Rantings of a Pinoy Elitist

Uncomfortable

2010-11-08T19:30:00.003+08:00

Playing MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) is fun. You don't just get to hear and see a story, you ARE part of the story. Add to that spells and abilities that your character can possess: like being able to invoke and hurl fireballs, walk on water, shapeshift into a tree that can heal wounds and such, sneak past enemies unseen, or turn an annoying enemy into a harmless sheep - if I could do those things in real life, life could just become a little tad more interesting.

Friends sometimes play online games together for fun. Being able to adventure with someone you know and trust makes the game less of a hassle. And to make things easier the next time they embark on another online adventure, they would naturally want to discuss strategies and such outside the game.

And here's where it gets interesting. Gaming has a vocabulary of its own. There are terms like "DPS" which means "damage dealing" or a "class that excel in doing damage", "tank" which means "a character whose role is to take damage for the rest of the group, or "CC" which means "crowd control" an ability to render an enemy (or enemies) harmless for a set amount of time.

Naturally, for any non-gamer, hearing such terms in a conversation between gamers can really be quite confusing. And it is not seldom that some conversations can lead to uncomfortable situations when such terms and conversation are taken out of context.

Here are just some examples I've picked up from the World of Warcraft forums. If you're a WoW player or just an MMORPG player for that matter, these things mean nothing special. But if you're not familiar with MMORPGs or simply don't have any idea as to what on earth is being talked about here, I'm really sorry but the most respectable thing I could do for you now is to just point at you and laugh.

- - - - - - - - - -

"I just need to enchant my legs and then we can duel."

"We were hosting this huge raid, but couldn't find enough tanks and then people started leaving."

"I've never had much to do with damage specs. But now I'm leveling a kitty and I'm really enjoying the rotation."

"Man, remember last night when we raided Mother Shahraz and her cloth pants dropped? And after that we rolled to see who got the shoulder and I won?"

"I was being ganked by two dwarves in the Wetlands last night."

"I snuck up behind three people last night and stabbed them with my daggers. Killed them in one shot."

"We need to recruit more priests."

"Once I popped all my cooldowns, she started going down fast."

"The boss is just a quick tank and spank. Drops pants that'd be great for me."

"I need a new chest. This one doesn't have gem slots."

"That druid's healing touch was great!"

"Stay back or I'll use my bubbles!"

"Some dude ninja'ed my pants last night."

"I'm down on health! Someone give me a flash of light!"

"Ten of us did Kara last night. Man, it was epic!"

"I was bored last night. So I drank ten jugs of bourbon and puked all over people in the bank."

"I'm a twink."

"I hate grinding. It's so tedious and boring. After a while, it just drones on and on. I tried playing music and even doing it with a friend but it's still boring."

"Wanna hang out?" "Nah, can't. I'm doing Twins."

"I can't duel you yet, lost all my CDs."

"I accidentally minimized, hold up!"

"I was camping at the graveyard until I died."

"She ambushed me while I was eating, before I could blink I was already down."

"I understand how to kill people, I just can't do it fast enough."

and last but not least...

"I can't come to the phone, I'm being killed right now!"

- - - - - - - - - - -

That's all, folks!

Money -- The Destroyer of Friendships

2010-11-04T18:51:00.009+08:00

I've been joking around with a very very close friend that perhaps we should start a business together so we could finally put a dent in our friendship. It's just one of those silly jokes we throw around, of course. And there's no likelihood that anything will follow through with such a proposition. In fact, I could imagine us still being this close seventy years into the future. And there just seems to be nothing that would tear us apart (sniff), hence the joke. But then that's what good friendships are all about -- fun, sharing good things together, comforting each other during sad times, and basically having someone around whom you wouldn't see leaving your side for any goddamn reason humankind has created on the surface of this earth.

Except money.

So the news that a member of this girl clique with whom I'm friends with (*wink* I'm that awesome) decided to call it quits with her girlfriends came as a shock to me. As far as I know they've been friends for over fifteen years, have been through so many and so much as friends, and are my definition of a good, tight friendship. You could say I wasn't just disappointed. I was aghast. It just seems to me that such a thing isn't possible. Relationships come and go, right? But friendship? It's one of those things that to me should have some sort of permanence that shouldn't disappear no matter what.

So I decided to call one of them to find out what really happened. (And I'm a gossip too, what can I say?) And when I uncovered the ugly truth, that's when the shock dissipated and was replaced by disappointment.

