Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Television Watching May Hasten Puberty

Children who watch a lot of television produce less melatonin, new research suggests - the "sleep hormone" has been linked to timing of puberty. Scientists at the University of Florence in Italy found that when youngsters were deprived of their TV sets, computers and video games, their melatonin production increased by an average 30 per cent. “Girls are reaching puberty much earlier than in the 1950s. One reason is due to their average increase in weight; but another may be due to reduced levels of melatonin.”

i guess it explains why some people don't act their age. ever seen a grown guy act like a baby? he's just one of those kids with prematurely developed bodies.

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

I usually put my mobile phone in my pant's right rear pocket

i had some misgivings about this practice of mine, one where i seriously considered that the electromagnetic signal emitted by the phone could somehow damage my reproductive system. then i found a report about a study that showed that"carrying a mobile in hip pockets or a holster on the waist could cut sperm count by nearly 30 percent"

ouch!

although the study is yet to be proven conclusively, there is much for me to be concerned about. the same is true for all you guys out there who put their phones where i put mine.

Rosales and Arguelles to receive the pallium

The pallium, a white woolen band, embroidered with six black crosses and worn around the neck, recalls the figure of the Good Shepherd who carries a lamb on his shoulders. It symbolizes the Pope's concession of authority and communion to heads of major local churches.

to see how it looks and how it is worn, click here.

Wandering with dress shoes

if you plan to take a long walk, don't do it with dress shoes. it is best done with a comfortable pair of walking shoes. but it was a beautiful day, the sun wasn't oppressive and a light, cool breeze accompanied me along the way as i found myself wandering in intramuros. comfortable or not, i didn't care.

intramuros is a nice interesting place, rich in history and culture. too bad it is wealthy in garbage littered in its streets. i even found the rotting remains of a rat, its bones already exposed.

still, i found other unique stuff out here. along sta. lucia st., there's this bronze statue of an indio guardia civil armed with a musket with a long bayonet. the statue's shows the guard cleaning his teeth with a toothpick. although he appears to be wearing the elaborate upper garment of a spanish law enforcer, but one would immediately notice that his trousers are rolled up and that he is barefoot. i wonder how the intramuros guards, who by the way wear replica uniforms of the katipuneros, would feel if the intramuros administration decided to have them go around barefoot.

nearby there were also bronze reliefs of the president of the republic. gma's is already there but it seems somebody has vandalized her mole. i kid you not.

anyway, although it isn't my first time to explore intramuros. i've tried exploring the wall when i was in high school to find a spot where we could shoot our video about crispin and basilio in rizal's novel noli me tangere.

i came across a spot i think i've never visited before, the Baluarte de San Diego Garden. i first thought it was just a modern garden carved into the massive wall, but as i wandered aimlessly inside, i discovered a stone spiral staircase that led to the upper section of the wall and there i discovered that it was part of a huge tower. it's a unique structure, well at least something you don't get to see everyday if you're not from around here. the place, which is on the upper level of the tower and wall, looks like a grassy meadow surrounded by fortifications and in the middle, there's this huge "hole" where one finds a labyrinth-like structure. from my perspective, i couldn't determine what the structure's purpose could be since i found no evidence of entrances. it could've been used as a prison or cistern. a plaque at the spiral staircase, however, says the place used to be a foundry for cannons and an armory, but i still wonder how that could be.

yes it was nice, but i was a bit disappointed seeing rubbish all around. i wonder if the korean tourists walking behind me as i write these words on a photocopy of my transcript feel the same way.

the cool breeze led me on and i left the baluarte and walked around again. i walked by PLM's (pamantasan ng lungsod ng maynila) canteen. the aroma of sauted garlic and onion in the air greeted me and teased me to jot it down. but the cool breeze urged me to carry on.

i finally saw the changing of the marine guard of honor at the rizal monument in nearby luneta. at around 9:55 am, i saw 2 marines with M1 rifles and bayonets marching towards the direction of the monument. they marched fast even though they were obviously marching in "pahingang hakbang" (relaxed march) since their rifles were carried at a 10 o'clock angle rather than 12. when they reached the precincts of the monument, they proceeded to hold their rifles to the 12 o'clock position. they marched towards those whom they were going to relieve. these guys went into attention as the fresh guards marched towards them, halted and faced them. they all executed present arms and then order arms. the old guards simultaneously executed right shoulder arms and marched off, whilst the new ones took their spots, about faced and executed parade rest. that's it.

i also visited the boardwalk for the first time. prior to that i observed that the rocks at water break below is inhabitted by creatures which to me were crayfish out of water. i don't know if they were indeed crayfish though. for me they're icky but i was reminded of a survival show at bbc hosted by ray mears where he basically told and showed his audience that these critters are the best source of protein that a survivor could get in a rainforest. eeewww...

anyway, the boardwalk reeked with the smell of cockroaches, although i saw none in the light of midday. downbelow at the water, i saw some people bathing, only a few feet from floating garbage. as i reached the norht end of the boardwalk, i saw a ship: the Manila Floating Hotel and Restaurant. i didn't know we had such a thing around. anyway, it isn't a new concept. because of the foreseen shortage of tourist accomodations for the olympic games in greece, yacht owners have actually made their vessels available for the tourists. same concept, different scale.

anyway, i went around back to the quirino granstand. workmen were busy preparing it for the president's speech on wednesday. they were raising flags all over the place. i wish these flags could be donated to various government offices especially the local police precincts, where the flags have faded in time and darkened by pollution and dust.

after another long walk, i had lunch in chowking in UN ave. i was lucky enough to get a corner table with a wonderful view of the intersection below. i decided to tke my time and rest, especially having considered the distance i've taken. i've been observing a traffic officer doing his job during the lunch time jam at the intersection of UN avenue and Maria Orosa. i admire the guy. he's probably not getting much in remuneration, and the heat, dust and smoke won't do him any good either. but he's still "excited" in his job, though you wouldn't and couldn't see it in his face. despite the heavy traffic, he still found time to help several old chaps with directions. however, i'm sure that for some people, seeing this guy with the bloated tummy would rouse thoughts of a corrupt law enforcer out to get a bribe if chances permit. but i don't see him that way. such generalizations are stupid. the more acceptable generalization for me is that this guy is one of the many underpaid, unappreciated people who work for us, invisible to us even if they are right there in the middle of an intersection.

Monday, June 28, 2004

Why I like the Curt Jester:

he keeps on coming up with stuff like this:

I can't write!

i have the lost the ability to write. by that i don't mean the ability of putting words together to express my thoughts, but rather the "scratching of characters to a surface." you know, writing with pen and paper.

since graduating from college more than a year ago, i have rarely written. when it comes to composing, i have always done such things through the keyboard. last saturday, i have actually witnessed how much the quality of my penmanship has diminished. it was already bad when i was still in school. now it's REALLY bad. i myself found it ugly. i kept on mixing cursive and print in the same line. i couldn't even read some of the stuff i wrote down.

i thought it was the pen. i used a different pen, a ballpen. i prefer using a signpen because its ink is darker and the lines it makes are finer and smoother. ballpens make the opposite. sometimes i can't read stuff written down with ballpens. anyway, i made the mistake of buying a ballpen (a pricey one) recently and being stingy and all, i opted to use it until it runs out of ink instead of finally buying a signpen.

but on the other hand, i actually know people who testified that they had the same experience. the quality of their penmanship diminished after a long period of not writing the traditional way. so i think this phenomenon isn't something i have to bear alone. but then again, my handwriting now is ugly and the quality of the ink and letters are just as bad.

Sunday, June 27, 2004

A reader answers my medical query

WEll, the history were not in details...so ill just make some ideas which may lead to different diagnosis based on the given signs and symptoms..

> poisoning
> might be drug intoxication
> psychiatric disorder

Another one for the dogs:

Friendly Dog Prevents Killing Spree

i wonder if they'll release the guy for being friendly enough not to kill everybody.

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Brain and Behavior

While some people may like to believe that they can train their bodies to not require as much sleep as they once did this belief is false (1). Sleep is needed to regenerate certain parts of the body, especially the brain, so that it may continue to function optimally. After periods of extended wakefulness or reduced sleep neurons may begin to malfunction, visibly effecting a person's behavior.

so true and relevant for me yesterday. i went to take a test in the morning but i was too sleepy to answer the battery of tests that they had me take. or rather, my main objective then was to finish the test and go home so that i could finally hug my pillow in bed and feel its softness as i begin to dream.

perhaps i could also attribute to my lack of sleep the little accident i had after the test. i was already on my way home as i perchanced upon a jeepney that wasn't full yet, so i decided to run after the moving jeepney and jump to get a ride. i've done this many times before but this time, however, i didn't count on my dress shoes to be so slippery such that i almost slipped and fell off. it was good that i held on tight to the railing and one of the passengers grabbed on to my hand and pulled me in. in the struggle however, i injured my wrist. somehow, a part of the jeepney over the railing was sharp enough to cut me. it wasn't serious though, but it was in the area where suicidal people cut their wrists. i wasn't thinking straight then, i had the sensation similar to that of being drunk. anyway, i had a short nap, and now i'm back depriving myself of sleep.

