Oh Joy, oh joy!

I finally got to register at LGF!

Bishop Tobias should resign

After putting the countless civilians, soldiers, foreign guests and the nation hostage, the bishops involved in yesterday's standoff are still adamant at demanding PGMA's resignation, citing her lack of moral ascendancy to lead the nation. Perhaps the same bishops should pause and reflect first before carrying out their "threat" of another rally. Between them, who had empirically, before the world's media even, carried out and supported a violent act which led so many people in danger?

I suppose, as citizens acting on a personal capacity, they had the right to push for reforms in the manner they saw fit. Yet, would it have been too much to ask if they at least tried being circumspect and exercised some prudence in choosing whom to support and associate with? Prudence is a virtue. Shouldn't these bishops, appointed and anointed to guide the faithful towards virtue, be themselves exercising virtues such as prudence?

It seems unfortunate that they have abandoned such silly concepts like virtue and prudence for political expediency. They're giving the impression that politics is far more interesting than the worship of God. Bishop Antonio Tobias is basically telling the faithful that God sucks and that Trillanes trumps Him because he can depose the President with a fool-proof plan.

Of course, His Excellency would parrot the same tired line about PGMA's lack of moral ascendancy to lead the government and nation, thus demanding her resignation. Fine. But do they have the moral ascendancy, given their involvement in yesterday's event, to remain as bishops leading the faithful? Yesterday, I mentioned that the bishops' leadership and capacity to pastor souls has been effectively tarnished and put into doubt by their own willingness to be party to the actions that led to the siege of The Peninsula. They have prostituted their office and dragged their office as successor of the Apostles through the mud. They have cast their pearls before swine.

Bishop Tobias is a canon lawyer so I'm sure he's aware of the canons governing the resignation of bishops. His political activism is a "grave reason" which made him "unsuited for the fulfillment of his office". I invite the good bishop to be a good example for PGMA. Your Excellency, please send your resignation letter to Rome.

Contrary to what Maria Ressa said

it seems the cops are bending over simply to accommodate the media, big jerks that they are:



However, Maria Ressa's whining for more press freedom (as if we don't have enough of it) including this scenario, gives me the distinct impression that journalists expect to be treated like they were above the law or something. You know, like VIPs exempt from the usual procedures which would have otherwise inconvenienced the little people. Nope, nothing like that for our brave and courageous journalists. Because if you do anything like that, Maria runs to CNN to tell on you. Boo-hoo!

Maria Ressa's making sumbong to CNN

Boo-hoo! Sniff, sniff! Boo-hoo!

Since her ABS-CBN buddies and others got arrested.

Babies!

Ressa's bending and twisting the truth. Probably not the first time.

Background:

1) Journalists swarmed the Peninsula hotel to cover Antonio "11-million-Filipinos-voted-for-me" Trillanes' second successful attempt at inflicting pain and defeat on himself. A number of them remained in the function room where the leaders of the standoff were holed up.

2) The Police tells journalists to vacate the area so that they can proceed with police action. Journalists, being "brave and courageous" [TM] decide to ignore orders to vacate the premises. They had better things to do, like being gay and stupid and take photos of themselves frolicking in said hotel. I kid you not.

3) Police SAF storm the hotel. Video shows clearly that they run towards attacking elements in order to get good shots [pun not intended] of the action. In many ways, their sheer number alone confused attacking troops. Any baddies could've taken advantage of that situation to shoot a goody.

4] Standoff leaders surrender. Police not sure who are true media people or those who could posing as journalists. So they summarily arrest all they find inside the hotel until they're sure who's who and what's what. In other words, they'll straighten out everything at the police station. Basically common sense at work, I would think, especially if you know that some of the armed bad guys were in civilian dress. Just see the photo below.

But no. Maria Ressa calls that indimidation and a purge of media freedom. Whatever that means. And she's peddling the spin in international news outlets. CNN doesn't mind that of course. Ressa is a CNN veteran and CNN doesn't care about accuracy anyway. Figures.

Anyway, I was curious to observe that the arrested ABS-CBN men all wore red shirts at time. Hmmm... Were they going to dance Maria? It struck me since the Magdalo arm bands were [drumm roll please] also of the same color. Coincidence?