So there it is -- money. When you look at things the first time, you would think that money seems to be too trivial a reason for any friendship to crumble. It's not as if money that was lent wouldn't be earned again in the next couple of months, if not weeks, right? That several years of good camaraderie isn't worth losing over a couple of bucks, right? But the sad truth is, people have gone separate ways all too often simply because of money. Money -- a thing which is sadly defined as nothing more than just a means to an end. Money -- a lot of things get thrown out the window because of money. And not just simple things, mind. But really important ones.

An hour of reverie later and I end up thinking that perhaps it isn't really the issue of money that sucks here. I, myself, wouldn't mind lending money to someone who needs it. It's just money, for crying out loud. But what really sucks balls here isn't the issue of money. It's the issue of trust. You lend money. You trust that person to pay the money back. If that person doesn't pay it back on time -- for myriad reasons, some reasonable, some not -- then somehow a level of trust is broken. That's just the thing with money. You need to pay it on time, otherwise things are gonna go sour soon. And then on the other side of the fence, there's the issue of the nagging lender, who just wouldn't stop yapping and who just wouldn't understand that "Dude, I just can't pay you back right now, so will you please shut up already? Ugh..."

The psychology of people when caught in the issue of credit is something that I would rather not discuss extensively as I'm no psychologist or financial adviser myself. There are however several things I will suggest to prevent such ugly things from happening in the first place:

Live within your means. Yes, I know, it's fun when you start earning money to go spend, spend, spend like some bastard son or daughter of Donald Trump. I used to be like that myself until you find your coffers running dry. For the disciplined, it's just a matter of stopping and to start being frugal. But then, there are those who just couldn't resist the temptation of spending. So all I could really say is "Stop!" Spend depending on how much you're earning right now. Everyone's gonna climb up the social ladder anyway sooner or later so save those itchy spending urges several years into the future. But for now, stop and don't go down the path of borrowing money just to satisfy a couple of whims.

Communicate. It's the key, need I say more? If you intend to borrow money, be transparent on your reasons and be ready to accept a refusal! Other people need money to spend their money for themselves, too. And be very clear on your intent to pay and when you're going to pay. On the other hand, if you're the one lending money, don't be afraid to say NO if you need to. You have your needs too! And if you do lend money, be clear as to when you want to be paid. Don't be afraid to ask for your money back, but be nice about it. Don't nag the borrower if he or she can't pay you just yet. Be patient but be smart. And make sure to keep a mental note as to whether a person is trustworthy enough to pay you back on time or not.

Credit is credit. Even if you borrowed money from a friend, it's still credit. Pay on time and don't use friendship as an excuse to delay payment. It's that simple.

The business of money is dirty (eww). And to be quite honest, if there's a way of acquiring one's needs without using money, then I would very much gladly do it. On the condition I wouldn't be using my body, of course! But there you go, money, in a way, is a necessary evil that everyone needs to use in order to go about the business of living. Does it make the world go round? I suppose so. Is it the instrument of the Devil? Well maybe it is! And maybe it is, if it's so powerful enough to destroy good friendships (ooh).

But hey, nobody said that once something is destroyed, it has to remain destroyed, right? I'm really hoping for those girls that once emotions have gone down a notch, maybe they could reconsider and be the friends that they used to be. It's still just - money - after all.

More LOLs @ Oatmeal

2010-10-14T00:32:00.002+08:00

This new post from The Oatmeal maybe entitled "7 things you really don't need to take a photo of", though I think that "7 photo subjects by trying hard photographers" would be nice too.

Seriously, what's up with all those wannabe photographers lately? =o

RH Bill and Jueteng

2010-10-11T12:50:00.009+08:00

Freedom to choose.

Let me just state first that above and beyond everything else, it is my fervent belief that the freedom to make choices for oneself, regardless of anyone else's opinion or influence, and so long as it does not intrude on the rights of another, is one of democracy's greatest inalienable gifts.

We, Filipinos, are such unforgivably weird creatures. For one, we're the type of people who can be extremely conservative over too many things: reluctant to let go of old and outdated traditions; unwilling sometimes (if not oftentimes) to make changes for the better; sticking to old habits and customs without sometimes knowing the reasoning, concrete or otherwise, behind them.