Saturday, June 26, 2004

Friendster has changed

the administrators swithched from a jsp format to php. i find no problem in it. it's a bit faster. the problem lies in the fact that it looks uglier now. they shouldn't have tampered with the appearance of each page. the cosmetic make over only made friendster look ugly. they should fix it quikly.

Hungry?

why not take a trip to kusina ni manang?

BDO eyes debt, share issue to fund Equitable Bank buy

it's sounds like the beginning of a plan for BDO to acquire or merge with EPCIbank. if i were an EPCIbank employee, i'd seriously consider looking for a new job while it's early.

Palace to Guingona: Join national healing

first it was Pimentel, then it was Guingona. i don't understand them both. what happened to them? these brilliant minds who portrayed themselves as standing for principles have basically turned themselves into the laughing stock of the nation. perhaps that's the price of standing for their principles, no matter how senseless they are to us. but then again, you had the likes of "rev. atty. ely pamatong" to remind us that fortitude doesn't necessarily equate with sense and sanity.

personally, before the elections, i saw no future for pimentel, but pimentel managed to win and get another whiff of power. in guingona's case, i see no future either, but he might well follow pimentel's footsteps and do something else to make my head hurt. but i do hope that he won't.

i think advance age is catching up with these guys. perhaps they should see a shrink or something. their actions i.e., supporting fpj, simply do not correspond with my idea of sanity. perhaps it's a symptom of something. a sembleance of lucidity may hide something else. who knows? yes, the elections are over, but this is for their own personal welfare. they should see one soon.

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Congress proclaims Gloria Arroyo president

finally!

Funny stuff

a congressman asks if he would consume his 3 minutes. his speech was pointless. it ended with him asking his colleagues to applaud the joint committee. poor old guy.

cong. villarama's giving his explanation. in the background, a young man sleeps in the gallery.

somebody from abs-cbn tested her audio. "nag-mamike test ako. isa, dalawa, tatlo, apat, lima, anim..." yes, girl, your mic's working fine.

the sleeping dude wakes.

the congressman from compostella valley should do stand up comedy. he asked his colleagues who names starts with "Z" to support his resolution that whenever a voting is done, they should be first to do so. his memorable words: "to the new president and vice president, kinakalawang na po ang mga ballot boxes."

golden moments.

My impressions so far

although belonging to the opposition, i think cong. marcos summed up pretty well, in her explanation of her of negative vote, the objective of the opposition. they knew that that pgma's first 3 years in office was under the cloud of doubt as to its legitimacy. now they want to extend the lifespan of this doubt. doubt is a significant factor, nobody should ever underestimate how doubt can warp the truth or a perspective of the truth. that alone can allow these guys to maintain a clawhold on the administration.

anyway, i'm impressed how some congressmen have strongly defended their constituents from allegations of the opposition of cheating. it is interesting to note that they're doing this at 2-3 in the morning where i doubt much of their own constituents would witness their short speeches. the dignity of their provinces and the people they represent, as one congressman from pampanga noted, has been muddied by the opposition.

i, however, find a dawn or early morning proclamation weird to a certain extent. i remember christ's trial which took place at such a period in the day. but then again, it's not a trial, both that of christ and the joint session.

The deliberations of congress continues...

i wonder if they could question the quorum and go home. but i guess they really need to finally finish the canvass.

gee, i actually tuned in right in one of the most momentous moment of history. both houses of congress have adopted the report of the congressional canvessing panel. but the lower house has decided to allow its members to explain their votes. one of akbayan's representatives is registering his vote. so i guess it ain't over yet.

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Random thoughts...

there are products for straight, beautiful hair. why don't they make products for gay, lesbionic hair?

A friend responds to my question in an earlier post:

"Perhaps a form of seizure...Yung flushing and raising of heartbeat, baka aura before the episode"

ADB says high oil prices a manageable risk

Asian nations now shifting from export- to consumption-led growths should also pursue structural reforms to boost their investment climates by improving competitiveness, productivity, and corporate governance. Rising oil prices can even be a "blessing in disguise" if Asian nations implement policies that increase energy efficiency and lower oil consumption, it added.

i think that observation is, to a certain extent, true. but in our case, i think private enterprise should take the initiative in this matter. a crisis could either spell doom or opportunity, and this crisis, in my opinion, reeks of opportunity. imagination however is required to discover the full extent and diversity of opportunities that lurk behind the crisis we face today.

i, for one, am puzzled as to why nobody, either in government or the private sector, has ever publicly considered taking full advantage of the huge natural gas resource we have in malampaya. the current primary consumers of the natural gas taken from malampaya are several power plants using natural gas turbines. i believe that malampaya could directly benefit the filipino consumer if we make use of natural gas in an alternative fashion, i.e., having trucks and buses in the country convert to compressed natural gas engines from diesel. yes, this is possible and in by no means unprecedented, in fact india has shown the way in this regard.
In March 2002, the Supreme Court of India mandated that all buses in the capital of Delhi be converted to run on cleaner-burning compressed natural gas (CNG). As a result, Delhi, the third-largest city in India, currently has the largest natural gas bus fleet in the world, with approximately 7,500 CNG transit and school buses on the road.


along with the economic benefits, the use of natural gas engines will have environmental benefits, performance and maintenance benefits, and others. plus, conversion isn't that expensive.

considering these, the initial costs of conversion would, at the long run, be minimal compared to the benefits. thus i would consider any resistance and/or hesitation to such a program as nonsense.

if such a program was successful, demand for the staple fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel will be reduced significantly and the pressure to maintain high their prices will be lessened as well. this shift in demand for fuel, i hope, would lead further to the reduction of the costs of other goods and services like transport fares.

an ambitious fantasy? perhaps it is, but only until somebody actually turns it into realty, since it is truly feasible, as the indians have shown. this is, however, merely one of the many possible opportunities we should grab at this turning point of our economic history. too bad we still keep on sticking to managing risks rather than taking them head on.

Erection Problems Signal Heart Ills in Diabetics

maybe instead of viagra, wives should buy their husbands insulin or a new heart.

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Dogs can predict epileptic seizures in children

"New Canadian research suggests that your canine friend may be able to predict epileptic seizures in children a few hours in advance. It was found that before a seizure the dog tended to lick the child's face, act in a protective manner or whimper."

interesting news. i've always observed that dogs, though animals, act like they're part of the human family to which they belong and i think they actually take their membership seriously. perhaps this is a remnant of their "wolf-pack" instincts.

i think i'll get a good dog when i start my own family and have it freely roam the house so that it could do its job for my kids. maybe i'll have it trained for other jobs like bomb/weapon sniffing, rescue, security, etc. that would be cool.

too bad muslims can't have them around as pets.

The Portuguese Who Saved Thousands During the War

As a consul in Bordeaux, France, Sousa Mendes saved individuals persecuted by the Nazi regime, giving them Portuguese visas in violation of the neutrality of his government.

Beginning June 16, 1940, Sousa Mendes openly defied his government and began granting visas non-stop to all who came to his consulate until Germany bombed Bordeaux three days later. Most notable among the applicants were several Hapsburgs, members of the Austrian imperial family.

Upon learning the news, Portuguese dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar ordered Sousa Mendes' arrest and trial. Nevertheless, since the dictator kept the borders open, 1 million refugees were eventually able to escape using the route mapped out by Sousa Mendez through Spain.

Stripped from his position as consulate, he and his family fell into disfortune and he eventually died in poverty.

now this guy is a classic hero. he did the right thing but ended up with nothing. it is yet another clear example of why good things are done only by those with courage and heroic determination. cowards would never ever consider what he did for they know exactly what the consequences are.

Plan your own raid

i know, it can't compare to sim and the like, but it does carry its own weight around. it is best suited for nerds out there!

Dressed to kill

nerds would love to blog something like this.

Monday, June 21, 2004

The weirdness never stops

atty. eli pamatong's back, this time he has admitted to the spiking of about a hundred vehicles in EDSA and in other places.

i couldn't find any article profiling him in the internet, but i'm sure that i'm not alone in finding him weird. i think he heads that group that seeks to have the philippines admitted as one of the states of the US. in one occasion, i saw him wearing a traditional islamic head dress whilst wearing a black clerical shirt with the white collar. talk about syncretism! and now i find him making a "protest" by scattering metal spikes to damage motorists' tires in edsa and kennon road. i don't know if he's telling the truth on this matter, but the guy's just plain nuts and thus i think it would be difficult to ascertain how he could be capable of admitting to such acts.

Helping the rich grow richer

the abs-cbn foundation has a project that seeks to "save" the la mesa dam's forest from total destruction.

if you first look at it, the project seems noble and very interesting, but take note of who will eventually benefit from the program, business-wise: maynilad. and who owns maynilad?

yes, it looks like the lopezes and their people have come up with a way of "fixing" many of the damaged goods they inherited from mwss without spending too much. why should they spend billions, in other words, if they could let us "help" them financially, right?

this business strategy ought to be studied and included in business management textbooks.

