifice. Sumakay ako ng MRT, bumaba sa non-routine station... Nagpapalipas ng lungkot sa Trinoma.
How psycho am I? Shet sa pagkakavaried ng random thoughts ko! hahah!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
When you suffer, there is always a reward.
Freedom.
Disclosure.
Breathing space.
I have to thank a few friends and a new friend for that.
Ngayon ko lang na-appreciate ang kalayaan at ang pagkakataon na magbukas ng mga pintuan.
Lalalala
Disclosure.
Breathing space.
I have to thank a few friends and a new friend for that.
Ngayon ko lang na-appreciate ang kalayaan at ang pagkakataon na magbukas ng mga pintuan.
Lalalala
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Apocalypse, by Arah Rivadeneira
The blanket of shadows unfolds
A P
I
T of
lO s T p L ot S,
turmoil
p
o
u
r
s
b R e A t H i N g life to DEATH.
Friday, October 16, 2009
The Colored Museum directed by Donna Rhyse Dacuno
| Start: | Oct 19, '09 7:00p |
| Location: | Teatro Hermogenes Ylagan, Faculty Center, UP Diliman |
Cast: Amie Ruiz, Aryan Carandang, Garet Picardal, Ekis Gimenez, Cathrina Aldeon, Babes Alejo, Carlo Garcia and Jerson Guiwa.
October 14 7:00pm and October 19 7:00pm
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Pretending to be Studious
I have been wondering what influenced Chairil Anwar's "emo-ness," until I found out that he loved reading R.M. Rilke, that emo poet who fell in love with the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, my favorite poem. Oh, that can explain my being in love with Chairil Anwar. :)
Small poetic world.
Small poetic world.
Colored Museum
| Start: | Oct 14, '09 7:00p |
| End: | Oct 18, '09 3:00p |
| Location: | Teatro Hermogenes Ylagan, Faculty Center, UP Diliman |
Philippine contextualization and adaptation of George C. Wolfe's "The Colored Museum." The play features Cathrina Aldeon, Babes Alejo, Carlo Garcia, Jerson Guiwa, Garet Picardal, Amihan Ruiz, Karen Gaerlan and Aryan Serrano, directed by Donna Dacuno
Playdates: October 14, 7pm and October 18, 4pm.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Photoshoot for Greys' Portfolio
Shoot date: 09 June 2009
I was not able to post this earlier because I did not have the high res originals. I don't have the luxury of time to attend to that. For now, here are the low res unedited pictures.
Participants:
Diana Directo
Lorrie Ocampo
Donna Rhyse Dacuno
Carlo Pulido
R.A. Rosanes
Garet Picardal
Cat Aldeon
Rant Arts
Digital Manipulation. This is what I do when I run out of things to write, or when I get bored with reading.
I do this to stop myself from ranting about pressure. :)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Colored Museum
Free Admissions! Come and see the GRAND OPENING OF THE COLORED MUSEUM on Oct14, 3pm and 7pm at the Teatro Hermogenes Ylagan (THY) 1st Flr, Faculty Center, UP Diliman. The Colored Museum features Cathrina Aldeon, Babes Alejo, Carlo Garcia, Jerson Guiwa, Garet Picardal, Amihan Ruiz, Karen Gaerlan and Aryan Serrano. Directed by Donna Rhyse Dacuno |
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Drop off centers for relief operations
Tulong KABATAAN! For the benefit of typhoon Ondoy's victims. If you have set-up centers for relief goods, post them here.
LIST OF RELIEF CENTERS:
1. Kabataan Partylist...HQ: #118-B Sct. Rallos, QC
2. USC Office, Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman
3. College of Social Work and Community Development Student Council, UP Diliman
4. College of Arts and Sciences Student Council Office, UP Manila
4. Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral Office, 2F, Charlie Del Rosario Building, PUP, Sta Mesa, Manila.
Expand the list by copying above and adding your center. Thank you!
LIST OF RELIEF CENTERS:
1. Kabataan Partylist...HQ: #118-B Sct. Rallos, QC
2. USC Office, Vinzons Hall, UP Diliman
3. College of Social Work and Community Development Student Council, UP Diliman
4. College of Arts and Sciences Student Council Office, UP Manila
4. Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral Office, 2F, Charlie Del Rosario Building, PUP, Sta Mesa, Manila.
Expand the list by copying above and adding your center. Thank you!