And then, we're also such curiously immoral creatures. Yeah, that's right. For a staunchly (or should I say also proudly?) Christian country, it is not seldom that I regard this place as one hell of a wretched hive of scum and villainy. And quite seriously you'll never find quite a place like this place: promiscuity, gambling, violence, violent politics, lack of discipline, pollution, political incorrectness left and right, the list goes on and on. These things may just be the tip of the iceberg. And yet I still found myself having to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi just to find any appropriate description fitting for the downward spiral that is the Philippines. *sigh*

Despite these two things: ultraconservatism and immorality -- isn't it quite surprising that we Filipinos still manage to find for our country and our people some respect in the global community, or maybe to even just stay intact as a country? But then, I suppose we're so used to living and thinking in such manner, we don't care anymore. Also, combining and managing to live with these two things has been ingrained in our culture for so long, any significant change to the status quo might just result in an altering of reality itself as well as an unexpected polarity shift of the Earth.

...

I'm serious.

*cough*

So now we bring ourselves to the two recent issues that have brought our immoral brand of ultraconservatism to light. The reproductive health bill and the legalization of jueteng.

Alright, let's talk first about the RH bill. The first thing that comes to mind every time I hear it: Why the issue? Okay, so I understand that those ultraconservative Catholics just can't and won't stop yapping about the issue. After all, they see themselves as some kind of moral guardian that need to be telling others what to do. Since their "words" come from God, then their words must be right, right? And that what they say and do should be and is above the law, right? I don't know what kind of books those morons must have in the seminaries but I'm beginning to wonder if their required readings must have been published way back in the Middle Ages. And quite frankly, who are they to lecture others on what to do and not to do? Or to be more to the point, what's the point of lecturing about sex? What would they know about sex? They are not SUPPOSED to be having sex (or are they?) and so how are they supposed to be preaching about anything that they themselves are not (ideally) even knowledgeable of? Besides, the words of those priests would probably have more bearing if they are quite the immaculate angels they think themselves to be. But I'll leave the bastard sons and daughters of the clergy to bring that topic to better light.

Why those church morons put sex in such a negative light is one hell of a mystery to me, as well as a big contradiction. As far as I know, THEY teach that sex came from God, as a means of procreating. So why demonize it? Sure, Filipinos have such a huge problem with regard to premarital sex, fidelity, and excessive procreating. And I'm pretty sure that Filipinos are well aware of that! But if the church wants to remind its followers that they're doing something wrong, then I believe that the proper forum to do this is inside the church or in the privacy of a confessional. Why meddle in the affairs of the state? The state is only doing what it thinks is right to keep things in check. Sure, in the eyes of the church, the use of contraceptives is wrong. But I think they should keep their reprimands inside their own hallowed halls. Yes, while in your churches, tell and teach the people what is right and what is wrong. And please do that as often as possible! We Filipinos are really in dire need of being reminded about the difference, anyway. But please, keep your hands and your mouths off the laws. Just let the law be. And let each and every person have the freedom to choose whether to do what is pragmatically correct or to avoid doing what is morally wrong.

And now, on to the issue about jueteng. Come on, are we really still going to be turning a blind eye on the reality that Filipinos are such unrepentant gamblers? And in a poor country like the Philippines, gambling is the reality of life. When wages and salaries are just too small and the table has too many mouths to feed, would you really blame the Filipino to want to take his chances, no matter how immoral it could be?

But then, the question begs to be asked: In our society today, as well as in the common way of thinking amongst cultured societies, can gambling still be seen as immoral? If you think about it, gambling is not so much a way of life but in fact, a fact of life itself! It has often been said that life is in itself a gamble. Making choices, choosing what would be profitable or not, weighing which decision would yield the better result, isn't that the way life goes? And that being said, how is gambling different from life itself if the only difference that exists is that if you win, you make money, and if you lose, someone else makes money?

Again, the need to give a person the freedom to choose for himself is what's important here. Gambling may be morally incorrect, but if the stomach begins to grumble, will moral correctness still matter? Also, as long as jueteng remains illegal, the more money will be taken out of the common man's pocket to finance the vanities of the corrupt few. How long are we really going to be feeding and supporting the fat asses of those hypocritical imbeciles? If we legalize jueteng, well okay I admit, some of the earnings will still go to the pockets of those parasitic dunderheads, but hey, at least some of the money will make its way to the national coffers! Hmm... a win-win situation?