Sunday, June 20, 2004

Filipina.com

i was shocked to see its contents. it will probably be the first thing foreigners will see once they search for "filipina" in google.

PGMA wins congressional canvass

it was expected from the very beginning. the exit polls, the namfrel count and even the pre-election surveys showed that pgma would likely win the election. with all these, i find it hard why the opposition had to creat doubt on the elections, although their supporters see it the other way. like i've shown before, those people are good at twisting reality. it doesn't really take a rocket scientist to see right through them. these came into mind when i saw this in the article:
"Out of 176 certificates of canvass, Arroyo received 12,905 votes, followed by Fernando Poe Jr. with 11,782,232 votes."
i know, it could've been a typo, but with these people, it's gonna be a big deal...

Saturday, June 19, 2004

A mother's moving story

Tingin ng mga bobong kapitbahay ko puta daw ako. Nagpapagamit, binabayaran. Sabi nila ako daw ang pinakamaganda at pinakasikat sa aming lugar noon. Ang bango-bango ko daw, sariwa at makinis. Di ko nga alam kung sumpa ito, dahil dito naletse ang kinabukasan ko.

Tara makinig ka muna sa kwento ko, yosi muna tayo.

Alam mo, maraming lumapit sa akin, nagkagusto, naakit. Ang hirap pag lahat sa iyo virgin eh. Tinanggap ko naman silang tao, bakit kaya nila ako ginago? Masakit alalahanin, iniisip ko na lang na kase di sila taga rito, siguro talagang ganoon. Tatlong malilibog na foreigners ang namyesta sa katawan ko, na-rape daw ako.

Sa tatlong beses akong nagahasa, ang pinakahuli ang di ko makakalimutan. Parang maski di ko ginusto ang mga nangyari,hinahanap-hanap ko siya. Tinulungan nya kasi akong makalimutan yung mga sadistang Hapon at Castilla. Kase, ibang-iba ang hagod niya. Umiikot ang mundo ko sa tuwing ginagamit niya ako. Ibang klase siya mag-sorry, lalo pa at kinupkop niya ako at ang mga naging anak ko.

Parating ang dami naming regalo - may chocolates, yosi, ano ka! May datung pa! Nakakabaliw siya, alam kong ginagamit nya lang ako pero pagamit naman ako nang pagamit. Sa kanya namin natutunan mag-inggles, di lang magsulat ha! Magbasa pa! Hanggang ngayon, sa tuwing mabigat ang problema ko, siya ang tinatakbuhan ko. 'Yun nga lang, lahat ng bagay may kapalit. Nung kinasama ko siya, guminhawa buhay namin. Sosyal na sosyal kami.

Ewan ko nga ba, akala ko napapamahal na ako sa kanya. Akala ko tuloy-tuloy na kaligayahan namin, yun pala unti-unti niya akong pinapatay. P*** ng I**! Sa dami ng lason na sinaksak niya sa katawan ko, muntik na akong malaspag. Ang daming nagsabi na ang tanga tanga ko. Patalsikin ko na daw. Sa tulong ng mga anak ko, napalayas ko ang animal pero ang hirap magsimula. Masyado na kaming nasanay sa sarap ng buhay na naranasan namin sa kanya. Lubog na lubog pa kami sa utang, kulang ata pati kaluluwa namin para ibayad sa mga inutang namin.

Sinikap naming lahat maging maganda ang buhay namin. Ayun, mga nasa Japan, Hong Kong, Saudi ang mga anak ko. Yung iba nag-US, Europe. 'Yung iba ayaw umalis sa akin. Halos lahat, wala naman silbi, masaya daw sa piling ko, maski amoy usok ako.

Sa dami ng mga anak ko na nagsisikap na tulungan ang kalagayan namin, siya din ang dami ng mga anak ko na namamantala sa kabuhayan at kayaman na itinatabi ko para sa punyetang kinabukasan naming lahat. Dumating ang panahon na di na kami halos makaahon sa hirap ng buhay. Napakahirap dahil nasanay na kami sa ginhawa at sarap.

Ang di ko inaakala ay mismong mga anak ko, ang tuluyang sisira sa akin. Napakasakit tanggapin na malinlang. Akala ko ay makakakita ako ng magiging kasama sa buhay sa mga ahas na ipinakilala ng mga anak ko Hindi pala.

Ang tanga ko talaga. Binugaw ako ng sarili kong mga anak kapalit ng kwarta at pansamantalang ginhawa na nais nilang matamasa.

Wala na akong nagawa dahil sa sobrang pagmamahal ko sa aking mga anak. Wala akong ibang yaman kundi ganda ko. Pinagamit ko na lang ng pinagamit ang sarili ko, basta maginhawa lang ang mga anak ko.

Usap-usapan ako ng mga kapitbahay ko. May nanghihinayang, namumuhi at naaawa. Puta na kase ang isang magandang tulad ko.

Alam mo, gusto ko na sanang tumigil sa pagpuputa kaso ang laki talaga ng letseng utang ko eh. Palaki pa ng palaki. Kulang na kulang. Paano na lang ang mga anak ko naiwan sa aking punyetang
puder? Baka di na ako balikan o bisitahin ng mga nag-abroad kong mga anak.

Hindi na importante kung laspagin man ang ganda ko, madama ko lang ang pagmamahal ng mga anak ko. Malaman nila na gagawin ko ang lahat para sa kanila.

Sa tuwing titingin ako sa salamin, alam ko maganda pa rin ako. Meron pa din ang bilib sa akin. Napapag usapan pa din. Sa tuwing nakikita ko ang mukha ko sa salamin, nakikita ko ang mga anak ko. Tutulo na lang ang mga luha ko ng di ko namamalayan. Ang gagaling nga ng mga anak ko, namamayagpag kahit saan sila pumunta. Mahusay a kahit anong gawin. Tama man o mali. Proud ako sa kanila. Kaso sila, kabaligtaran ang nararamdaman para sa akin.

Sa dami ng mga anak ko, iilan lang ang may malasakit sa akin. May malasakit man, nahihilaw. Ni di nga ako kinikilalang ina. Halos lahat sila galit sa isa't isa. Walang gusto magtulungan, naghihilahan pa. Ang dami ko ng pasakit na tiniis pero walang sasakit pa nung sarili kong mga anak ang nagbugaw sa akin. Kinapital ang laspag na ganda ko. Masyado silang nasanay sa sarap ng buhay. Minsan sa pagtingin ko sa salamin, ni hindi ko na nga kilala sarili ko.

Dadating na naman ang pasko, sana maalala naman ako ng mga anak ko. Isang buwan pa, magbabagong taon na. Natatakot ako sa taong darating. Ngayon pa lang usap usapan na ang susunod na pagbubugaw ng ilan sa mga anak ko. Sana may magtanggol naman sa akin, ipaglaban naman nila ako. Gusto kong isigaw: "INA NINYO AKO! MAHALIN NYO NAMAN AKO!"

Sige, dumadrama na ako. Masisira na ang make up ko nito eh. Salamat ha, pinakinggan mo ako. Ay sorry, di ko nasabi pangalan ko.

Pilipinas nga pala.

a friend emailed it to me. i wanted to post an english translation of it but my translation skills are sorely lacking.

Got a lighter?

it was the 3rd day into EDSA Dos. it was hot and i decided to stand by the UP Masscom tent to shelter myself from the sun's over-generous outpouring of light and heat that day. i was alone. in between the speeches and the entertainment on the shrine's stage, i found myself staring at the girls in the UP tent. they weren't exactly hot, gorgeous chicks, but they were making up for it with their clothing.

i'm an introvert, so, although i was in a good position to make new "friends" from UP masscom, i could never bring myself to initiate any preliminary connection with these people.

something unexpected, however, happened. one of the girls approached me. damn! did she finally see how cute i was [hehehehe]? nope. she asked, "got a lighter?" darn! they initiated contact, but all i could do in front of the girl was stand silently and move my head sideways. darn! opportunity wasted. i wanted to hit my head right there and then but i feared attracting attention to that unsual reaction of mine, especially from the girls. who knows, they might initiate contact again.

anyway, i learned a valuable lesson that day: always bring a lighter! and so i did buy one and always brought it everyday, even if i didn't smoke. however, that habit ended after only a few months when i lost that same lighter because my cousin borrowed it and never returned it. i didn't buy another one.

last night, i wanted to pound myself on the head again. i was wandering around greenbelt again, waiting for the friend who would treat me for that drink i posted below. i was taking that descending escalator near power books, when something unexpected happened. a hot, caucasian girl was suddenly on my side. she was holding a cigarette, and she promptly asked me if i had a lighter!! again, as it was with the masscom people in EDSA, all i could do was say "sorry, i don't."

where's that lighter when i needed it?