Anyway: Boo-hoo!

I love this

PGMA-haters are losing their heads with Trillanes' "stand". So funny. Hahahaha!

Proof of pre-meditation?

Perhaps.

Or just bravado.

In any case, evidence.




Hat Tip: Dan Conia

Is it over already?

Have Trillanes and Co. decided to quit? Damn! I was hoping he would end up doing his last stand or something. Well, he did keep on saying he wanted to make his stand. But what is clear now is that all those figures holed up in that function room in the Peninsula will forever be marked for life as real troublemakers. I mean the civilians like former VP Teofisto Guingona, Fr. Robert Reyes, Bishops Julio Labayen and Antonio Tobias will forever bear the mark of being instigators of violence. Hopefully in the future, fewer ears will be willing to listen to a word they say.

The V150 crashing through the hotel lobby entrance probably scared them and made them realize that the government was in no mood to f**k around. So they made up such excuses as wishing not to let any civilian get hurt in the attack. What? They just realized that? They occupied a civilian establishment and just realized after the attack that civilians might get hurt? Brilliant Mister Senator. You are indeed brilliant.

The funny things is that Trillanes sounded like a child who, recognizing that he did a plainly wrongful act, is trying to twist the facts to defend himself and steer the blame towards PGMA. He kept on saying the administration was violent and intolerant, as if it was the one that perpetrated the entire thing.

In fact, they all sounded like whining children. Time for bigtime punishment kiddies! The Senate should pass a resolution dumping Trillanes from their ranks. I think they can do that. The Lower House does that I think. I'm sure the Nuncio is monitoring the situation and sure hope that he would pursue concrete steps in finally silencing Fr. Robert Reyes and Bishop Antonio Tobias. The trouble in which they have actively participated in is definitely below their priestly and episcopal dignity. Serious disciplinary action should be imposed on them, whatever form that may take. They were appointed to watch over souls but their actions today seriously put to into doubt their capacity to pastor souls.

Well, one thing is clear

Trillanes is no Winston Churchill. Tongue-tied was the word I had in mind when he faced the press and said "we're ready to face this" or something to that effect.

Could it be?

Could he be that crazy? Could he be contemplating on suicide? I mean inviting a full frontal assault where he and his companions will die in the ensuing battle? Is he trying to set himself up as a new icon/idol/hero/martyr or whatever for the "struggle" against PGMA? Geez, if anything, he's exactly the clearest picture of what hatred of PGMA will turn anyone into.

Trillanes

sounds like a man who realized that he's made another mistake while dragging lots of people in what could possibly be a bloody end. He's making confused and silly excuses for this latest of his series of pathetic exercises in being a jerk and a$$hole.

And what's with their affinity with hotels? They keep occupying hotels. Oakwood back in 2003 and now The Peninsula.

CBCP spokesman's cellphone is now off

Journalists are unable reach him to confirm whether a presscon is on or not regarding the fresh coup. I smell a Papal crackdown and it's a wonderful odor!

Meanwhile, reports state that 3 bishops are with Trillanes in The Peninsula Manila. Those fools. Their blind hatred for PGMA will surely lead others to damnation.

I'm just thankful that the CBCP has no real place in the Church's ecclesiology and that individual Catholics can [and this case, should] ignore it.

On the other hand

Today's events remind me of this:

A few hours ago,

commuters and motorists stuck at EDSA were texting DZMM, asking what was causing the traffic jam. Here's your answer:

I've finally settled down

And after due reflection, I'm hopeful that this move of Trillanes will result into nothing negative overall. PGMA will still be in the throne. And Trillanes will be back behind bars.

The King of Makati

I think readers are wondering why Trillanes' plans are moving swiftly without hindrance. Perhaps we should remember that Makati City is the territory of Jejomar Binay, the chief of the "Opposition". Nothing takes place there without Binay's support.

In the Whacko tradition of Bonifacio et al

who brought us the first revolutionary movement known as the Katipunan and the bloody 1896 Revolution, Trillanes et al is about to bring the country into another sad chapter of its history. Damn. Just when I was planning to quit covering such idiocies.