A Fistful of Colors
| Rating: | ★★★★ |
| Category: | Books |
| Genre: | Literature & Fiction |
| Author: | Su-Chen Christine Lim |
If Christine Suchen Lim was a painter, I think Singapore would be painted with all hints of hue and color. However, she is a novelist, and it seemed as if a whole country for her would be depicted in a whole lot of colors: Babas, Hokkien Chinese, Hybrids, Indians and even Englishmen. Amidst this diversity lie the diverse problems that are always present in Asia: westernization, discrimination, colonial education and multiculturalism. A Fistful of Colors tells of the story of Suwen and of how her past and present became interwoven into the lives of her friends – all faced with the contradiction of distorted identities of race and culture. Indeed, it is true that at the time the novel was written, people of Singapore and Southeast Asia are faced with vast range of adversities. In this book, we will see how they as a people cope with these, and at the same time, how their characters have been shaped by the conditions that they have been in.
The characters of the story would seem to have been a product of a long process of what one of the characters called as cultural sculpting. Each of them show different facets of the cultural diversity of Singapore. They each have a different story to tell in each chapter that explore the little nation’s multi-faceted depth. Singapore started out as a country of mixed races, who follow sets of different traditions. The colonizers came into the country and gradually transformed their culture through different means – education, politics, even force. The author contextualized the characters based on their backgrounds. She has made the characters as an effective medium to portray socio-cultural history, especially in the case of Suwen and Nica.
The irony of their situation is that education does not liberate a person. In our context, education is seen as freeing ourselves from the clutches of traditions and superstitions. But here in the novel, the old ways still remain and are actually reinforced. Divisions between social strata and between ethnicities still plague “modern” Singapore. It is a conflict that finds expression in a continuing clash between the old traditions and modern ways. Suwen is not comfortable with marrying outside her race and the supposedly educated Mr. Sullivanignam still perpetrates the caste system.
The story opened with the image of the protagonist, the synthesizer of the stories of the novel. Suwen never knew her real father, and only came to live with her mother and step father when her stepfather’s mother died. Her mother fetched her bribed her grandmother and gave her the first mark of colonialism: the western doll. She then used to live with her mother and stepfather at the Ong mansion and had traumatic experiences of molestations from her step father and abuse from her grandmother. She set out to become an artist, wishing to find her identity and express herself through her medium. At the same time, she teaches at the university and maintains an unclear relationship with her Scottish colleague, Mark Campbell. She was only one of those many “like-minded English-educated malcontents,” professionals of Singapore. She and her friends, “swapped stories… grouse about the sanitized politics of Singapore, and dissect the plays they had attended and the paintings they had seen as they drank beer till the wee hours of the morning.”
It was a collection of various stories and various characters. Suwen’s stepfather’s father, the residents of the Ong mansion: Ong Tay Luck who never really had direct blood relations from the Ong family. Ong Tay Luck is the son of the concubine of Ong Ah Buck – who changed his surname to Ong for the sake of keeping the family name. Their family has become a product of the distorted history of the country. Another story is that of Nica’s. She was half-Indian and half-Chinese, and has been filled with issues in her family in terms of preferences in cultural traditions. She escaped the turmoil of her family to build her identity. She can be considered as a typical expat who has broken free from stifling tradition.
The book even touches upon the politics of art. Suwen feels oppressed as an artist. She was criticized by the authorities as painting unworthy pieces because her works were too abstract and westernized. The paintings supposedly betrayed their Singaporean roots. But she wanted to paint for herself, to express her passion and hate. The thing is, the history of their race has been a history of passion and hate. And she can never remove herself from the milieu.
An artist, a human being, is always part of her socio-cultural milieu. She always depicts that milieu’s biases and hopes. Even Suwen is not aware of it, saying that she wanted to paint for herself though she herself could not but help paint what composed her thoughts – the history of her roots, the history of her country. Contrary to this, Nica went as far as sculpting a nude white man to make a political statement. In her letter to Jan: “…It was art as a vengeance. One. The whites have exploited us, Asians; so I, in turn, exploited a white man. Two. The male has exploited the female body since time immemorial. So why was it shocking if a female artist exploits the male body?”
Today, Singapore is seen as calm collected business oasis. But it was forged from the blood, sweat and tears of the common man. Fistful of Colors depicted a particularly horrifying rickshaw strike-riot. While the author had Suwen, the artist, desire to paint for herself, it seems this does not apply to the author herself. She actually takes the authorities viewpoint on the strike; that it was more trouble than it was worth. Though this point-of-view is obscured by a mention at the end of the narrative that the strikers were to be pitied. It might have been obscured but since pity is the only thing that the author can offer to the strikers, she still upholds the talking points of the Singaporean elite.
Singapore is known as the melting pot. In A Fistful of Colors, this melting pot is deconstructed, exposed and painted as a melting pot of different contradictions and struggles, cultures and ideologies through the interwoven stories of the characters.
(With Carlo Pulido's editing powers. Acknowledged. Salamat.)
