Sunday, December 30, 2007

In the next 24 hours, God-willing

fire of various colors shall rain down from the heavens and engulf the streets of Manila and her neighboring cities, consuming them in a din of unimaginable proportions. It is for this reason that our Islamic masters from the Liberation Army Against Freedom (LAAF) have dutifully sent a well-executed message to remind us unworthy Filipino infidels of our place in these year-end times:










Turban-tip to the most magnanimous and oft-inspiring Caveman.

A calamity on the way?

I've noticed that significant seismic activity has been recorded throughout various parts of the Philippines in the last few days, in particular:

Are these quakes precursors to something bigger that might hit the Philippines? I hope not.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

A fine example of descralization of the Mass

by a bishop no less.



This reminds me of Fr. Rutler's words in his interview with Gerald at the Closed Cafeteria:
"Marshall McLuhan, the great prophet of modern communication theory was a Catholic and he was a consultant at the Second Vatican Council. And he said, microphones will totally revolutionize, in a bad way, the psychology of worship. People get upset, they can't hear, understand everything. What does that mean? [people] think it's being directed to them. The same thing with sacred oratory... with microphones, you reduce sacred rhetoric to a chat..."

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Criticsm

as defined by Wikipedia:
is the activity of judgement or informed interpretation and, in many cases, can be synonymous with "analysis."

as exemplified by the Filipino media:
  1. Finding fault with something the President said or did, usually involves an interview with persons of extremely biased opinions (so biased that their analysis would've been discarded in more critical circles) and present the same person to the audience as a disinterested observer.
  2. Accusing the President of a crime only on the basis of "unnamed sources" and gut feelings

recurring example:
DZMM interviewing Estrada-man and UP economist Benjamin Diokno to provide basis for doubt for every economic statement released by the Administration. Provides no alternative view or second opinion. Diokno's opinion is infallible and final and, of course, unbiased.

Must post before someone else does:

Liturgical Extracts from Ivan the Terrible





Plus:

Ivan the Terrible vs. Muslim Tatars

I haven't done the streets yet

but I'm almost there...

Sometimes it takes a baby...

to remind me about a post I keep forgetting to write.

Last night, while I was playing with a friend's 8-month old daughter, the conversation among the adults [whether I was one of the "adults" is another story] came to an exchange about Starbucks' 2008 planner. Well, the confluence of baby and Starbucks reminded of something I found via the Tiber Crosser, that Starbucks allegedly supports abortion providers in the US.

Being the responsible flamethrower that I am, I decided to Google the subject. But despite the wealth of information in Google, I can't say for certain that it is Starbucks' corporate policy to support abortion groups. But to be sure, some groups have documented that some of Starbucks' employees and branches have supported various gay-pride events and it makes anti-christian items available in its stores.

If it is true that Starbucks sends contributions to abortion groups, then I'm afraid the company is actively following the way of tobacco companies and their dwindling customer base. Any analyst worth his salt will probably tell you that Starbucks' advocacy is nothing but one crappy long-term marketing plan aimed at reducing its [future] customers by means of supporting abortion groups. Someone should tell the management of the company that this pro-abortion advocacy is counter-productive and is, in the long-run, defeats the interests of the company itself and, more importantly, its shareholders. The company, had a more reasonable management were in charge, ought to be cultivating more coffee lovers in a given population, not destroying them.

I guess the same goes for all other companies that support groups such as Planned Parenthood. It's insanely counter-productive and will in the future hurt the company since abortion groups are working activey to eliminate these companies' customers.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

It's that time of the month again

Yes folks, it's the holiday season and papists all over the world are gonna be watching the Pope again and critique every minute detail of Papal ceremonies in Rome. Like clockwork, a post at the NLM reports of possible items that might appear with the Pope in the next few hours, in particular the three-armed Papal cross. And likewise, in predictable fashion, another "traditionalist" expresses animosity for the more familiar Papal cross as a dreadful thing.

"Traditionalists" hostility towards that "dreadful bent cross" is not a new thing; it's actually rather repetitive and tiring. But closer inspection of the inspiration behind the "dreadful bent cross" reveals its origins from the Spanish mystic San Juan dela Cruz, hardly the feared modernist heretic some "traditionalists" see behind everything that doesn't have lace or foliage.