All in all, what am I saying here? First off, we really need to get off our ultraconservative high horse and accept the fact that a lot of Filipinos ARE immoral. This is a fact we NEED to accept. The sooner we accept it, the faster we are going to realize that hey, preventing people from doing these immoral things won't solve the issue. If not, it will worsen the issue since we know that the more something is made forbidden, the more will people want to do it. And being so, the righteous among us, although they may have the right to preach and to teach, should also learn their place and stop being such bitches in the running of state affairs. Instead, they should just focus on constantly reminding the wayward of their wrongdoings. But in the end, what is important is to let the people have the right to decide what is good for themselves. And in doing so, maybe they would themselves come to the realization of the evils of their own doings and learn to steer away from such things. Experience is the best teacher after all, right?

Second, we also need to remind ourselves that the state should be concerned only on enacting laws that would be beneficial for its citizens. We need to remind ourselves too that not every beneficial thing is moral nor every moral thing is beneficial. If we are to move forward as a people, we need to learn to be more pragmatic and progressive in our way of thinking. The sooner we let go of our outmoded philosophies, the faster we'll progress. Let's keep issues of morality within the teachings of home, school, and (to the non-atheists) church. Let the laws and democracy be!

And third. We need to learn to think before we take any action, and that if we do take any action, we need to be responsible for it. Am I going to use contraceptives for the sake of my family's future? Am I willing to accept the "sin" that comes along with it? If, on the other hand, I choose not to use them and a baby is then born in this world, would I be able to take full responsibility for the child? Or would I just leave the child to die in a dumpster, hoping against hope that a kind soul might find him and take pity?

Must I waste my day's earning on gambling in the hopes of earning more money? If I lose them all, will I accept what my family has to say? Must I always rely on gambling and pray for that day when I'll win big? What about honest living, can I bear earning so few for so many years and hope that all would be enough for my family's future?

The life of a Filipino is full of complex questions and the answers are simply too complex as well. Nevertheless, no one has any excuse to deny him the right to decide for himself, no matter how much more complicated this will make the thinking process for him. Let's not let anyone decide for ourselves what is wrong and what is right, what is moral and just, what is immoral and evil. At the end of the day, against all the noise and bickering, it is we, not some man in a frock, who is the real captain of each of our soul's ship. It is we who will make the final decisions. It is we, who must ultimately decide the direction on which we are going to steer our own ships.

A Very Angry Letter

2010-07-31T07:19:00.003+08:00

A copy of my letter of complaint versus some hospital employees where my Dad is.

----------

July 24, 2010

Three days ago, Wednesday (July 21, 2010), my father (Mr. ------ -. --------) was given a trans-out order from the ICU to a regular room by order of Dr. ----- ----------. Accordingly, we made a request with the Admitting Section for a reservation for a private room in the 2nd floor of the new wing. Given that the hospital wing at the time was apparently “full”, we were placed fourth on the reservation list, about which we have no complaint whatsoever.

The next day, Thursday (July 22, 2010), we made a follow-up inquiry and were told that we were then second place on the list.

Friday (July 23, 2010), we were told that we were still on second place. This we found irregular given that patients were continually being discharged from the hospital, some of which we clearly noted and heard to have been discharged from the 2nd floor. Making a few inquiries, it came to our attention that apparently, some of the “occupied” rooms were in fact, despite being vacant, “reserved” by a certain doctor of the hospital. It doesn’t take an idiot to notice that at this point, some VIP treatments were being handed out, to the detriment of some of the hospital’s paying guests. But still, we kept our silence and stuck to the hospital’s “policies”.
That selfsame afternoon, I was personally seated near one of the guard posts and specifically heard that there were TWO patients that have been discharged from the 2nd floor. Since we were second on the list, I made it a point to go up to the wing at around 3:10PM and see for myself if indeed there were TWO rooms vacant. There were.

I made my way to the lobby and sat near the Admitting Section from about 3:20 to 4:00PM. To my chagrin, I noticed that after about half an hour of being seated there, the personnel didn’t even pay me any attention to at least even inform me regarding any progress regarding our reservation.

At around 4:00PM, a nurse from the ICU came down and specifically told me that since a room in the 2nd floor wing was now available, I should inform the Admitting Section to make arrangements for the transfer. Coming from a nurse, an employee of the hospital, I supposed that things were in order and that a transfer to a regular room may now, AT LAST, take place.

So I went to the Admitting Section to make arrangements and finalize the transfer ONLY TO FIND OUT that the room (Room 210) has been given to someone else by one of the Admitting Section employees on account of this patient being “related to an employee of the hospital” and therefore must be given priority OVER a paying guest - and mind, a guest who has been paying his dues PROMPTLY and REGULARLY.