Friday, June 18, 2004

I'm drunk

i had some beer with a friend tonight. he's a guy by the way. he owed me a treat (libre) for some stuff i offered him. i had 2 stallions, and they were enough to put me in this state. it's been a while since i had alcohol rushing through my veins and my cerebral cortex.

anyway, i had a good reason for drinking, i was celebrating! i actually fixed my server's main program even without my programmer. this is a big deal for a guy who finished finance and never touched visual basic until this day. in fact, one of my cousins said that i had no business with programming because i never took it up in school. only a few hours later, i proved him wrong, although i'm not sure if he knew of my accomplishmen that day. haven't these people learned never to underestimate me? i have proven them wrong over and over again. are they that dumb?

Thursday, June 17, 2004

I was humming an old, familiar tune whilst surfing...

then it rained...

A "Private" blog -- part 2

verlaine commented on my post below. i tried to post my own comment but haloscan wouldn't accept it 'cause it exceeded 1000 characters or something. anyway, here's my post:

i have to disagree. Blogger, big B or any blog host/provider for that matter, merely gives the blogger, small b, or the writer, the option to have his blog listed (public) or not (private). the listing kinda works like a directory or perhaps an advertisement/notice that such a blog exists. even if that blog is private or not listed, any stranger could still have a look at it either by serendipity or coming across the blog's address by other means.

my point is that the option the blog host gives making a blog "public" is not the same as blogs' public nature that i am referring to. Blogger, big B, and i differ in defining the term "public."

publishing, either on the internet or through traditional means, entails that something is brought into public consumption. the blog, being a published work on the internet, is by its very nature public. but i don't mean that everything on the internet if for public use. that's why security protocols are placed when a site is meant to be private, only those people concerned with the same will be able to access it. thus, for example, my email account is private even though i access it over the internet. the same is true for services like the yahoo briefcase and for online transactions. if your blog does not have anything that would resemble such protocols, then it is public.

it's like this. imagine that a person wrote an exceptionally beautiful poem in her diary/journal. this is obviously a private thing, nobody else but the poet/author and those to whom she reveals the poem will know of its existence. but suppose the poet/author decided to send it to a bi-monthly magazine that doesn't exactly have a wide audience (like a school paper for example), hoping that the editor would love the poem and have it published, whilst also hoping that the poem will only be enjoyed by the few remaining subscribers of the ailing magazine, all just for the sake of satisfying some urge to have it published without making waves or bringing attention to herself. is the poem then in the public domain even if the circulation of the magazine would be less than a hundred? yes, it would be. the same is true for a blog. if the poet, having a copy of that magazine in which her poem is published, decided not to share that copy with anyone else, would that make her poem private again? no, it doesn't, it is still public. the same is true for a blog.

when a blogger updates his blog, he re-publishes it. the word publish here is not an empty word. the word published denotes an act which makes something available to the public. in the case of the blog, the bloggers thoughts and writings are published and made available for the public. thus, a blog, by its very nature, is public.

A "Private" blog

i encountered recently a blogger who claims that her blog was a "private" blog and that she preferred not to share her blog's address with me so that i could view its contents. isn't private blog an oxymoron? blogs by their nature are supposed to be public. when we blog, we "publish" the contents of our blog on the internet and publication entails making them and our thoughts along with them available to the public for review and scrutiny. why then should one blog if one does not want the contents of that blog known to the public?

i'm sure there are bloggers out there who want to keep their viewership limited and restricted to people known to them. but unless they put security features, their blogs ought to be available to all who can and wish to view them. although i respect that blogger's wish not to allow me to read her blog, i found her excuse weak, something i could at least critisize.

High-stakes gambling invades private schools

although i find this addiction revolting, i can't help myself having some admiration for those student-bookies. imagine getting into a lucrative "business" at such an early age.

anyway, the solution there is fairly simple. syndicate or not, gambling operations in schools will only happen when a bookie is around to facilitate it. all the school has to do is crush the serpent's head, i.e., imposing disciplinary action on student-bookies even to the extent of having them expelled so that they won't be able to do their activities in other schools, and the rest will follow. however, for this to happen, school administrators ought to be aware that such things are indeed taking place among their students, so it is the job of parents and students to inform them about it.

threats from "syndicates" shouldn't even count. the school should remember that they are bigger than those people and that they shouldn't be manipulated and pushed around by the small devils. they should be more concerned with their students than with threats of reprisals from syndicates. the law and everything and everyone else are on the side of the school on this problem, standing up for the right thing will shock these criminals into submission.

yes, it is that simple. i can't understand, however, why the bookies are still in their schools.

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Sweeping and stupid

read it for yourself. it's another rehashed collection of old lies and half-truths.

dude, if you want to attack the church, try hitting the real church, not a phantom that you concucted in your silly head and which you eventually called church.

Fourth World Elections

It is more than a month now since your May 11 election! It is very embarrassing! The people in charge, including your Congress are inutile. There is a lot of pussyfooting and what we cannot understand. The Philippines is the only country in the world with such a kind of record. I hear that the Philippines is a Third World developing country. I should say not. You have retrogressed to a Fourth World underdeveloped country.

i disagree. this is just democracy at work, filipino style.

Another Leftist youth dreaming of her socialist utopia

the University of the Philippines: the breeding ground of sedition and insurgency.

Pimentel makes ABS-CBN reporter cry

i couldn't blame pimentel for this. he was definitely within his rights, especially when a media person becomes annoying, as abs-cbn reporters tend to be insensitive, disrespectful and haughty in their interviews. i couldn't, however, understand how our courageous and worthy "patrol ng bayan" could be so onion-skinned. i wish it happened to doris bigornia or korina sanchez instead, for i would definitely enjoy seeing them weeping in utter humiliation. i would certainly praise pimentel for that and shout his marvelous deed on rooftops.

The Perpetual Malcontent

yes, i've finally decided to change the blog's title. having discovered that someone else had thought of using audi alteram partem as a blog title, i've felt uncomfortable using it. plus, uniqueness and originality matter to me.

this is the 2nd time for me to change titles. i started with up, up & everywhere, something that just floated into me whilst staring at the blank space after "blog title." it had no specific meaning or reason for being chosen. then, i found audi in a dictionary and thought it might be a cool blog title. it soon became apparent that it was a lame decision on my part.

and now, this blog is called the perpetual malcontent, somewhat a brief description of what i believe myself to be. i hope this title sticks. but being a perpetual malcontent, i can't bring myself to believe it.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Fried chicken

if you have taken the MRT lately, you may have caught a glimpse of the latest billboard from max's restaurant along EDSA. it features local heartthrob piolo pascual holding a chicken's wish bone whilst staring (or should i say contemplating?) at it intently.

questions:
1) do wish bones come as white as the one he's holding? it looks bleached, as if fresh from the laboratory. has any of you taken out a chicken's wish bone and found it as white as piolo's? his carries no trace of the various tendons and veins that you would expect from a newly devoured bird.

2) who finds wish bones romantic, or at least arousing deep, intense memories of romances gone by? why not chicken legs (adidas) or their guts? would the wish bone be as "romantic" and "evocative" if it weren't as white as it is, as i have pointed out above?

3) am i the only one who finds the ad a bit amusing?

i think this ad is max's response to a similar ad released by KFC. i, however, prefer kfc's ad. i was moved by it, especially the long version presented in myx. i felt all mushy inside... hehehe... i never knew fried chicken could be so romantic.

'The Culture of Death' Taught In Saudi Schools

from memri via jihad watch

is it any wonder then that violence and terrorism is a staple of their culture? ok, sure, parents and teachers are protesting against it, but they only represent a tiny minority. the greater majority and the gov't, on the other hand, are willingly ignoring and tolerating it in their schools.

one shoud not be surprised then, if some saudis proudly issue statements like these:

"As soon as we entered, we encountered the car of a Briton, the investment director of the company, whom Allah had sent to his death. He is the one whose mobile phone on the seat of his car, with the blood on it, they kept showing [on television]. We left him in the street."

"The infidel's clothing was torn to shreds, and he was naked in the street. The street was full of people, as this was during work hours, and everyone watched the infidel being dragged, praise and gratitude be to Allah."

"We entered one of the companies' [offices], and found there an American infidel who looked like a director of one of the companies. I went into his office and called him. When he turned to me, I shot him in the head, and his head exploded. We entered another office and found one infidel from South Africa, and our brother Hussein slit his throat. We asked Allah to accept [these acts of devotion] from us, and from him. This was the South African infidel."

"At the same time, we found a Swedish infidel. Brother Nimr cut off his head, and put it at the gate [of the building] so that it would be seen by all those entering and exiting."

"We began to comb the site looking for infidels. We found Filipino Christians. We cut their throats and dedicated them to our brothers the Mujahideen in the Philippines. [Likewise], we found Hindu engineers and we cut their throats too, Allah be praised. That same day, we purged Muhammad's land of many Christians and polytheists."

yep, they did it because they were oppressed and under attack. it had nothing to do with islam or the culture of death they support at all. filipinos workers, who are vital components of their economy, are simply there to infiltrate the land of muhammad and defile it with their breathing. who knows what kind of depravity, disease or death these kafir workers would've spread in the kingdom if our heroes didn't come to stop them? praise be to our heroes, the jihadists!