And the whole thing smells of a planned conspiracy. The red "Magdalo" arm bands have reappeared. Reports of civilians in the streets fetching battle dress attires from their backpacks. Then some "civil" society groups and [surprise, surprise] Bishop Tobias joining them. What a bishop!

Coup! Coup! Join us for another Coup!

Damn!

Trillanes and Lim have managed to convince their guards to join them. Weak-minded fools.

The thing is that DZMM is giving these men the forum to air their idiocy so that the entire country would be fooled into joining them.

The lying bastards should be shot with no questions asked.


Update: They're calling for another revolt v PGMA. Don't these guys get tired of this? My neck hurts just listening to these guys. I won't be surprised if Bishop Tobias suddenly takes his place beside Trillanes but it won't be a good sign.

Esperon to sue Trillanes over mastermind tag in Glorietta blast

You mean Trillanes lied? I'm shocked! Shocked I say.

Thank you 11 million Pinoys for electing such an honest invidual to the Senate. You have done your country well.

Hold on...

Trillanes and Lim, according to reports, have walked out of a hearing on their Mutiny case. So where do they think they're going? Back to prison where you belong!

While watching the movie Beowulf,

Mel asked me why mermaids, as they were portrayed in the movie, always wanted to be pregnant, or something to that effect.

While it is widely suggested that legends of mermaids could be attributed to manatees, I couldn't keep myself from laughing while thinking about Conan O'Brien's HornyManatee.Com as I contemplated Mel's question.

Around this time in 1970:

The assassination attempt of Pope Paul VI

I'm surprised nobody has linked to this yet

My Vatican

Some observations

First:

Usually, among Filipinos discussing an issue, the testimony or expertise of foreigners seem to bear greater authority than that of a Pinoy. Case in point, an interview currently underway with Joel Reyes Zobel and some guy whose name I didn't catch. Said guy is discussing the need for sex education for Pinoy youth. From what I understood of their exchange, the guy says that the need for sex education for Pinoys was recognized during a gathering where foreigners were involved. "Oh", said Joel Reyes Zobel, sounding more interested and convinced after the mention of "foreigners". I couldn't help myself smile after noticing that. Ever since I discovered the blogosphere, one could say that I have progressively grown up in terms of the appreciation of ideas and policies being preached by foreigners. My freelance work also exposed me to some silly and lazy foreigners who were in many ways "deficient" in terms of learning and the capacity to do deliver usable output. Due to both cases, my unquestioning high regard for foreign though has been shattered. I've been very skeptical (hopefully in a good way) about any novelty being introcued by some foreign-funded advocacy groups. Anyway, I've wondered why and how, even with the same technology available to many Pinoy policy makers and mediamen, the myth of the superiority of foreign thought and policy remains strong with them. A great number of them still considers the New York Times infallible despite numerous empirically verified fallacies and mistakes. Enough said. You could never avoid a discussion where US or European policy is given as the standard for which the Pinoy should aspire to, as though Pinoys can't come up with their own standards. I'm not limiting this to issues of politics, morality, education or such. Technology, economics and art issues get the same treatment as well. The more I hear of the same, the more I find Pinoys sillier. Pinoy policymakers, opinion-makers and especially journalists should really learn that, like their own compatriots, there are crazies and idiotrs running around in corridors of power and learning and that they should be critical enough to recognize them and not be behooven to them just because they're "foreigners".


Second:

Why is it that those who eagerly taunt Catholics for allegedly holding on to "traditions of men" are those who can't seem to let go of man-made myths they learned from their preachers, especially those regarding the Catholic Church. When their fantasies are refuted, they still cling on them, as if those who have demolished their silly ideas conspired to hide the truth from them and the rest of the world. Strange minds these our separated brethren have. I've noticed that those who do honestly and sincerely search for the truth find themselves to the Church, whilst those who still hang on to their man-made myths and traditions bury themselves beneath enourmous piles of BS just to flee from confronting Truth. Protestantism is a mere shadow of Catholicism. The more light you shed upon the Catholic Church, the less you see of the shadow.