Something similar happened earlier this month when "traditionalists" in the NLM's combox expressed utter disappointment when the Pope wore red vestments for the funeral of Cardinal Stickler's Requiem and wished that he could've at least worn black in honor of the late cardinal's role in promoting the old Mass. I was amazed to discover that these "traditionalists" were blissfully unaware that Popes don't wear anything in black. And there I was thinking that they were actually hard-core traditionalists.

These little gaffs among "traditionalists" over the years have made me wonder if they actually understand the Tradition to which they claim to subscribe. In my observation, their "traditionalism" is too narrow as opposed to catholic. I suppose that in the next few weeks, another liturgical minutiae will betray some "traditionalists'" narrowness in approaching and appreciating tradition.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Was out translating

My apologies for the lack of posts in the preceeding days. I was, how should I put it, busy "translating" a document from Chinglish to regular English. It wasn't fun. I needed several days off to recover from the experience.

Patient dies as ambulance breaks down in EDSA gridlock

Whenever I get stuck in traffic, I've often wondered if someone nearby is dying or has died in an ambulance stuck in a traffic jam caused by some jeepneys collecting their passengers. Apparently it does happen. And this is highly illustrative of the damage jeepney and bus drivers are inflicting against their fellow Filipinos.

I confess that each moment I spend in traffic only serves to increase my contempt and hatred of those who drive jeepney and buses for a living. I was actually gladdened when they held a nationwide strike to protest against the rising cost of fuel two weeks ago. Although there were lots of stranded commuters, the amount of traffic in city streets nationwide was reduced along with fuel wastage. Isn't it interesting to note that when they're out protesting rather than driving, the pressure on fuel supplies decreases. I certainly hope they protest more often. The rarer they are in the streets, the less fuel is wasted by motorists.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

In the Muslims' hearts and minds,

they belong to the superior race of humans and the rest of humanity are inferior species meant for domination. It's funny then to see how one adherent to Mohammedanism had actually admitted that, unlike the filthy sons of apes and pigs, they were too inept to develop their own earthquake-inducing technology (even if it were possible). See here for more details.

Note to self:

Annual meteor shower takes place some time around December 14. Saw about 10 tonight.

Friday, December 14, 2007

The Perpetual Malcontent's Law

The airwaves and newspapers, of late, were filled with news and commentaries of how PGMA is subtly enforcing Martial Law on an oblivious Filipino nation, first by arresting a "Senator" of the Republic for staging what seems to be an armed stand-off at a luxury hotel in the heart of the country's financial district after ditching the guys who were supposed to guard him during a court hearing for his rebellion case and then then by arresting civilian "protesters" who gleefully joined Antonio "11-million-Filipinos-voted-for-me" Trillanes for coffee at the Peninsula while urging the populace to rush into the rain-drenched streets as they sit in airconditioned function rooms sipping hundred-peso cups of coffee.

Added to this, the cops were ordered to arrest the journalists who obviously made themselves willing accomplices of the caffeinated party among those to be arrested, since media men aren't above the law, despite their freedoms. How they were certain of PGMA ever acting as a remote ground commander still puzzles me.

And today, we add to Mrs. Arroyo's grievous sins her intent to revive the anti-subversion law.

The activist, the journalist, the politician, the rebel, and the naked scholar are all running about screaming Martial Law while woefully ignoring the fact that they probably wouldn't be enjoying their tired stunts if the real thing was around. Martial Law this, Martial Law that.

I, for one, am tired of hearing this nonesensensical fear mongering from our elites who obviously have too much time to spend on such whimsical pursuits.

So I propose a Pinoy version of Godwin's Law. I'm not sure if anyone else has thought of it, but for now, I shall call it the Perpetual Malcontent's Law, which states:

As a political, social or religious protest among Pinoy activists grows longer and sillier, the probability of mentioning Martial Law and any sitting President in the same sentence approaches one. Therefore, anyone who mentions Martial Law in any discussion or debate is deemed to be the loser.

Note to self:

In case I need to come up with my own heraldric device, an obligatory element should be an albatross clutching a diamond.