This whole incident WAS and IS a big insult. We were expecting fair treatment, instead we were shown a wall of VIP treatments all hidden under the guise of the term: hospital policy. We have already paid the hospital a total of P---,---, all deposits paid on time to ensure prompt and proper care for my father. Instead, I was met by a rebuttal, told to wait on the wings, and indirectly being told by those obviously RUDE and CONDESCENDING employees at the ADMITTING SECTION that in the hierarchy of this hospital, PAYING GUESTS are supposed to be given LAST PRIORITY in this hospital. And all this after a month of having to sleep and wait in the hospital lobby and corridors because the hospital cannot even provide a proper waiting room for ICU patients’ relatives, and being treated like trash and “squatters” by those very same employees.

Which brings me to my second complaint: the attitude of your ADMITTING SECTION personnel. For over a month now, I have seen how incoming guests are being treated, some of which, especially those who seem not to be so well-off, with rudeness and condescension. I’ve also seen how phone calls and inquiring persons, are being outright ignored in lieu of putting on make-up or playing Facebook games. Truly appalling. And totally unbecoming for personnel who are supposed to be welcoming incoming guests.

Being a private hospital, the primary interest of this establishment is to earn money – direct to the point and pleasant words aside. Nevertheless, being a business concerned with the care and the rehabilitation of the sick, common sense dictates that the hospital provide RESPECTFUL, DECENT and PROFESSIONAL services to all its guests - a kind of service that should start at the very doorstep of your hospital: the Admitting Section. It is, after all, important to remember that any type of business is NOTHING without the customers and guests that pay and fund for its day to day expenses.

Befriending a Cat

2010-07-04T21:57:00.005+08:00

I haven't been having the opportunity to stay at home for longish amounts of time nowadays. Between taking care of the family business and having to spend time in the hospital where my Dad has been comatose for two weeks now, I really don't have that much of a choice. In happier days, I would've said that the present situation is nothing short of sucks - but apparently I'm not that selfish of a person after all(!) and that I'm actually willing to make sacrifices such as letting go, for a short while mind, of the comforts of home and willing myself to spend more time outside the house not just for my family's but my own benefit as well.

Before all this drama happened, I have already been noticing a white tomcat who had been lounging in our porch mostly in the afternoons and evenings. I'm not particularly territorial myself and neither do I find the presence of cats as a nuisance so I said to myself: yeah sure, why not. Let him sleep there if that's we wants. He's not leaving "leavings" on our chairs, he's very tame and doesn't hiss at me, and having a cat around is a nice deterrence for rats and other pests. Besides, I love cats! And I probably would've already adopted that cat then and there but my parents (who are the owners of the house after all) do not like animals and so one has to adhere to their rules -- well at least with the matter of cats. =P

But nowadays, with my Dad needing to spend more time in the hospital and my Mom needing to stay there as well to look after him, I am mostly alone in the house at night when I come home. Sure I am a loner and enjoys being one, but sometimes even the most lonesome of loners prefer to have the company of others from time to time.

It was when arriving home one night when on the "Welcome" mat before our front door, there sits he again -- the white cat. With cats being territorial and having a keen sense of their environment, Mr. Cat probably noticed that his territory seems to have become a little quieter than it used to. He might have noticed that the talk and the noise in his territory seem to have died down. And noticing these things, he probably decided to lie down right at the entrance of our home, to stand guard, provide a semblance of protection to a suddenly become empty house.

Probably out of my own loneliness, it was then that I decided to befriend the cat. I was of course very appreciative that while we are away, he has been sitting there, standing guard, keeping the bad things away. I went inside, opened a can of sardines, put the contents on a plate, and took it outside. He wasn't there anymore, of course. He scooted away when I arrived but I was hoping that the smell of sardines would convince him to come back. I left the plate of sardines there, on top of the mat, closed to door so that he wouldn't be spooked to come near and eat the offering, then I myself went up to my bedroom to get some much needed rest.

The next day soon as I woke up, I went outside to see if he ate the food. And much to my delight, he did! But knowing cats, that's just but "hello". One won't endear himself that easily to a cat -- with a single can of sardines. No, sir. It would take more than THAT to become acquainted with a cat, let alone become his friend. Nevertheless, this is something that I wish to pursue. I've promised myself that every time I come home at night, I'll provide him with food. And hopefully with such perseverance, I'll make myself a new and totally awesome friend.