Speaking of Abuse

Try to name and count the number of liturgical abuses here:

Rizal, Rizal, Rizal!

There. I hope Google sends them all here.

I've noticed that a significant amount of traffic in my blog can be attributed to people (most likely students) searching for info about Jose Rizal via Google. Google sends them to a post I made in 2004. In it I speculated that the standard of beauty in Rizal's time was significantly different from ours. So I surmised that Rizal probably liked chubby chucks given his description of Maria Clara having flabby arms (according to a certain English translation of the Noli anyway).

Anyways, if you fit the bill above (average Pinoy student doing a hurried paper on Philippine history, Rizal's life and times, or other related topic), it would be fun perhaps to consider a totally radical report instead of what would've been the obligatory praise and adulation that recycles the stuff penned by Agoncillo, Ocampo or Zaide. Consider challenging the convention that Rizal and his peers were indeed heroes.

To get you started, try exploring the quaint and largely ignored fact that the Katipunan "borrowed" many aspects of Freemasonry. As I mentioned in a previous post, such details are quite illuminating, considering that Freemasonry and the Catholic Church back then were never allies. Note also that most of the leading names in the Propaganda Movement and the Katipunan were indeed Masons. A mere coincidence? Try again.

Alternatively, consider the socio-political climate in Spain. Try connecting the Philippine Revolution of 1896 with the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. I don't think it'll be hard. I think you can find that many of the ideologies at play in the Philippine Revolution resurfaced in the Civil War. Also note that biggest batch of martyred beatas were produced by the Spanish Civil War.

If you've noticed, the Catholic Church seems to be favorite target here. Because it is. I won't be surprised if the Catholic clergy and religious weren't popular in those days. A lot of abuses certainly took place, just as they do now, and some people just did the most radical things to set things right according to their way. Unfortunately, their way was simply evil. Remember Chesterton's quip: "The reformer is always right about what is wrong. He is generally wrong about what is right."

That clergymen are capable of abuse should be no surprise to one who goes to Mass these days. If priests (and other religious) are capable of abusing the Mass, what's there to stop them from abusing other petty stuff like your rights or human dignity?

Rizal praised the Women of Malolos for their courage to pursue education and think for themselves. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you, dear Pinoy student, did that for yourself as well.

Musn't let the day end without posting this:

Psalm 23 as adapted by Ryan Kearse

The Lord is all that, I need for nothing.
He allows me to chill.
He keeps me from being heated
and allows me to breathe easy.
He guides my life so that
I can represent and give
shouts out in his Name.
And even though I walk through
the Hood of death,
I don't back down
for you have my back.
The fact that you have me covered
allows me to chill.
He provides me with back-up
in front of my player-haters
and I know that I am a baller
and life will be phat.
I fall back in the Lord's crib
for the rest of my life.

via Ten Reasons

This guy...

Yeah this guy...

...is An accomplished Actor, Dancer, Choreographer and Director, whose career spans more than 25 years. His professional work as a choreographer and dancer has contributed to a better appreciation of Native American dance worldwide. Between
1980 and 1986, he performed as principal dancer, soloist and master teacher with the Nikolais Dance Theatre.

Seriously.

Insane!

LGF owner Charles posted his latest book recommendation, "Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity is and Islam isn't".

The book was written by Robert Spencer, an Eastern Catholic (and a deacon at that) and founder of Jihad Watch.

But somehow, along the way, with the help of our separated brethren, the comment thread mutated into discussion of anti-semitism in the Catholic Church, aggravated mostly by Protestants whose knowlege of theology and history is, at best, questionable.

To be sure, these same anti-Catholics are in totally agreement with Spencer and his book's thesis. It is ironic that their hero-author, not only is a slave of the Whore of Babylon, but a member of her clergy as well. Will they touch another book written by Spencer?

First, it's a pretty nice documentary.

Second, the bishop featured there is in the news.

The Valley of the Cheesemakers

Sounds like the place where some of our Lefties, artists, liturgical dancers and mass commentators could feel at home.

Fun with Clay Pottery

And of course, we're familiar with this memorable chapter in the Harry Potter series:

Taste the goodness...