Noah's Ark Reenacted
My whole body is still aching due to my lone adventure yesterday. I walked from Katipunan to Project 2 through Xavierville. One third of the journey I was submerged in 4.5-5.5 feet of murky water. Can't get over it. I remember distinguishing between water, mud and crude oil as I was trudging through the deeper parts of the flooded street, holding on to the grilled fences of houses along the way, hoping to at least elevate myself. When the current became stronger and the water get deeper, I stopped at the middle of the sea and a manong came to help me carry my things. Otherwise, I would have drowned or have stayed there till God knows when...ALONE.
We were at least lucky that our spot here in QC is high enough for the water to reach. The streets not so far from here are all flooded. But the hassle and frazzle that this typhoon has brought upon us is no big joke. I have a few friends who woke up with all their appliances and furniture floating up to the second storeys of their houses. My co-teahcers at Mapua slept inside the campus. I was not able to attend my meeting. I am scheduled to visit my Grandma at Filinvest Antipolo today but it was not possible; Marcos highway is a disaster. My phone is not working yet and my students' school papers are soaking wet.
I don't want to make this a rundown of my personal calamity-related rants. But the thing is, these are all not normal. Everyone are all pointing to that synthetic phenomenon called Global Warming/Climate change... We are being accused that we are all suffering for our incessant desire for civilization that ruined the planet. Before the flood, the bell was rung like hell to save mother Earth. They called for...
energy conservation.
water conservation.
reforestation.
recycle-ation.
SM greenbag-ation.
woe to our salvation!
That is not the point. The real point is to find the main culprit. There are like a hundred companies "chimney"-ing industrial smoke more than all the population of the world's cigarette smokes put together. There are more mining companies spilling out poisonous chemicals in the world's main water sources more than all those homeless people shitting on their shanties straight to the rivers in third world and even capitalist countries put together. There are a lot of government institutions who have let illegal loggers do away with their activities and all that jazz.
I am more than willing to use green bags, conserve water, and turn off my faucets, dvd player and flourescent bulbs. But it can only do much. The people can only do so much. Find the culprit, and uproot the root of the problem. The people have lived long enough under the bridges, under the yoke of poverty. Let us just hope that some people out there would be willing to let go just SOME of their profits for the sake of humanity. That would be more effective than all of our little efforts put together, than all of our efforts facing the effects and not the cause.
"Actions should be measured by their effect on the greater good of the world, not the consequences for the individual." - David Hume
****
Post ko ito kahapon. Ngayon, mas marami pa akong nakikitang mga maling kaganapan. Parang hirap na hirap sa rescue operations ng gobyerno. Hindi handa ang gobyerno sa pagharap sa kalamidad. Kulang sa mga rubber boats, at maraming mga lugar ang hindi matunton ng rescue operations.
Totoo ngang may climate change. Pero sapat na ba ang ulan na naganap kahapon para makapagdulot ng ganitong uri ng baha? Well, anong dam ang binuksan na wala man lang patumanggang pasabihan ang mga tao na maghanda!?
Wala lang.
We were at least lucky that our spot here in QC is high enough for the water to reach. The streets not so far from here are all flooded. But the hassle and frazzle that this typhoon has brought upon us is no big joke. I have a few friends who woke up with all their appliances and furniture floating up to the second storeys of their houses. My co-teahcers at Mapua slept inside the campus. I was not able to attend my meeting. I am scheduled to visit my Grandma at Filinvest Antipolo today but it was not possible; Marcos highway is a disaster. My phone is not working yet and my students' school papers are soaking wet.
I don't want to make this a rundown of my personal calamity-related rants. But the thing is, these are all not normal. Everyone are all pointing to that synthetic phenomenon called Global Warming/Climate change... We are being accused that we are all suffering for our incessant desire for civilization that ruined the planet. Before the flood, the bell was rung like hell to save mother Earth. They called for...
energy conservation.
water conservation.
reforestation.
recycle-ation.
SM greenbag-ation.
woe to our salvation!
That is not the point. The real point is to find the main culprit. There are like a hundred companies "chimney"-ing industrial smoke more than all the population of the world's cigarette smokes put together. There are more mining companies spilling out poisonous chemicals in the world's main water sources more than all those homeless people shitting on their shanties straight to the rivers in third world and even capitalist countries put together. There are a lot of government institutions who have let illegal loggers do away with their activities and all that jazz.
I am more than willing to use green bags, conserve water, and turn off my faucets, dvd player and flourescent bulbs. But it can only do much. The people can only do so much. Find the culprit, and uproot the root of the problem. The people have lived long enough under the bridges, under the yoke of poverty. Let us just hope that some people out there would be willing to let go just SOME of their profits for the sake of humanity. That would be more effective than all of our little efforts put together, than all of our efforts facing the effects and not the cause.
"Actions should be measured by their effect on the greater good of the world, not the consequences for the individual." - David Hume
****
Post ko ito kahapon. Ngayon, mas marami pa akong nakikitang mga maling kaganapan. Parang hirap na hirap sa rescue operations ng gobyerno. Hindi handa ang gobyerno sa pagharap sa kalamidad. Kulang sa mga rubber boats, at maraming mga lugar ang hindi matunton ng rescue operations.