Befriending a cat is only the first step. To name a cat -- that would take a lot of effort on my side before I become even worthy of giving him one. But in the very fortunate event that he decides to befriend me as well, I've already decided on a name. I've decided to call him Schlüssel, that means key, a name which I think is only fitting for a cat who likes to sleep outside our front door and who, himself, has also opened another door that has led me out of the darkness of my current situation and opened up for me an existence that has more hope. =)

I'm Back

2010-07-04T08:45:00.003+08:00

...and with a nice little picture of a pretty evil kitty.

Things have become quite a pretty mess for the past few months and all I could really say is is that I'm just glad that so far I'm weathering them out pretty well. I'll be posting new posts later during the day if I could. But of all the confounded nuisances I could encounter this morning, it would have to be seeing the picture of this cute cat. And as you could imagine, it took away everything off my head. Yep, my cranial cavity is, at the moment, as clean as a saint's soul. =P

Warning: Cute

2010-05-02T14:27:00.003+08:00

I was doing a little internet browsing this afternoon when I came upon this really interesting page.

15 cute animals that could kill you

Always remember, folks, that in the animal world: cute =/= safe.

(Just ignore the braindead comments on the lower half of that page.)

First of May

2010-05-01T15:10:00.002+08:00

The heat is stifling.

Bored to death.

Staring at nothing is making me feel stupid.

What else is left to do?

I think I'm gonna go get myself a MOHAWK.

- - - - - - - - -

Also, because it is the 1st of May, I would like to give a big salute to all the world's workers whose hard work made it possible for the international economy to keep going. Thanks to all your sacrifices. You guys are worth a million and one admirations.

Some Interesting Reads

2010-04-21T13:53:00.010+08:00

Looking after my sick dad at the hospital about a week ago, I bought myself a copy of Reader's Digest's April 2010 issue to while away the time and remedy the boredom. Another worthy read as I expected. But aside from the always hilarious humor sections, there were two major articles that I really liked: one about pandas, and the other about former lab chimps.

For the Love of Pandas
The panda article was a real joy, if only for the pictures that came along with it. Seriously, can those pandas be even more adorable? (No, I'm not gonna be posting pics here of the cute pandas. I suggest you buy the magazine yourself or click this link.) The story was about a Panda conservation center in China, as well as the conservationists who work there, whose heroics efforts are helping to increase the pandas' chances of escaping extinction. You'll get to read about the everyday goings-on in the place, as well as a brief glimpse of what life is like not just for the pandas but for the caretakers as well.

Retirement Refuge
On the flipside, the chimp story was a sad but not hopeless one. As a lot of us probably know by now, chimps are almost genetic twins of humans, with them possessing no less than 98.7% of DNA similar to ours - the strongest reason why they were often used in laboratories as test stand-ins for us. We can only just imagine the cruelty these animals had to go through and, when their use has been fully exploited, how they were simply left for dead. The story tells of a chimpanzee refugee center in Canada whose mission is to adopt these poor abandoned chimps and give them a nice comfortable home away from the human cruelty they grew accustomed to.

There is always a feeling of certain sadness every time I get to read articles such as these. I could only hope that as more and more people get to know about the plight of these animals, more actions will be made will be made to better not just their lives but ours as well.

- - - - - - - - - -

More information about the panda conservation center may be found here.

More information about the chimpanzee sanctuary may be found here.

- - - - - - - - - -

Get involved. Spread the word. Help.

Hope It Comes Out Soon™

2010-04-19T15:47:00.004+08:00

About a month or so ago, I had a little fun playing and finishing the old Starcraft game. And I must say that after 12 years, the game is still as awesome as when it was first released - it's so awesome, you wouldn't really care that the game's graphics are now really looking old.

The beta testing for Starcraft 2 is now on full swing and I just can't wait for it to be finally released (hopefully later this year). Gah, the excitement is killing me! The new and definitely improved graphics are awesome. But here's also hoping that the awesome gameplay and game balance of the parent game will carry over. After all, what's the use of a pretty game when it's boring as hell, right?

Can't wait to see my old pals Raynor, Zeratul, and Kerrigan again.

More at starcraft2.com.

You want a piece of me, boy?

Mama Nature Be Angry, Mon!

2010-04-19T09:17:00.003+08:00

Ever since the Haiti earthquake, it's been like there were news about moderate to strong quakes happening everywhere around the globe -- Chile, China, Japan, Indonesia, and of course here in the Philippines. It's like the earth has just suddenly decided to become seismically active and release probably whatever tension it has upon the surface of the planet. And then last week, there was that major volcanic explosion in Iceland, causing much transportation woes in Europe whose airspace has been blanketed by ash and other volcanic debris.