News [OK it's old] is that EWTN's Fr. Francis Mary is planning to leave the priesthood and run off with a widow. While I was not surprised that another EWTN icon has fallen [remember Fr. Ken Roberts?], I was surprised to discover that the next scandal was brought by Fr. Francis Mary Stone. I've always thought that a big ticket name like Fr. Corapi would've been next. Perhaps next time...

Anyway, I'm curious about how the lady Fr. Francis has been cavorting looks like. Has anyone seen her or have any info about her? I've observed over the years that any priest who leaves the priesthood for a woman usually marry, well to put it mildly, not-so-hot women. I've always wondered why this is the case, it just doesn't make sense to me.

I mean If you're gonna leave the priesthood for a woman, you should at least do it for someone worthwhile, some one hot and foxy. The kind that turns boys into men. Right? It's the most natural and sensible thing to do.

Could it have something to do with the general lack of taste among the clergy these days? The same lack of taste that's generally evident in the liturgy?

Speaking of taste, there's a lot of hubub about some women simulating the sacrament of Holy Orders. Below are actual pictures of these priestesses.



Women, well being women, should have taste right? I mean who buys all those fashion magazines? If you wanna get yourself all ordained (invalid of course) at least make it look good. Or better yet, at least make yourselves lovely for the day. My dear, you look like a man in that picture. What's up with that?

Why couldn't it be "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent"?

Inside Catholic columnist Elizabeth Scalia's recollection of her First Holy Communion back in the 1960's brought me back to my own back in the early 90's.

A second grader back then, First Holy Communion marked a turning point in our lives. But even then, even with my relatively innocent view of the world around me, I found the rite to be a mish-mash of what seems to be two conflicting ethos. On one hand, we had a fairly traditional and solemn manner of reception. Just take a look of this pic:




I mean what's not to like in receiving the Lord in the most reverent manner possible in those days?

But this same Mass, this same special celebration consisted of us first communicants singing, complete with animation, a song by ex-priest Carey Landry "Bloom Where You're Planted":

Ref: Bloom, bloom, bloom, where you're planted. You will find your way. Bloom, bloom, bloom, where you're planted. You will find your day.

1) Look at the flowers, look at them growing; they never worry; they never work; yet look at the way our Father clothes them, each with a beauty of its own. (Ref.)

2) Some plant the seeds that others will wather, but in al things God gives the growth. Come, let Him garden the flowers within you; come and discover some you've never known (Ref.)

3) Look at the love that lies deep within you. Let your self be! Let your self be! Look at the gifts you have been given. Let them go free. Let them go free. (Ref)

Pretty atrocious, don't you think? Even at that tender age, I found it that way. I mean, I never really understood, then and now, why such a song found its way into the liturgy, especially one as special as this. Alright, I admit it has allusions to the Gospel,

[Matthew 6:28-30 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith?]

but artistic freedom has gone overboard with the song. It sounded like a frustrated Beatle songwriter wrote it.

Of course I did the most appropriate thing for a child of 11 and decided to shut my mouth and go with the flow. But I've never forgotten and have always looked back to that Mass where I had sing that corny song with animation.

Meeeeeeee!

Behold the new face of narcissism. Stunningly same as the old.

Indians know entertainment

Hat tip: LGF

HOT! HOT! HOT!

Dedicated to all the ladies out there!





Shamelessly taken from the American Papist

So which of these VIPs...

heeded the Pope's request to quit holding hands during the Pater Noster?

Yes, hand-holding is still alive and well in the Pearl of the Orient. At least the new nuncio has taste in liturgical apparel:

OK let me get this clear...

Bulacan Gov. Mendoza gave Pampanga Gov. Panlilio's chief-of-staff a large amount of cash in Malacanang's parking lot.

Read that sentence slowly. Done? Ok.

If we read closely to what Gov. Panlilio said in his presscon (last month I think), he claimed that the money he received was a bribe from PGMA. How he arrived to this conclusion should clue us to the inner workings of the mind of this ex-priest.

He's not yet Laicized you say? Well he ought to be.

Presenting

Pininfarina's Nido Ultra Compact Car

I love the safety features, but I think it looks like it needs a little more trimming to cut down on weight.