Totoo ngang may climate change. Pero sapat na ba ang ulan na naganap kahapon para makapagdulot ng ganitong uri ng baha? Well, anong dam ang binuksan na wala man lang patumanggang pasabihan ang mga tao na maghanda!?
Wala lang.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Inheritance of Loss
| Rating: | ★★★ |
| Category: | Books |
| Genre: | Literature & Fiction |
| Author: | Kiran Desai |
The Indian woman, repressed for years, finds in herself a realization to find her own identity by becoming conscious of individuality. We see her in front of the looking glass, thinking of her future, as if she herself can arrange it. Her affection for Gyan, forbidden and unthinkable in the light of Hindu tradition opens this for her. However, such a love did not prosper, because we see Gyan fighting for another form of freedom as he joins the Nepali movement for liberation.
The typical servant is found to have given much hope, and a tendency to believe in a messianic hero, his son, Biju. In chapter 15 of this story, amidst the celebrations that exclusively belongs to the Indian culture, he was holding another celebration, a celebration of his son’s so-called achievements in his stay in New York, flaunting his ambition to go to that greener world. He offends his heritage, and he offends the son, who was almost crawling between restaurants, experiencing the most demeaning taunts from the foreign race.
The story has been set in present India, a product of the transition from the traditional India that we know of to the present past-colonial “modernity.” In this novel, we will see how traditional Indian practices mix with that of the new post-colonial practices. What changed? What amount of progress has been made? It is clearly demonstrated here that as much as the country is lifting itself up from the hierarchical order of things, borders are built anew, nothing really changed. Brahmins still remain the highest caste although members of other classes get to move to higher ranks through education, as that of Jemubhai’s. I see a sort of rearrangement of classes, changing of methods of oppression. If the Hindu religion has become an implicit promoter of old hierarchies and subjections in the old society, as that of Ramayana – Rama’s exile, Sita’s ordeal, etc.
Education, economic status and migration has produced for India a new basis for elitism, like those women for whom Biju has delivered bowls of soup and for which Biju had to transfer to another restaurant again. Alongside with it is the hope for a change toward the piecemeal modernity that can only be attributed to their past colonial masters. The judge himself is a glaring example for it, and Lola’s obsession for her British-accented BBC reporter daughter. The cook also had his share, believing in the American dream, as if having a son abroad gives him a different place in the society. Moreover, we see that they admire the works of modernity but they still forcibly cling unto their traditions. Like the Judge and Lola, they begin hating their own race for their backwardness but this kind of behavior is still backward, and is set to be able to push their country farther back.
The novel seems to have been a portrayal of the Indian race as a struggling race, struggling from the backward ways of the old and the oppression that they get from the new setup. India is a race who had taste of different flavors of oppression and humiliation. In America, Biju landed in what the writer spoke of the “the Gandhi café, [where] the lights were kept low, the better to hide the stains. It was a long journey from here to the fusion trend, the goat cheese and basil samosa, the mango margarita. This was the real thing, generic Indian, and it could be ordered complete, one stop on the subway line or even on the phone: gilt and red chairs, plastic roses on the table with synthetic dewdrops.” Indeed, the Indian can be found almost anywhere in the world, tainted, stained with pain.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I want to live for another thousand years
Though bullets should pierce my skin
I shall strike and march forth
Wounds and poison shall I take aflee
Aflee
'Til the pain and pang should disappear
And I should care even less
I want to live for another thousand years
(from 'Aku' 1943)
Chairil Anwar
I shall strike and march forth
Wounds and poison shall I take aflee
Aflee
'Til the pain and pang should disappear
And I should care even less
I want to live for another thousand years
(from 'Aku' 1943)
Chairil Anwar
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Failed Stoic
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
World Theater Project Presents 'The Three Penny Opera' @ ClickTheCity.com Arts
http://www.clickthecity.com/arts/?p=5268
I am selling DISCOUNTED tickets for the August 15 show. PM me if interested. Thanks!
I am selling DISCOUNTED tickets for the August 15 show. PM me if interested. Thanks!
Metro Manila Youth Reject Charter Change
Institute for Research on Education and Development
125D Chico Street, Project 2, Quezon City
July 27, 2009
Reference: Diana Directo, Spokesperson
Metro Manila Youth Reject Charter Change
A survey involving 2000 youth respondents in Metro Manila, revealed that 96.25% of the youth are not in favor of Charter Change that would extend the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Those who participated in the survey are students, professionals and out-of-school youth from different schools, communities, and companies.
It would be remembered that during the last session of the members of the House of Representatives, the matter of forming a Constitutional Assembly was approved of hastily.