The proposed tax on texting

methinks the government is wearing the economist's hat on this issue. i understand that it is operating on the (proven?) assumption that demand for texting is inelastic. demand elasticity by the way is an economic measurement that determines whether changes in price/cost of a product would greatly affect the demand for the same product. demand inelasticity means the demand will not be significantly affected by increases in price brought about by something like the proposed tax. although i think there will be no nominal price increase, the relative reduction of the quantity of the goods bought at the same price will have the same net effect.

i faced the same problem in a quiz i had when i took up my introduction to economics class. the problem stated basically the same things we're seeing now: the government's need to raise funds, a product that happens to be a staple item for the filipino people, and the dilemma to take the course of imposing taxes. however, the product in our quiz was rice, and we were asked whether it would impose taxes on rice to raise funds. i answered that, from an economic view, demand for rice would be inelastic and thus imposing a tax on it would be best way to raise money. most of my classmates, however, took the political approach and argued that it would be bad and unhelpful for the poor, thus they would oppose imposing taxes on a staple commodity. they retook the test and i had a perfect score.

no, i don't support imposing a tax on texting. i, like millions of others, am a frequent texter, and i do find an unavoidable need for it. but i do understand how the administration is looking at it. so my perspective completely differs from that of the writer who probably, is starting from a premise that the administration is out trying to be tyrannical, and everything it does is aimed at doing every conceivable harm to the people. he is perhaps unmindful of the fact that we have an economist on the helm of government, and that she and her advisors are looking at the picture with the economist's glasses. i guess if he were in my intreco class, he would be retaking the quiz as well. my point is that these are economists trying to solve a problem they know too well, and not politicians trying to be win the approval of their constituents.

Monday, June 14, 2004

What if you were cheated by a pirate?

it would be tough to run after them, the law would consider your transaction illegal and the contract would've been void or unenforceable at the very least. so think twice before getting into one.

Govt to absorb Napocor debts

i guess the time for this would come sooner or later, i just wondered why i didn't come sooner rather than later, especially during a period when things aren't going well for the country.

i think the gov't should abolish the napocor and establish a new power company in its place, similar to the replacement of the old central bank with the bangko sentral, i.e., begin with a clean slate.

i however oppose having it privatized, who knows how high we'll find the power rates here in the philippines, rates that are among the highest in asia.

Fare hike!

i just realized today how significant the P1.50 fare hike is and how it could easily eat up the little change that's left clinging to my pocket. i was definitely unprepared for it. inflationary forces are again at work to make my life miserable. i guess one should expect it in a free market economy, the state having relinquished its power to regulate the prices of basic commodities.

but i do wonder why the increase had to be a sudden hike of P1.50 rather than historical increases of 50 cents. was the fuel hike that bad? isn't saudi going to increase its output? and if the prices rollback, will the fare go as well? i doubt it. i actually remember paying P2 for a jeepney ride way back in the early 1990's, and fretting over the 50 cent increase, which took place because of the gulf war i think. i thought it was a temporary arrangement and once the world returns to stability, the old 2 peso fare would return. a decade later, it hasn't. but a P1.50 increase is just too much, especially for a stingy guy like me.

Sunday, June 13, 2004

Did Rizal like chubby girls?

(Update [30 November 2007]: Doing research on Rizal or Philippine history? Go here.)

a few months ago, i was asked to write a paper about the origins of rizal's thoughts, and during my research, i came across a line in an english translation of his novel Noli where he described maria clara as having "flabby" arms, or something to that effect. this came to me as a big surprise because prior to this discovery, whenever maria clara is mentioned, i would picture her being what i believed to be the perfect mestiza filipina, slim, sexy, tall, beautiful and definitely not having "flabby" arms. flabby arms connote a fat body of sorts, which is basically the opposite of what i imagine her to be. but then again, i'm applying a modern perspective in reading into rizal's thoughts and writings, which may obviously and significantly vary from his own and his time. i do think that rizal preferred chubby chicks, i mean just take a look at josephine bracken:

Nene to filibuster again?

i won't mind him filibustering again. it will obviously be an annoying, grueling and mind numbing waste of time, but i don't care. i could easily swith the tv to another channel anyway. he will only succeed in discrediting the very side he's trying to "defend." his efforts will only alienate and anger the majority of the people who simply want the job done.

Want to avoid breast cancer?

have plenty of babies:

"Having fewer children and not breastfeeding have both been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer."

this might be a great and practical way of avoiding it, but one could never discount the difficulties of achieving financial stability in our country these days. planning for a large family will involve greater personal sacrifices from each parent as well.

on a larger scale, however, our society is beginning to make having large families difficult. every sector of the philippine intelligentsia, as often, blindly follows the western trends and makes every effort to promote an "anti-children" policy among couples and families. just see how this same policy has managed to obliterate the population in europe. i must confess that i am inclined to such views myself, but i've felt that the neo-malthusian view of the our population and economics has been overplayed and exaggerated, especially by our clueless media.

Dude, we're like being oppressed and stuff

so "(We) reserve the legitimate right to deal with the Americans in the same way to avenge what the Americans did to our brothers in (Baghdad's) Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo"

but when christians are oppressed and tortured, you don't see them running around killing non-christians and eating their hearts to avenge their co-religionists. something is indeed fundamentally wrong with islam...

Saturday, June 12, 2004

A church was petrol-bombed in indonesia

(via jihad watch)

an average reader would conclude that this was a another atrocity against christians. but see how a muslim saw it:

The key point here is that the Christian churches were "unauthorized". Under Islamic law, existing churches may be maintained and repaired, as approved by the state, but they may not be enlarged or "improved", nor may new Christian churches be constructed. It is, of course, unlawful for any non-Islamic symbols (e.g., crosses or Catholic idols) to be visable outside the church. "Services" and prayers must also be inaudible outside the structure so as not to give offense to Muslims.

These minor limitations on Christian activities are obviously not oppressive and are typical of the compassion and tolerance shown toward deviant sects in Islamic countries. The ersatz "churches" were destroyed by citizens who were understandably offended and enraged by the lawlessness of the Christians who built them. The responsibility for the firebombings rests therefore on the Christians, not on the Muslims who were acting in defense of their culture and beliefs.

Until the nonbelievers cease oppressing Muslims and offending their honor and dignity, peace will be impossible.

Allahu akbar


Posted by Reza at June 10, 2004 06:56 AM

as other commenters on the site have observed, indonesia isn't an islamic country per se, but a nation with a secular constitution that guarantees freedom of worship, although it has a sizeable muslim majority, the largest in the world. so reza is definitely wrong in invoking "islamic law" to justify the bombing. however, that matter is trivial compared to how this guy managed to turn the table around and make this obvious crime against christians as a legitimate reaction of "oppress[ed] muslims" whose honor and dignity christians "offended." riiigghttt... i think the mere fact that christians breathe will offend this guy.

Independence Day:

the best time to remember that the person responsible for our country is the person on the mirror.

Friday, June 11, 2004

I haven't seen Troy

but if you have seen it and loved it, then perhaps you would love its Fifteen Minute Version. (via the old oligarch)

Miriam says: Gag the filibuster!

I say: give him more rope to hang himself...

Back to the congressional canvass

listen to rep. gonzalez as he reads the number of votes each candidate got. don't you almost feel like shouting "BINGO!"?

Last Wednesday...

... i found myself wandering in greenbelt park. after walking for such a long period, i felt thirsty and so i decided to go to G4 where i could get a free glass of water. as i was walking by the greenbelt chapel, i halted immediately when i chanced upon ms. gayatgay with 3 guys seated on one of the short steps along the path i was taking. i later discovered that ms. gayatgay acted like some sort of walking fly-paper catching bosconians as they passed by. i was the 4th bosconian she caught in that area.

gayatgay, being a religious person, asked us we if we still went to mass on sundays. i declared that i've become a skeptic and thus sunday mass was no longer in my weekly schedule, although i think i surprised her more when i told her that i was appalled to see "liturgical dance" in the main mass in celebration of the golden jubillee of don bosco makati. she rebutted that such things are already acceptable practices, using the often used "spirit of vatican II" excuse. i would have loved telling her more about the things i've read about how the liturgy has been abused and vandalized because of "vatican II" although not even a single letter of endorsement of such "accepted practices" appears on any of the documents on the liturgy that were prepared during and after the council. there are, however, instructions from rome that condemn grave abuses of the liturgy, like "liturgical dance."

anyway, i was reminded of this particular encounter when i found today this article about Improving the Liturgy, which runs contrary to the current thoughts on the liturgy and asks catholics to reconnect to the ancient ways the liturgy has been celebrated. i like the article, i would love sending it to the various "tv sunday mass ministries" who display sunday after sunday the very manner of celebration of the liturgy that has driven many catholics from the church.

yes, i'm still a skeptic (not for the flimsiest reasons, mind you), but i like still like the church's liturgy. i discovered the beauty of the liturgy during my freshman year in high school, and my appreciation for it hasn't diminished but has, in fact, grown. now if i can only find the most fundamental reason and purpose behind it...