Photo credit

"To prepare a place for us"

A rumor is spreading that Fr. George Rutler is being considered as a candidate for the post of Archbishop of New York and, interestingly, Westminster. The blog post announcing this rumor can be found here and it includes some comments which seem to have missed the obvious: if he does indeed become bishop of New York, it is likely that he'll get a red hat and get the chance to join in the conclave that will elect Benedict's successor. In that same conclave, I imagine he could leave the Sistine chapel wearing a white cassock. American or not, he'd make a very eloquent pontiff and could perhaps find himself in the position and authority to fulfill his own words of preparing a place in the bosom of Mother Church for Anglicans fleeing the collapsing edifice of Anglicanism. Could he be a new Moses who will lead the children of England across the Tiber in the future? Even to my eyes, this scenario is too far fetched, but in case it does happen, you know that you read it first here.

The Simba Armored Fighting Vehicle

Since there's a dearth of vids about the Simba Armored Vehicle, I decided to post one. This Simba's a part of the exhibit of armored vehicles at the PMA grounds.





Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Was it a Baptism of Fire?



via Carolina Cannonball, who by the way is hosting the Ugliest Vestment Contest.

Monday, December 10, 2007

A not-so bad 8th of December

Normally, I would've avoided blogging about how I spent another weekend out of town, but the weekend I spent in Baguio is one worth blogging.

Last Saturday, Mel and I found ourselves in the Baguio Cathedral for the 6pm Mass. Though I enjoyed being enveloped in the chilly December air, the prospects of attending another Mass that lifted neither spirits nor sanity made me uneasy.

The Mass began almost at the very same moment when the preceding Mass ended. As customary in Masses in the Islands, the voice of the female "commentator" resounded throughout the Church, introducing the theme of the day's Mass and the celebrant, who was outed as a "PMA chaplain". As it was the usual custom, the priest wore a white "tunic" and a violet "outer stole" over his street clothes which, as usual, were neither alb or even white cassock. For a PMA chaplain, enjoying privileges of being a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, he looked pretty sloven. In other words, it was the typical, "traditional" Filipino Mass.

But all of a sudden, booming, thundering even, were the voices of tenors singing, without musical accompaniment, the entrance hymn. I wasn't familiar with the song, but it was gloriously sung, no matter what it was. Pleasantly surprised wouldn't be enough to describe me at that moment, but it was enough to actually let a smile appear on my face whilst I contemplated the prospect of actually attending a non-traditional liturgy.

Though my hopes were partly dashed when the priest began saying his parts in the traditional manner, the choir mitigated this priest's traditionalism by singing their rendition of "Panginoon Maawa Ka" [Kyrie] in a setting that sounded more Russian or Slavonic than Jesuit.

Overall, the repertoire of hymns and ordinaries chosen by this choir and their adaptation of the same deserved a two-thumbs up from me. It was vigorous, manly, rich, inspiring, etc, etc. To put it succinctly, it wasn't lame. This, I thought, is how singing should be done in Churches: a Capella, by men (not boys or girls).

I was actually curious to see the men behind the singing so I waited until they descended from the choir loft. Initially, I inferred that these guys might be PMAers enjoying liberty from the Academy by spending time in Church since the celebrant at that time was the PMA chaplain. Weird, but it's plausible. When they all finally got down, all I saw were rugged, middle-aged, normal-looking men, the types you wouldn't associate with such splendid singing. But there they were. I salute you guys, whoever you are.

So you want a fare increase, do you?

Several weeks ago, there was news that local transport groups petitioned the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board to approve a fare increase due to the rising cost of fuel. That transport groups would be so bold as to petition for such increases while totally being silent on their members' contribution in aggravating the problem, irked me tremendously. Here's why:

Various studies, internationally and locally, have demonstrated that billions of liters of fuel are wasted in traffic jams every year. What transport groups are willingly ignoring is that their own members are the ones causing much of the traffic jams suffered daily by Filipinos and these groups are perhaps deliberately ignoring their faults for prolonging the problem of fuel prince increases.