"This (Constitutional Assembly) has been subject to varied speculations from all sectors of the society, and the data that has been gathered serves as proof of the youth's disapproval," Diana Directo, Spokesperson of IREAD said.
85.83% of the respondents believe that Charter Change is not beneficial to national development while 14.17% believe otherwise. 22.16% would accept Charter Change if the President steps down. On the other hand, 77.57% would not approve of it given that condition.
The survey was conducted by the Institute for Research on Education and Development (IREAD), a non-stock, non-profit, independent youth institution whose primary objective is to consolidate existing and future macro and micro data on sectoral, national and global developments and concerns affecting the youth.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had her last State of the Nation Address last July 27, 2009, the ninth year of her administration which has been studded with criticism and controversies, and this also marks the start of another phase of Charter Change discussions in the House of Representatives.
In the wake of the recent events, IREAD has conducted this survey to gather the youth's opinion on the Charter Change. The survey also aims to determine the youth's general outlook and future probable courses of action.
Directo indicated the importance of knowing the pulse of the youth. “Cliché as it may seem, history has proven that the youth has always been the catalyst for change.”
“Some respondents even wrote comments on the survey forms. It is a proof that young people are aware of what's happening. They are concerned about national development. Many are still interested in making changes especially on matters that directly affect them,” she pointed out.
A surprising feedback came from a 13-year old high school student. He said, “Charter change will only serve GMA's interests. I do not agree with Charter Change and I also oppose term extension for GMA. Her efforts to improve the situation of the youth sector are not good enough.”
“According to the data that we have gathered, an overwhelming majority of 85.63% believe that Macapagal-Arroyo's nine-year administration was not helpful to the youth sector. Only 14.13% think otherwise,” Directo said.#
(SORRY. IT IS A LATE POST.)
Keynote speech of Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban on the 36th NUSP National Student Congress
December 16, 2007 Vision and Values
By
Chief Justice ARTEMIO V. PANGANIBAN (ret.)
May I thank you, the delegates from NUSP-member schools attending this 36th National Student Congress held here in Cebu, for inviting me to deliver the keynote address on the theme “NUS at 50: Continuing the Legacy of Passionate Student Leadership, Advancing the Rights and Welfare of Students and the Filipino People, Strengthening the Union Towards Serving Society.”
Delighted to Relive
Carefree Years
Though already retired from the judiciary and perhaps old enough to be your grandfather, I am nonetheless delighted to be with you today to relive my carefree days as a young man. I have lived on this planet for over seventy years; have met some of the most important people that populate it during my lifetime; have enjoyed some trappings of power and luxury; have traveled to all the continents of our earth, except Antarctica; and have marveled at the wonders of the old and new world, like the Pyramids of Egypt and Mexico, the Coliseum of Rome, the Iguasu Falls in South America, the Grand Canyon in the United States, the Rockies in Canada, the fiords in Norway, the Blue Mountains of Sydney, the hidden Peruvian City of Machu Pichu, the Great Wall of China, St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican, the Taj Mahal of India, the Museums of St. Petersburg, Disneyworld in Florida, and of course, the rice terraces of Banaue.
Let me tell you very candidly that I would exchange all of that to turn back the hands of time and to relive my years as a student leader, especially those I spent attending the various leadership functions of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP). I will gladly swap all my experiences as a man of the law, my travels around the globe, and my victories in my battles against poverty, to be able to enjoy again my student pursuits, to be freed completely from any material, professional, social or intellectual attachments, to be young again and to dream without borders and biases. Yes, to all of you I say: enjoy the best time of your life; you can be young only once; be the best of what you can be in dreams and in reality.
Three-Fold NUS
Conference Theme
Your theme is very appropriate during this 50th year of the NUSP. First, you want to look back into the past and connect with the legacy of our Union, its visions and values at its inception and how these double v’s of vision and values have been lived in reality. Second, you also seek to improve the future by advancing the rights and welfare of the students and the entire Filipino people. Third, you want to foster the present by strengthening the NUSP so it could continue serving society.
I am deeply impressed by your theme, because it speaks of ideals, of vision and values, and of dreams and reality. I firmly believe that every person and every organization must have a vision of what he, she or it intends to accomplish, a method of fulfilling them, and a set of immutable values to guide the journey until the destination is reached. Without vision and values, one will be like a ship without a rudder, or an airplane without avionics. The journey cannot be completed because the ship or the airplane will be moving without direction and purpose. It will crash in the shoals of uncertainty and failure.
As a founder of the NUSP, let me, in this keynote address, start by discussing the visions and values that guided us fifty years ago when we organized the Union. Let me bring you back to the decade of the fifty’s when your parents were not yet born, and when your grandfathers were merely whispering “sweet nothings” into the ears of your grandmothers.