Thursday, June 10, 2004

By the way, honey is:

"nectar that bees have repeatedly regurgitated and dehydrated"


please take note of the synonyms of regurgitate.

Sweet medicine

i would gladly have it anytime...

Here's how I see things:

Situation: erasures appear on the COCs
Opposition: "due to the presence of erasures, alterations, and the like upon the face of the COC, we question the authencity of the said COC. the absence of the specimen signatures of the other members of the board of canvassers and their respective thumbmarks likewise make the said COC and its contents questionable..."

Situation: the COC is clean and appears to be free of any erasures or alterations
Opposition:"that COC is very suspicious. it is obviously a fabrication of "dagdag-bawas" goons of the government. these people try their best to make such tampered COCs look clean, taking great effort to hide obvious signs of fixing the COCs..."

"for the unbeliever, no amount of evidence will satisfy..."

Couldn't post last night

there was something wrong with blogger last night. all my attempts at posting led to failure. so i lost the drive and momentum to come up with the usual stuff, and went to bed instead...

The only way to die...

i think this italian showed perhaps the best antidote to the jihadist poison: real martydom. the only reason these murderous thugs are still pursuing their terroristic actions is because their victims cower with fear and terror whenever jihadists blow up trains or when they behead their victims. if all of us show and prove to these monsters that we don't fear death, although we do not seek it, and that we are capable of a dignified and courageous death, then the table would've turned and they instead will surely be terrified when they stare at REAL MARTYRDOM because it will reveal how their sissy, undignified, suicides can be so pathetic.

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

The threat of Jihad

Islam is unique among world religions in having a doctrine, theology and law mandating violence against unbelievers. The Prophet Muhammad himself directed: "Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war...."

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

ANC's carmina constantino: truth is relative

is she another subscriber of the false relativist philosophy that has been wrecking american society, or is she "just saying it?" these people are not thinking, they don't weigh and balance their words. little statements like that aren't ignored by viewers. some actually listen and believe them, even if they come from the mouths of "journalists" who at best, have questionable intelligence. how do these people get on tv???

Correction...

it's atty. pizania, betty pizania.

I'm watching the canvassing...

pimentel was in the middle of a very exciting interpelation of atty. pisanya, the comelec officer in charge of the local absentee voters. he bluntly asked her if she deliberately "fixed" the amended documents representing the actual number of absentee voters to accomodate the votes that exceeded the number of voters indicated in the prior document. the comelec officer was about to answer when ANC interrupted. dammit! i wanted to hear how she would answer pimentel's answer. ANC instead had an interview with rep. ruy lopez of davao regarding the supreme court's dismissal of his petition to nullify the rules governing the committee canvassing.

ok, we're back. pimentel still owns the floor. rep. paras wants to ask something but the chair sticks to his previous ruling. anyway, pisanya once again asserts that the amendments were made to rectify the errors, and had no intention of helping pgma...

what am i seeing here... a walk out of the public/people from the gallery??? "tama na ang daldalan, umpisahan na ang bilangan..." another direct reaction of the public...

strange things happen on tv when i'm blogging...

Philippine politics has mutated into a virtual 2 party system

i like it.

There he goes again...

i'm watching the congressional canvass on ANC. sen. pimentel is still tagging the line that massive cheating took place in the election and their aim in delaying the procedure is to ferret out the truth behind the elections. a little outburst between the house co-chairman gonzalez and sen. pimentel took place, gonzalez clearly pissed by pimentel. and now i discover that all the 6 hour debate, as mentioned by sen. pangilinan, was triggered by some "anomaly" on ONE (1), SINGLE ballot box.

ok, sure, they do have the right to question every single certificate, but would they do so if it appeared that the same certificate showed that FPJ was the leading candidate?

there is a filipino proverb that says that "the hardest person to wake is one who is pretending to sleep." so in the same vein, i guess that the person hardest to convince that he lost, is one who pretends he won.

ps: the chair has ruled that pimentel can talk until "kingdom come" or, as pimentel noted, "til doomsday." pimentel the filibuster...

I will not comment...

but i urge you to read it with an open mind, read it from start to finish without stopping.

Random question...

do all modern US presidents own ranches?

Jihadist supporter: TAKE NO PRISONERS!!!

the guy gives the reasons from islamic theology why jihadists ought to just kill all kafirs in their jihad operations rather than taking hostages or prisoners.

so one should beware if a muslim teacher tells you that taking hostages/prisoners is against islam. it might be an equivocal statement, he may actually mean that jihadists should kill all the non-muslims they encounter.

The Jihadists sez:

"We had planned to detonate an explosive-laden truck inside the compound, but because entering the compound was so easy there was no need. We entered the compound, checked the identities of the occupants, spotted a Swede, then Nimr cut his throat. We left the body at the main gate for others to see. We killed Filipinos and Hindus. We went to the hotel on the compound, ate breakfast in the restaurant and rested. We then entered the first floor and killed more Hindus. We are all well and will continue with such operations."

Yep, all in a day's work for our fearless heroes...

For those among you with a background or education in medicine:

please read the following account written by an ancient chronicler of a person supposedly receiving divine revelation. based on this account, please make your diagnosis and determine if that person is clearling suffering from a known disease (assuming of course that he is not faking) and to which disease/s those symptoms can be attributed. please take note of the fact that it was written by an ancient writer:

he would hear ringing in his ears; his heart would beat rapidly; his face turn red; his breathing labored; he would fall to the gound or lie down; he would shake; his eyes would open wide; his lips tremble; spit drool from the corners of his mouth; he would sweat profusely; he saw and heard things no one else ever saw or heard; he would sometimes make a snoring noise like that of a camel

Monday, June 07, 2004

J-Lo Reportedly Marries Singer Marc Anthony

and they call that news?
"the reported marriage comes less than a week after Anthony was granted a quickie divorce in the Dominican Republic from his wife of four years, Dayanara Torres, a former Miss Universe."

i knew dayanara made a mistake marrying that guy. anyway, i couldn't imagine how one could divorce a "miss universe." yes, i'm being naive, but do realize that a normal guy would worship a girl like her and would consider himself ultra-blessed if he could be her boyfriend, let alone be her husband. but then again, those people aren't really so normal...

Daily life in Saudi

it would be worse if you happen to be a christian

Sunday, June 06, 2004

The Church of Spongebob

in these hard, desperate times, enlightenment will come only when we seek it in the right places and for the right reasons. the church of spongebob offers the burdened soul the rest it seeks, and the afflicted, comfort. come and despair not, for the oasis of spirituality awaits all that seek it...

Just coincidence?

reagan dies today...

...and the pope, in his june 4th address at pres. bush's visit in rome, sends his "regards to President Reagan and to Mrs. Reagan, who is so attentive to him in his illness..."

...and the rerun of a saturday night live episode from the '80s at ETC today featured a skit where reagan gets a visit from sammy davis, jr. at the white house...

creepy...

Ronald Reagan, 93

More of the clueless media

While the Philippines has a low incidence of AIDS-a fact that has left international health experts wondering how low condom use and low AIDS incidence could exist in the same environment-Human Rights Watch fears that the Arroyo administration has "stood in the way of aggressive HIV prevention strategies by, among other things, failing to support comprehensive reproductive health legislation that would expand access to condoms." The Department of Health said the country has only 2,009 HIV cases over the past 20 years, including 645 cases that developed into AIDS, a low rate in a country of 80 million.

gee, the philippines has a low incidence of aids because of non-condom use, so we better make condoms available so that more people will have the opportunity of acquiring such a fabulous disease!

the media is highly critical of the philippine government and of the church, but they could never find any fault with the so-called sexperts from those international agencies even if their bungling methods of spreading the use of condoms has actually increased the pervalence of aids elsewhere rather than reducing them. nope, the Church is always wrong and the pro-condom lobby is always right! see how smart they look when they say that! it makes them oh so sophisticated...

The Media confirms my opinion about TV power

strange, it seems some reporters do have some clues about their power after all, not such a monolithic organization i guess. but then again, i don't like them as a group, monolith or not, because after all the evidence they themselves gather (here and here), they hardly put a grave critique about them and how they are prone to abuse. they pursue an unwritten policy of keeping the status quo. what else would they do? would they allow themselves to lose power and influence?