I'm dreaming again...

Should the US military or other entity perfect the technology behind the V-22 Osprey and build a civilian version of the tiltrotor aircraft, I'm actually thinking of renting some of the top floors of some of the taller builidngs in Makati and convert them into airports where the tiltrotor aircraft would be the main user. I mean helicopters have been coming and going, transporting business executives for a significant time already. Helicopters however lack the seating capacity and speed to be a more popular and accessible mode of transportation. Perhaps the tiltrotor could fill this gap in the market. Imagine going to either PBCom tower, the tallest building in Manila, or some of the newer skyscrapers in The Fort to catch a flight to the provinces instead of going through Manila Domestic or the Centennial. And there will multiple buildings hosting these airports in order to alleviate crowding. Think about it.


Update: Well it seems I've been behind the times. Again.

This site says that the "Bell Agusta BA609 is the world's first commercially available tiltrotor aircraft... [It] has a two-person crew and can carry up to nine passengers."

And for Mel's benefit and edification

Have I been away from the tech world that long?

that I totally missed the arrival ofthe Mac Mini until it catched my attention this morning while I was searching for minis at flickr?




"It's the newest and most affordable Mac ever" said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Well I'm sold! Must visit Greenbelt later...

Her Majesty's Value Added Tax scheme

The more I read, the more I felt stupid.

So true...

Bangalore

A now for a fatwa

Will somebody do me the favor of posting the pic above to some Muslim forums with the tag "Saudi King surrenders to West, hands over sword to Pope" or something to that effect. I'm sure some current-events-challenged dumb-ass will react predictably to this picture and launch some riot or something. All in fun of course, following the example set forth by John Safran:

Oh no...

It seems some of my countrymen were not impressed with the grandeur of the Mass at Westminster Cathedral so they decided to spice it up with some cheese:



BTW, did you notice the guy sitting in the cathedra?

Q: What do you call

an accountant who eats chicken-pork adobo?

A: A cannibal.


How else would call a CPA eating CPA?

Fair game

While reading this post from Off the Record, a thought came to me:

Why can't we subject journalists to the same tabloid-type exposes experienced by some celebrities and then have the details presented on showbiz news programs like the Buzz? You know, have some effeminate tabloid reporter follow around some of the big names of "journalism" and report on a daily basis how they're really like in real life. A series perhaps on the love and career life of pinoy lady journalists or the hobbies and vices of the guys of the newsroom or the shady business dealings of newspaper editors with PR guys.

This isn't just a matter of just idly watching snippets of the private lives of your journalists or making heroes out of them. Like the Off the Record post above, we'll be able to determine and understand the perspective from which our journalists are reporting a story. For the most part, I think there's much hypocrisy and Freudian projection and money [you do know that I work for a PR firm, right?] working in pinoy journalism. Just the like good old days.

The common good has never crossed the journalist's mind. He doesn't know such an animal exists. If you find a radio announcer impassioned about a certain issue, he's either personally involved [like the case of Vic de Leon Lima trying to shame a certain utilities company into refunding him for his bills] or someone has spoken a £ANGuaG€ they understand.

This video

ought to settle the musings of Matthew from the Shrine

A technical question:

The poster described the device below as an "Air Bearing Voice Coil XYZ Cross Roller Linear Motor Stage".



I'd like to know how much power it uses. Anyone?

Because Mel feels pressured these days

Between these two:

I believe the blonde has better journalistic creds.

Does hot water freeze first?

Apparently some scientists believe so. When I heard of the Mpemba effect, the first thing that came to my mind is that of the feasibility study I made regarding an ice plant project. Among the facilities in an ice plant is a "cooling tower" which serves to lower the temperature of the water before it is placed a metal container which is then placed in tank of cold brine possessing a temperature of about -5 to -10 degrees centigrade. If the Mpemba effect is, well, real, then cooling towers in ice plants are counterproductive facilities which reduce the efficiency of ice plants. The best practice for ice plants, then, is to pre-heat the water with solar heating before introducing them to the brine tank. I think this is where solar power can be useful in the ice manufacturing industry.