During the late 1950’s, the exchange rate was two pesos to one dollar, ice cold bottled soft drinks sold for ten centavos, a semester’s tuition was only about 150 pesos, but let me tell you very quickly that we were still complaining about how expensive education was. Cars sold for about four thousand pesos. But note too that the minimum wage was only four pesos per day. The favorite dances were the boogie, cha-cha and tango, and the preferred venues for the much-awaited junior-senior proms were the Winter Garden of the Manila Hotel and the Sky Room of the Jai-Alai on Taft Avenue, Manila, both of which are now gone and memorialized only in faded pictures of your lolos and lolas.
At that time, the dominant student movements were the Student Councils’ Association of the Philippines (SCAP), the College Editors Guild (CEG), and the Conference Delegates Association of the Philippines (CONDA) which were led by the University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University, University of the East, MLQ University and the Lyceum of the Philippines.
Most of the Catholic schools, with the exception of St. Paul’s and Sta. Isabel, were either inactive in, or not members at all of, national student movements. Most of the girls’ colleges were cloistered. The students – colegialas we called them – were content to be confined within the protective walls of their schools. They did not mix with the “indio” students of the nonsectarian institutions.
The Cold War:
The US and the USSR
At that time, the world was divided into two great camps, one group – the liberal democracies – was led by the United States; and the other – the totalitarian-communist states – was headed by the erstwhile Soviet Union. There was, what was called the “cold war,” the insidious struggle by these two great powers for the minds and loyalties of the peoples of the world. Dominating the socio-economic, military and political environment, the cold war was carried on during debates in the United Nations, in the economic competition of the great powers, in the so-called wars of liberation, and even in the day-to-day lives of the peoples of the planet.
The popular movie spy thrillers of James Bond and Napoleon Solo – for those of you who have watched them – give an idea of the ramifications of the cold war. Those of you who love history must know about the great missile crisis of the 1960’s when United States President John F. Kennedy ordered the US Navy to stop the Soviet armada sent by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to bring their missiles to Cuba to terrorize the heartland of America. Had the Soviet Union crossed the US naval blockade, World War III could have been ignited, and much of the civilized world could have been devastated by a nuclear holocaust.
The cold war ended in 1989 when the Soviet Union collapsed under the weight of its own economic maladies. Freedom beckoned to the erstwhile Soviet Republics, like Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, which were liberated from communist rule. Russia itself, the main component of the Soviet Union, underwent its democratic renaissance when Boris Yeltzin rose to power during the same year.
In any event, the cold war’s long international tentacles crept into the student movements in the Philippines and elsewhere. A congressional investigation showed that the communists infiltrated these student organizations, especially SCAP and CONDA. Their leaders were wined, dined and indoctrinated during international student conferences held in China, Russia and other communist countries.
Apart from that, the government tried to muzzle student organizations by corralling them in what was called the “Consultative Council of Students,” more popularly called the “Little Cabinet.” They were pampered with free travel, scholarships, dole-outs and other perks, in exchange for partisan political favors. The situation was so serious that during the elections of the SCAP in September, 1957, I rose – as the then newly elected president of the FEU Central Student Organization along with Fernando Lagua of UP and Alfonso Aguirre of San Beda College – to question these communist and partisan political activities that shackled both the SCAP and the CONDA.
The Walk-Out and
the Birth of the NUS
I received no satisfactory answer. Instead, the SCAP leaders tried to placate me by unanimously electing me as vice president for international affairs of the SCAP, a much-coveted position that would have entitled me to travel, free of charge, to many countries with pocket money from Malacanang. These were attractive incentives to a very poor boy like me who could not enjoy a scholarship offered by the University of Philippines, because I did not have enough money to pay for the bus fare from our small rented apartment in Sampaloc, Manila to the UP Campus in Diliman, Quezon City. Notwithstanding all these, I chose the more difficult, straight and narrow path by seceding from both the SCAP and the CONDA, rejecting my lucrative position in SCAP, and refusing membership in the President’s august “Little Cabinet.”
Luckily, I was not alone in my idealism. Student leaders from the University of the Philippines (led by Fernando A. Lagua), University of Santo Tomas (led by Julio Macaranas), San Beda College (led by Alfonso J. Aguirre, St. Theresa’s (led by Ma. Theresa Endencia), National University (led by Miguel Sanidad) and Sta. Isabel (led by Hermila Milaflor) joined in the walk out and formed the nucleus of the NUSP. Yes, these seven schools –FEU, UP, UST, SBC, STC, NU and SIC – founded the NUSP.
The first National Student Congress, presided by yours truly and attended by about 300 delegates from 26 schools (with FEU contributing 150), met on December 26-31, 1957 at the St. Louis College (now St. Louis University) in Baguio City, approved the new Constitution and Bylaws, and elected its Executive Board for 1958 with Fernando A. Lagua, then president of the UP Student Council, as chairman and yours truly as first vice-chair. We did not elect a president during those early days. The Executive Board ran the Union collegially. In fact, the organization was simply called NUS; the “P” for Philippines was added later on to distinguish it from student unions from other countries.