Mother Nature sure has been angry these past few months. And it is no wonder people nowadays are asking: is there something wrong? Are we partially responsible for these quakes? Has human activity really cause such an impact on the earth's surface geology? Should people be alarmed? Or are such tectonic events merely a part of the natural cycle of the earth? A report I saw in CNN some days ago said that the number of significant earthquakes which has happened in the first four months of this year alone equals the annual average of such quakes of the previous years. Pretty alarming data, isn't it? Hmm... maybe I should cash in on this and start myself a doomsday cult? Just imagine all the money one can rake in by preying on people's fears! But I'm just kidding, of course.

I suppose that just like everyone, my big fear at the moment is what if the Big One hits my area. Can my place withstand a strong quake? Where should I take cover? Will I survive? The sad truth is that we'll never know -- I'll never know the exact hour, the exact day, the exact time. All I could really do is hope that no matter what happens, things wouldn't turn out to be so bad.

So many questions.

Lots of unknowns.

Is the world ending? I personally don't believe that it is. Not yet anyway. The only one thing I'm sure of: Mama Nature sure knows how to rock our world.

I Need a Hug

2010-04-16T17:38:00.000+08:00

I'm so tired. I think I'll pass out.

A Simple Tale of Human Kindness

2010-04-03T18:39:00.004+08:00

So let me tell you a story.

It was, I think, Tuesday or Wednesday and just like every other Tuesday or Wednesday during a Filipino Holy Week, everyone was just too busy to get his or her business over with to actually care about what's going on around him or her.

And so it was during this hot summer day that we find my really good friend, along with her personal assistant, driving through one of Manila's busy thoroughfares. And just like everybody else, she was pretty much feeling harrassed with trying to finish all her pre-Lenten businesses and getting each and everything done before the long weekend vacation starts. She could've chosen not to care. She was tired. She needed to make the most of her time. The sun was glaring high up in the sky. The heat was unbearable. Anything else just wasn't her business. But in the end, she chose to care.

It was while driving through that busy road that she drove past a poor, grimy old man (a taong grasa in the vernacular) lying sprawled and passed out on the sidewalk. Like I said, she could've just chosen to keep on driving and minded her own damn business. Who was that man to her anyway? If the other motorists and passers-by didn't pay the man a second glance, why should she?

But I suppose that even with the most jaded urban dweller, there still and will always be a tiny corner of the mind where lies one's innate instinct for wanting to reach out to others - a desire to make right a perceived wrong.

And so she decided to go to the nearest McDonalds to get the poor old man something to eat. On the way there, she also called the local police to get the man some help. She was a little disappointed and maybe also a little angry at how the police replied that they would tell the man to just "go away" so as not to be a disturbance the peace. At the back of her said she was thinking, "Are you serious, that man is close to dying! And instead of getting him some help you'll just tell him to go away? What could a collapsed man possibly do to disturb the peace?"

After getting the food, she and her assistant went back to where the man was. He was still there. They got off the car, tried to talk to the man and coaxed him to eat. But with the heat of the sun and probably several days of not having anything to eat, the man could barely reply nor even be able to take just one sip of the cool, refreshing beverage being offered to him.

The police eventually arrived, saw the state of the man who was bloodied all over for probably having collapsed on the hot pavement, and decided to call some back-up and rescue. Now that the police are there, my friend and my assistant could've just chosen to leave the man's fate to them, couldn't they? But no, they decided to stay until the the rescue team arrived to take the man to the nearest hospital or clinic.

As he was being whisked away, my friend noticed a silver ring on the man's finger. Despite the grime and blood, the ring stood out, untarnished and shining in the glaring hot sun.

As my friend drove away from the scene, she was left wondering: Who was that man? Why did he have that ring? Was once in his life he was married and happy? How did he end up old, dirty and bloodied on the streets?

Life is indeed full of mysteries. And perhaps in this holiest of weeks, when people are made to contemplate the importance of their existence, this tiny incident came to be as a sort of reminder that in the dirtiest of places, a little act of kindness - just like an untarnished silver ring - could still shine out and remind us of the mysteries and the beauty of this so-called life.

More PC Woes

2010-04-03T18:30:00.003+08:00

And just when I thought I could finally take a really good break after going on a second trip at the hospital (again to take care of Dad), I went home to find that my crazy fat bro has made the computer go kaputt with his porn-downloading antics.