Saturday, June 05, 2004

Separated at birth?



verlaine agrees with my opinion regarding the journalistic garbage doris bigornia and abs-cbn have been presenting as authentic journalism. i could not imagine, however, even in the minutest manner that verlaine would be able to defend bigornia and her company. anyway, one should realize that abs-cbn (i.e. channel 2) has taken the path towards "dumbing down" its programming to be more attuned to the taste of the common folk/masses. programs that were considered high-brow were divested and/or spinned off to its subsidiaries like ANC (abs-cbn news channel) and studio 23. so the only good news is that these programs and their good anchors can be found in ANC, and they didn't eliminate them totally. on the other hand, most of those who count themselves among the "masa" don't have access to cable and therefore ANC.

but one must remember that abs-cbn is not alone in propagating journalistic garbage on our tv screens. its main rival, gma, is also guilty. i, however, rarely watch gma (channel 7). but i do remember why i quit watching their news programs. several years ago, a certain cong. jovito claudio suffered a heart attack at the floor in lower house of congress. much controversy surrounded this story since the congressman was a doctor. he was also my godfather and personal physician. anyway, a reporter from gma, susan enriquez tried to get an interview with claudio but his daughter denied them the interview because he was still recovering from the heart attack. instead of trying to be considerate and respecting the wishes of claudio's family, enriquez and her crew forced their way inside the home of claudio. an altercation between enriquez and claudio's daughter followed immediately, the daughter wanting enriquez to leave their home. however, the event was presented in the evening news, with enriquez giving her perspective exclusively, painting a very bad picture of claudio's family, when in fact, she was clearly wrong for imposing her "journalistic freedom" down the throat of the grieving family.

so it is therefore difficult to distinguish the garabage from enriquez and that from bigornia, just look at their pictures! similarly, abs-cbn and gma rubbish are also homogenous.

my fear is that media organizations have become too powerful in this country. individuals within these media organizations are prone to abuse this influence they have over the public. self-regulation by the KBP doesn't do much anymore, since their punishment/sanctions only take place after the fact and the big organizations aren't threatened by the sanctions which often are usually slaps on the wrists. so, as is often the case, many media personalities tend to ignore their own policies. i do actually think that the the media's power and influence ought to be curbed. i would gladly support any person or group advocating such action. verlaine, please start one soon.

The Purpose Driven Drivel

i found another utterly clueless reporter writing another article showing off how incredibly clueless she is. unable to tolerate such idiocy, i decided to email her employers about it:

I don't understand the purpose behind the article "‘Purpose driven’ passion" written by Mylah Reyes Roque. I can't find a good reason why the Catholic Church has to be dragged into the discussion about another fad in the Evangelical/born-again churches without uncharitably considering that the author has a malicious agenda behind it. I mean, does the author actually think that the Catholic Church needs to officially (or even unofficially) react to every fad that comes from evangelical/born-again churches? Or is she just another utterly clueless reporter trying to explore a deeper but non-existent angle on a story? If you want to see how Catholics react to such christian fads, you should take a look at the following site.

once again, in such matters, i defer to the greater wisdom of the curt jester, jeff miller. i mean, which book would you prefer for real, solid christianity?

or

I learned something new:

Aramaic is an ancient language with a history of its own and is not derived from Hebrew

another item with which to rethink everything i thought i knew.

by the way, this reminded me of something. for the folks to whom i made my belief known that the gospels were originally written in greek, i must make a trivial item known, something that might actually overturn this theory of mine. i once heard a biblical scholar, who was giving free public lectures on the new testament, declare that the sayings and parables of christ were so easily remembered by his followers because when they were originally given in aramaic, they were actually lyrical and rhyming. so i guess, for example, the folks who were originally listening to christ relating the story of the good samaritan would've been humming it and the parable would've been easier to transmit orally to other believers because it was "fun" to memorize. in a contemporary setting, it would be like christ telling the parable to the tune or rhytmic structure of "leron, leron sinta."

again, i could be wrongly interpreting those things. i welcome your clashing views in my comment box below.

Friday, June 04, 2004

Saudi Police Torture Indian Catholic for His Faith

"the pakistanis can't have all the fun" abu al-hakim told reporters. "we too are familiar and competent with various forms of torture. but you guys don't have to worry about anything at all. we only torture christians, it's no big deal. besides, we're only protecting islam from the infidel menace" the smiling mutawa officer declared.

Democracy at work

new controversy erupted at the house when a congressman decided to do the menial job of carrying the ballot boxes for their opening by the canvassing committee. some congressmen were taken affront by this. the congressman in question was the representative from compostela valley, a maverick in his own right. his purpose for doing such a "ghastly" act: to keep himself awake during the long, boring speeches of some of his colleagues.

Muslim feminists

i saw yvette novenario interiewing 2 muslim feminists over at ANC. i couldn't help but chuckle when i once again witnessed unedited ignorance by the media. at first i thought novenario had a minor problem with pronouncing the "mic" syllable in the phrase "islamic religion." but then she used the term "islam religion" in front of the malaysian and indonesian ladies over and over again. no she didn't have a speech impediment. she must've been allergic to the "ic" suffix or something. somebody should tell her that suffixes are her friends, they help and do not bite...

anyway, back to the real point of my post. one of the interviewees, a project director of a women's movement in malaysia, talked about a method of interpreting the qur'an through "contextualization" as opposed to the "literal" reading of the qur'an. one of the benefits of the former is the establishment of a qur'anic basis for the practice of monogamy. muslim men practice polygamy since it is provided for in the words of the qur'an. however, if one studies the socio-historical context of the passage, one would see clearly that the revelation was given to address certain problems that the muslim community had to face in war, dwindling numbers and the care of widows. in this light, the basis for polygamy will not stand if one considers the wider modern sociological state.

this is good news, especially if it can be used to reverse the tide of islamic extremism. but then again, i don't know how the view that everythinng about the qur'an has been explained a thousand years ago would give room for such a novel school of thought to spread. would a custodian of orthodox islam tolerate such things? anyway, is this actually new?

Pakistanis give new meaning to "jailhouse rock"

i know, the muslims are the real victims here. the guy's just a christian, so it doesn't matter. if the victim was a muslim, his death would have been a legitimate reason for jihad.

Thursday, June 03, 2004

Random thoughts... on call centers

why is it when an american or british tv show discusses outsourcing, indian companies and workers are prominently shown and the rest, which includes the philippines, are typically ignored? i mean, aren't filipinos better than those indians at the call center gig? my cousin who works at a call center attests to this. he has encountered some callers who actually make their relief known when they learn that the guy or gal on the other end of the line is a filipino whose english and accent is relatively closer to american english than indian english. indian english is derived from its british parent, so there are some nuances in words, usage, pronunciation, accent, etc. that are totally alien to an average american. let's take for example the word flat. for an american and filipino, it means something deflated or on a level surface. for the brit and the indian, it's an apartment. here's another, lorry. for the american and filipino it's a girl's name, whereas for the brit and indian, it's a truck! these are only some of the countless examples i can cite, but imagine yourself that you're an american customer who dialled a customer service hotline and the customer service agent on the other end is an indian. imagine the confusion and the subsequent anger you're going to have once those nuances in language become apparent. my point: americans should bring more business to the philippines rather than india. we're culturally, historically, and lingually more proximate. if you're an american reading this, would you talk with a guy who prefers cricket over basketball?

Could this possibly be true??

i got the following email from my fintrea class' yahoogroups this morning.
Subject: Fw: don't eat chicken wings---Ladies especially....
Title : Don't eat chicken wings - Ladies especially!
This is a true story! I am very concerned about the health of the people out there especially the women! A friend of mine recently had a growth in her womb and she underwent an operation to remove the cyst. The cyst removed was filled with a dark coloured blood. She thought that she would be recovered after the surgery but she was terribly wrong. A relapse occurred just a few months later. Distressed, she rushed down to her gynecologist for a consultation. During her consultation, her doctor asked her a question that puzzled her. He ask if she was a frequent consumer of chicken wings and she replied yes wondering as to how, he knew of her eating habits. You see, the truth is in this modern day and age, chickens are injected with steroids to accelerate their growth so that the needs of this society can be met. This need is none other then the need for food. Chickens that are injected with steroids are usually given the shot at the neck or the wings. Therefore, it is in this places that the highest concentration of steroids exist. These steroids have terrifying effects on the body as it accelerates growth. It has an even more dangerous effect in the presence of female hormones, this leads to women being more prone to the growth of a cyst in the womb. Therefore, I advise the people out there to watch their diets and to lower their frequency of consuming chicken wings! People who receive this email, please forward it to your friends and loved ones. I am sure no one wants to see him or her suffer! Take care!

as you have noticed in my earlier posts, i do try my best to determine the authenticity of such emails. but my search found no damning reports about this email. nevertheless i still do consider this email spurious. perhaps this is a new hoax, and the competent authorities haven't been able to review its merits. i don't know. it could be real. but then again it does "sound" like a hoax to me.

Attention all you coffee lovers out there...

especially you cappuccino lovers. yes you! it has come to my attention that since last year, you already had your own patron saint. really! but not officially though. but the guy is said to be the inventor of cappuccino. so let's all drink to that!

by the way, in italy, cappuccino is slang for condom because the word literally means "little hat". so ladies beware if an italian dude asks you to have some cappuccino with him. he might have other things in mind besides coffee.