Parenthetically, may I add that at that time, Fernando A. Lagua and Homobono Adaza, the then editor of the Philippine Collegian, were quite busy with their activism at the University of the Philippines, resulting in the suspension of Lagua and the expulsion of Adaza from the University. But that’s another story. Suffice it to say that despite these UP problems, we had to carry on with the new student union. And whenever Lagua was tied up with the UP problems, I had to take over as Acing Chairman of the Executive Board.
Seminar on Communism
The second major NUSP project was the Seminar on Communism held in Naga City on April 17-22, 1958, with yours truly also as Seminar Chairman. Aside from learning the evils of communism, I consider this Seminar extra-important because it facilitated my acquaintance with one lovely delegate, the editor of the Scholastican of St. Scholastica’s College, Elenita A. Carpio, who three years afterwards, on April 8, 1961, became Mrs. Leni Carpio Panganiban at a wedding in the Immaculate Conception Church in Cubao, Quezon City.
It was also during this Seminar, specifically during our excursion to nearby Mayon Volcano that I nearly died, because of the rupture of my appendicitis. I was rushed to the St. Mary’s Maternity(!) Clinic in Tabaco, Albay. The head physician there, probably an obstetrician, diagnosed my wrenching stomach ache as a bad case of indigestion. So, he made me drink castor oil, which I fortunately threw out. Unable to make me swallow the medicine, he injected me with morphine, which put me to sleep for 24 hours. Upon waking up, I continued presiding over the Seminar, not knowing that I was carrying a ruptured appendix.
Two weeks later, back in FEU, my stomach acted up again. I had to undergo immediate operation at the FEU Hospital. “You are lucky, Temiong,” mused Dr. Ricardo Alfonso, the surgeon, “Your appendix ruptured two weeks ago in Albay, but the toxins did not spread because they were contained by the fat that enveloped your appendicitis.”
At the end of that year (1958), the NUSP held its Second National Congress also in Baguio City, during which I was elected President for the year 1959. As an aside, may I explain that I was elected President of the FEU Central Student Organization in 1957 during my sophomore year as a law student. So, I had three years – my second, third and fourth year in the FEU Institute of Law to be able to nurse the NUSP during its infancy. After my one-year term as President in 1959 (during that time, reelection was banned by our Constitution), I was elected Secretary General for the year 1960.
The Institute of
Student Affairs
Thereafter, I spent three more years looking after NUSP. Let me explain. After graduating from law school in 1960, I formed the Institute of Student Affairs (ISA) that obtained grants and technical assistance from foundations, principally the Asia Foundation, and educational associations, notably the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU), the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), Association of Christian Schools and Colleges (ACSC), and foreign groups like the Geneva-based World University Service (WUS) to provide secretariat and financial aid to NUSP and other legitimate student groups. While practicing law as an assistant to Dr. Jovito R. Salonga and concurrently teaching law, I administered ISA on the side.
After his term as NUSP President, the late Sen. Raul Roco succeeded me in 1963 both as Secretary General of the NUSP and Executive Director of the ISA. The ISA assisted NUSP till 1965 when the Union became mature and could stand on its own finances without succumbing to the temptations of politicians and other vested groups that sought to undermine it. Having achieved its mission, the ISA was then dissolved. And the NUSP became a full-grown organization, took the high road and became the largest and most independent student organization in the country.
Faithful Reflection
of Student Opinion
From this rather long narration of the beginnings of NUSP, which I culled from aging albums and clippings I had kept, some of which you saw in the PowerPoint presentation, let me summarize our vision of NUSP at its inception. To do that, may I quote from a speech I delivered as Union President in 1958:
“The NUS was founded as a positive answer to the decadent state of student leadership in the country. The Union is pledged to unite and reflect faithfully student opinion on current national issues, free the youth from undue political interferences, fight communist infiltration in the campuses, and redirect the youth’s thinking and energy to constructive idealism.”
Its core values were “dignity, integrity, independence, liberty, responsibility and democracy.” These were the qualities that characterized NUSP and its leaders. Let me say with pardonable pride that these ideals were achieved, because the communist effort to infiltrate student movements failed. Freedom prevailed. Furthermore, the President’s “Little Cabinet” was dissolved, because – after NUSP was activated – no reputable student leader joined it. And so the students were liberated from the political and partisan apron strings of the government. They remained free and idealistic.