Daily commuters are very familiar with the common tactics of bus and jeepney drivers in the streets: converting busy corners and intersections into "terminals" in order to collect enough passengers, with engines running of course; loading and unloading passengers wherever and whenever, without the benefit of pulling over to the side of the street, but actually halting in the middle of the street [an open invitation to horrendous vehicular accidents, really]; deliberately driving in the slowest possible speed in order to hunt for passengers; deliberately driving even slower when approaching an intersection with traffic lights so that by the time the lights turn red, they're situated in the corner where passengers would likely be waiting.

These and other "tactics", apart from wasting the riding public's time and patience, are the cause and origin of many of the traffic jams in the streets of Metro Manila and other cities in the Philippines. With traffic jams causing billions of liters of fuel to be wasted, extraordinary demand for fuel would necessarily follow in order to fill up the wastage. And with heightened demand, fuel prices will track the same upward swing. It's economics. It's common sense. Too bad thousand of jeepney and bus drivers in the Philippines are unaware of this, since their leaders are more likely to indoctrinate them of their socialist struggle against evils of the capitalist system rather than helping them cope with the rising fuels costs in the most practicable manner.

Ideally, the LTFRB or other concerned government agency or even anyone with half the wits required to deserve the appellation of a thinking human being should make it known to these people that they themselves would be more than capable of plotting the course of fuel prices. But that won't happen. Filipino society is far from being ideal.

My point is that concerned transport organizations should address the problem of rising fuel costs by first tackling one of its primary, aggravating causes: their own utter disregard for the most fundamental rules of the road and their own selfishness. In other words, you brought that on yourselves so leave the rest of us alone.

The Knights of Malta should revive their military arm

Here's why.

Friday, December 07, 2007

So which is it Mel?

1) The Armenian Genocide

or

2) The life and martyrdom of Edmund Campion

or

3) Something else?

Hey Arnold!

When seminarians go around carrying a saturno-wearing football around, it's certain that someone's gonna be pleased


Excellent!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

For documentation:

The pro-Jihad, Islamic TV station Al-Jazeera is apparently available in Philippines through Destiny Cable TV. Here are some pics I took:






My impression is that Destiny Cable TV's management is blissfully unaware of Al-Jazeera's support for Jihad and is only interested in it as a "reputable" news source in the image and likeness of CNN, BBC, etc.

Meanwhile, some sensible and saneArabs in Europe have launched a campaign against Al-Jazeera.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Interesting read

Shakespeare Unmasked makes the claim that the real brain behind the works of Shakespeare is none other than St. Edmund Campion.

I should be saying "Awesome!", right?

cash advance

The level of education required to read The Perpetual Malcontent's Blog is a postgrad education.


Meanwhile, here are some sites and their corresponding readability level (just to give you an idea of how accurate or inaccurate the tool is):

Catholic and Enjoying It! -- Junior High School
The Curt Jester -- Junior High School
Jihad Watch -- Junior High School
Google Philippines -- Genius
Wikipedia -- Genius
Yahoo -- Genius
CNN -- Junior High School


Found via the Flametroll

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Potty Cats





There are apparently people marketing videos on how to train pet cats to use a regular toilet. This really made me think about our old cat. I thought that this "cat skill" was something cats learn or discover on their own. Many years ago, I was shocked to discover that our cat was actually peeing in our toilet. It was strange since nobody trained it or even considered teaching it to use the toilet. Our cat must've been a genius! And now we find people making money out of something cats would probably learn on their own if given the chance.

Monday, December 03, 2007

The Pauline Mass Celebrated Ad Orientem

in Jasna Gora



And it looks like a regular and normal thing there.

Filipino seamen smell better than other nationalities

This should be repeated and highlighted all the time

Manny Villar's campaigning already

In the guise of marking the Nacionalista Party's 100th anniversary, a fact which seems to be strangely absent from their official website.

What're the odds that the same tune they use in this radio advert will be the same one Villar uses in his Presidential election adverts?

Nice Shocks




Photo taken here: Extreme Kites

This is what legalized drugs will do to your culture*




*Quote shamlessly stolen from this guy

Definitely a useful piece of information

How to charge an iPod using an onion:




Now you can:
  • impress your boss, crush, or your crush's parents.
  • enjoy music even during a 2-week power blackout
  • recycle your spoiled onions and gatorade