Ambeth Ocampo on the the canvassing at congress

it's nice to note that we've gone a long way from the sort of things our heroes found necessary, like aiming a pistol at some weasel who'll soon be forgotten by the rest of the filipino people. taking a look back at such instances in our history ought to awaken us to the fact that we're slowly getting better at doing this democracy thing. yes, i know, bonifacio's style would've settled the issue expeditiously and the canvassing would've been over by now, but then that would also be like shooting ourselves on the foot. the system is working, although not as well as one would hope it to be, but nevertheless, it is working and for that we should be glad.

German Doctors Say They Create New Stem-Cell Method

German scientists said Friday they had developed a "pioneering" method of extracting stem cells from the human body that could render obsolete the controversial practice of harvesting the cells from embryos.

hurrah!! this is certainly good news. but then again, would this new method really spell the end for harvesting those poor unborn babies? i hope it will. but i'm more hopeful that it will finally silence pro-death people who keep on insisting that abortion is "good" since they need to kill helpless, unborn, fully-aware-of-pain human beings for "necessary" and revolutionary medical studies that would make man's life better. i am also very hopeful that this development will stop any government to provide additional support for these people.

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Revenge of the (Catholic) Nerds

yes, virginia, there are catholic nerds. they exist as certainly as theology, charity and para-liturgical devotions exist, and you know that these people are everywhere and give themeselves to pious study of everything beautiful and joyous. how dreary would be cyberspace if there were no catholic nerds! it would be as dreary as if there were no 72 virgins and white raisins. there would be no orthodox faith then, no apologetics, no humor to make bearable this surfing. we should have no lengthy disputations, except bland musings and rantings. thus i've listed below a partial list of catholic nerds who're actively blogging:

i shall report again once i discover more nerdy catholics...

How do you solve a problem like Osama?

Please sing this to the Sound of Music tune, "How do you solve a problem like Maria".

He gets Zakat for free and buys an RPG
He hasn't much upstairs
He murders on his way to Mosque
And kills infidels everywhere
And underneath his turban
He has C4 in his hair
I even heard him say we all should die

He always runs from US soldiers
But his cowardice is real
He always runs from US everything
Except to murder, rape and steal
I hate to have to say it
But I very firmly feel
Osama's not an asset to the Umma

I'd like to say a word in his behalf
Osama makes me laugh

How do you solve a problem like Osama?
How do you catch a rifle round and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Osama?
A megalomaniac. A fascist. A clown!

Many a thing you know you'd like to tell him.
Many a thing he ought to understand.
But how do make him stay
And listen to all you say
How do you find a nut in Afghanistan?

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Osama?
How do you hold a moonbat in your hand?

When I'm with him I'm confused
Out of focus and bemused
And I never know exactly where I am
Unpredictable as weather
He's as flighty as a feather
He's an a**hole! He is Satan. He's in a jam.

He'd outpester any pest
Drive a hornet from its nest
He is a whirling dervish out of whirl
He is mental! He's reviled.
He's a nutcase. He's a jinn.
He's a turd!

How do you solve a problem like Osama?
How do you catch a rifle round and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Osama?
A megalomaniac. A fascist. A clown!

Many a thing you know you'd like to tell him.
Many a thing he ought to understand.
But how do you make him stay
And listen to all you say
How do you find a nut in Afghanistan?

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Osama?
How do you hold a moonbat in your hand?


Written by Mentat as a comment at jihadwatch.org, with his apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Muslims are the real victims - part II

in debates about islamic terrorism, muslims take the defensive stance by often citing the sufferings of muslims around the world and the organized "discrimination" against islam. they claim that violent actions of individual muslims, particularly jihadists, are justified inasmuch as they are legitimate reactions to the injustices they receive from the rest of the world.

as my posts have revealed earlier, this is a blatant lie rehashed over and over again. "muslims are the real suffering victims" is a mind-numbing, mantra-like excuse, which gains acceptance as truth because of constant repetition geared towards an audience that readily accepts it as truth.

newsflash: muslims have no monopoly on suffering, discrimination or victimhood. christians around the world suffer under various circumstances, but you don't see them whining and blowing up people to bits. in fact they tend to suffer with silent humility. thus i believe that the whole fantasy about the sufferings muslims bear being a result of conspired attack against them is borne from their belief that anyone but muslims should undergo suffering. and so i find it my duty to refute with savage honesty and brutish clarity such imaginary tales of muslim suffering around the world and the so-called legitimacy it gives to jihadists to blow up people who have no direct involvement in their so-called suffering.

but the nasty part of this is that this lie mutates into forms uglier than its parent. this is was made apparent recently when militants staged another one of their freedom attacks in riyadh. they actually believed their own lies about being sieged by crusaders in their own land. one witness gave an account:

"They gave me a lecture on Islam and said they were defending their country and ridding it of infidels. The gunmen were so polite. I cannot comprehend this politeness they showed me because I am a Muslim and this cruelty to others,"


once again they are not the nutty fringe groups, but mainstream idealogues that basically quit the masquerade and showed their true colors. and their intent is to defend islam and the arabian peninsula from unarmed, defenseless kafir workers cum crusaders who were hell bent on despoiling the holy places of islam by being cooks, waiters, engineers, and other subsiervant roles that the . riiiiiiggghttt.... they attack the weak, hoping that "cowardly foreigners will cowardly scramble into the desert and die like the dogs they are." yep, they're macho guys alright.

is freedom from suffering the exclusive right of muslims? i'm beginning to think that is the framework of radical islam. it's ok for christians and other non-muslims to suffer, but with muslims it should not be so. that's the message these people are spreading and the message they themselves believe no matter how out of touch with reality it is. so muslims tend to cry foul and discrimination when non-muslims basically inconvenience them in some way. the bad reality is that some young fanatic brings the verbal protest into a real, concrete and deadly fireball.

one evidence that truly destroys the muslim victimhood argument for legitimizing violent action comes from the heroic example of palestinian christians.

the palestinian intifada ranks among the top items in the islamic victimhood list. they say that muslims in palestine are being short-changed by the west, thus the indiginites they undergo and their suffering should be avenged in jihad.

well, the fallacy falls when one realizes that not all palestinians are muslims. a significant but thinning minority in palestine and refugees in neighboring arab countries proudly call themselves christians who can trace their ancestry back to the first pentecost.

these christians are as nationalistic as any nationalistic palestinian out there. they are in complete solidarity with their fellow countrymen. they've endured the same misfortunes as their muslim palestinian brothers. many of them have died. they're involved politically and socially in the struggles of their fellow palestinians who happen to be muslim. they have never been exempt from any of the terrible events in palestine, but there's significant difference: they avoid the violent acts their muslim counterparts normally and routinely do in their intifada. that alone testifies deeply against the hate-filled policies of the jihadists among their ranks.

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Finally saw Queer eye...

there's a show on cable called Queer eye for the straight guy. there was some discussion about it over at mark shea's blog some time ago. i basically ignored it. then lately, i came across a catholic writer writing the column Straight guy with a Catholic eye. with silly things like that, and with my playful mind processing over time, i came up some of my own mutations:

for the black supremacist: black eyes for the white guy
for the homophobe: black eyes for the queer guy
for the optical surgeon: better eyes for the lazy eyes

my comment boxes are available for your contributions.

Doris Bigornia, a true news reporter

the author obviously came from another dimension of inverted realities. those things which are for our world absurd and false are actually normal and genuine in his, for what else would move such a person so write a grossly laughable and ignorant statment like:

ABS-CBN's "TV Patrol" has every reason to be proud of news reporter Doris Bigornia. Brave, resourceful and articulate, Doris personifies a true news reporter.

see? no self respecting reporter would state such a blatant corruption of our world's realties. otherwise such a writer would either be persisting in utter falsehoods or be totally ignorant of the person that doris bigornia is.

bigornia is a practitioner of the perveted journalism which abs-cbn forcely and blindly feeds the filipino people. thus the writer, being from another dimension correctly notes that bigornia is "a true news reporter," for in his world, reporters do not cover events of great import to the people with disinterested and dispassionate professionalism, but rather apply their own brand of journalism that is rather a mockery and abuse of authentic journalism. she and her allies in abs-cbn however daily portray this as real journalism, often arresting the resistance of the common masses to the crass and rudeness of their language which only belongs in the tabloids whose contents are not even worth a quarter of the paper they are printed on and whose primary use is for wrapping smoked fish.

in a culture where crass language and foul mouthed exuberance is recommended for vendors at the wet market or for the idle drunkards at the nearby beer house, bigornia successfully transforms them to high art worthy of the public. her language, the content of her reports, the words she chooses and her delivery of her reports bespeak of utter stupidity and idiocy, which reek of extreme bias, ignorance and arrogance that often subject the objects of her stories to unncessary ridicule and profound pain. i wouldn't be surprised if these thing characterize her own person and worse, the garbage which the network presents as fair and balanced reporting to the public.