Of course, we had other projects like the national speech festival started in 1958 to commemorate the second anniversary of NUSP. We even had an NUS March, with music and lyrics by Prof. Rosendo Santos of the UP Conservatory of Music. It went this way:
NUS MARCH
NUS youth leaders of the land
Bright young hopes who will fight to the end
For the high ideals of the free
Set by our heroes who fought and died for thee Chorus
Dear Filipinas, the pearl of orient seas
We pledge to safeguard democracy and peace
We’ll work forever for thy destiny
The students of the world we’ll bind in perfect harmony
To keep ever burning the torch of liberty
And always with spirit we’ll work for thy success
Cheers and Mabuhay to thee, NUS.
You will observe from the lyrics of the march the vision and values we fought for: democracy, liberty and peace.
I am certain that, if asked, every NUSP president and batch of leaders have their own story of how they evolved these vision and core values. Without meaning to preempt them, let me just cite briefly, the heroism of the batches in the early 70’s when they led the so-called first quarter storm. They protested and rallied incessantly against the abuses and tyrannies of martial law. NUSP President Edgar Jopson gave up his life fighting for these same ideals of liberty and democracy we all believe in.
Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator, was so displeased by the NUSP’s crusade for freedom and democracy that he banned the Union and the formation of student councils. But after he was toppled in 1986, NUSP was resurrected and became once more the dominant student movement in the country.
As an aged alumnus of our Union, I look back with pride as I review the many achievements of the NUSP over the last five decades, especially during the dark days when NUSP leaders so brilliantly defended the light of freedom and democracy. Indeed, I am happy and pleased that over the last fifty years, the NUSP has more than lived up to the vision, values and expectations of its founders. Mabuhay and NUSP!
Present Problems
Facing the Youth
To sum up, I have thus far discussed the two major problems of my student days – communist infiltration and governmental meddling in the affairs of the young – and how we overcame them by following our vision and values. These problems may pale in comparison with the difficulties facing the youth today; these are the very same humongous problems that face our nation: wrenching poverty, declining educational standards, malgovernance, endemic corruption, flagrant election cheating, human right violations, lack of accountability, and assaults on our democratic institutions, not to mention our recurring insurgencies and military mutinies.
I must admit that these problems and issues are far more numerous and complex than those that faced us when I was young but just the same, you – the youth leaders now – must be heard in their discussions and solutions. Our country really belongs to the young; the old people merely administer it for them in the meantime. Therefore, during this NUSP Congress, I expect you to tackle these plagues, denounce their perpetrators, and offer – whenever possible – some perspectives and solutions.
Because some of these problems are complex, NUSP needs to research on them before it can formulate solutions and action programs. I do realize that to be able to study them and to forge programs to solve them, you need research and backgrounders, that in turn require funding without strings. And so, the Alumni of NUSP thought of organizing a Foundation to be able to help you with your work. The Foundation is now in the process of incorporation, with the following as incorporators: Loida Nicolas Lewis (yes, the dollar multi-millionaire from New York), Sonia M. Roco, Hector Villacorta, Imelda M. Nicolas, Lito Abelarde, Alvin Peters (the current NUSP secretary general) and yours truly.
Apart from these seven, several other NUSP alumni have responded to the call for activism. The alumni core group is meeting regularly to prepare for a homecoming on August 8, 2008, the date is easy to remember; it consists of a triple eight: 8-8-08. Though belonging to the older generations, NUSP alumni-leaders still burn with the fires of these double v’s, vision and values, even after their graduation and journey into their professional careers.
Fulfilling the Vision
and Core Values
At this point, you may ask: “Can you tell us how your vision and core values had been carried on after you graduated from NUSP and entered the bigger world of the professions, the business community and the judicial service that capped your life career?”
Without meaning to brag, but only to report to you how I lived up to my NUSP ideals through the years, let me summarize in one sentence my vision when I was the Chief Justice of our country. I have articulated this many times in various forums; in fact, I have written a book about it entitled “Liberty and Prosperity” and have convened a Global Forum of jurists on October 18-20, 2006, to promote it.
I envision “a judiciary that safeguards the liberty of our people and nurtures their prosperity under the rule of law.” My core values are encapsulated in four “In’s”: integrity, independence, industry, and intelligence. How did I live up to these vision and values? Did I remain true to these ideals? Are they consistent with those I set forth as a young man fifty years ago? I will speak no further. I will just ask you to answer the questions for me. Indeed, I will let you and history be the judge.
Finally, let me end this address with a question for each one of you. Do you each have a vision and values to guide you in the next fifty years of your life? Fifty years from now, you may be invited like me to keynote the 100th anniversary of the NUSP, can you speak about how your lived your vision and values? For your own recording, please put them in writing and include them in your digital files, so that fifty years from now, in the presence of your children and grandchildren, you may show these mementos and declare before God and man that you have lived your life in accordance with these cherished ideals, and that indeed you have been victorious in your life’s mission on earth.
Maraming salamat po.
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