And so here I am, trying my best to use a very small keyboard on my sister's very small laptop, trying my best to maneuver my often fidgety fingers over this really small thing.

Ophelia said this should be my Holy Week's worth of penitence.

Why, oh God, why?

Can't wait to get the old desktop up and running again. This tiny keyboard is driving me off the wall!

Vielen Dank to my sister for letting me use her laptop. =3

Much Ado About the National Anthem

2010-03-24T13:08:00.004+08:00

How come that everytime there was a Manny Pacquiao fight, there always had to be an issue regarding how the National Anthem was sung?

A couple of weeks back, as we all know, unless you're living under a rock or in some distant cold planet, Pacquiao won another fight. (He just keeps on winning, it's really kinda getting boring). So while people ranted about how boring this fight was, how boring his opponent was, and how long it took for the boring fight to end, another "issue", or should I say non-issue, that came up was regarding the missinging (is this even a word?) of the National Anthem as performed by Arnel Pineda.

Okay, we get it. The Anthem should be sung with a marching beat. And that every word should be sung correctly. yada, yada. But do people seriously give a damn? Would people really care if in the end the total message of the song has been imparted and was never changed or otherwise bastardized? Why does that historical, cultural institute (whose name I've also forgotten) always make such a big fuss regarding how the Anthem was sung on every Pacquiao fight? I mean, come on, if the improper singing of the national song is such a crime, then tens of thousands of kids in grade school should have already been incarcerated for always interchanging mong with mo'y! Let's not even get started with how some kids replace some of the words to mean something about how corpses' noses are stuffed with cotton.

A song has about as many interpretations as the number of people who sing it - a really big number considering how big the population of this country is. And quite frankly, being so strict about the tempo or the proper wording of the song is just stuff for the the obsessive compulsive to worry about. Did the rendition of the song rouse your nationalistic fervor? Was it sung in such a way that no disrespect was meant? Personally, so long as these two criteria are met, I couldn't give a damn as to whether the song was sung in a funereal tempo or else sung in an upbeat manner ending in a china-shattering operatic soprano ending.

But on the other hand, I am also irked by how some performers make so many embellishments on that one simple song. It's just one song, for crying out loud! And the melody is one of the simplest tunes out there to remember. And nobody gives a damn how good of a singer you are. Fights like these are not your show, the spotlight here belongs to the boxers. So for the love of all that's holy, shut your artistic trap and ego and sing the song in a simple manner where everyone can sing along. And to be quite honest, with regard to National Anthems, I suppose people would also want to sing or hum along with you. But that's it. They are here to watch a fight not be amazed by someone's vocal prowess.

- - - - - - - - -

Out of the many times I've watched Pacquiao matches, the only one "proper" rendition of the Anthem I can remember was done by Kyla, about a couple of years back, I think. She sang it in a simple manner, with a marching beat, and the words were exact and perfect. It was really good, I could remember feeling quite happy that at least and at last, someone got it right.

But of course, true to the Filipino nature of being such insufferable ranters, people still complained that her performance wasn't 100% perfect.

Dear Lord...

Photo from filipinasoul.com

The Return of CMcP

2010-03-23T13:11:00.004+08:00

Dear blog,

It's been a while since I wrote anything. There are actually a lot of things that have been wanting to get out of my head. But between finishing that game I've been wanting to finish for years and taking care of my dad who took a brief vacation at the hospital, I really didn't find enough time or energy to write my thoughts down.

But now that I've finished that game (at long last! wooh!) and also that my dad's feeling a lot better, I'll be able to go back to writing. Just need to relax a bit, empty my head of excess thoughts, and take a nice long sleep.

Cheers,
CMcP

That Awesome Feeling After Finishing Something

2010-03-15T12:04:00.003+08:00

Work, play, getting homeworks done, fully cleaning the house - we humans go through so many stuff in this complicated existence, you would think animals are wiser for keeping things simple and keeping things on the matter of surviving and procreating. It is, I guess, human nature that despite so many things we have to do, we'd still bother to keep our minds preoccupied with worries. And it is not seldom that when we're about to get started on something, we would always feel apprehensive and anxious. What if something goes wrong? Will I be able to finish it? Should I do it this way? Or how about that way? What if I don't accomplish my task? What are the consequences of doing or not doing it? So many questions - and more often than not, they lead to procrastination and unfinished businesses.

So lately, I've picked up on an old RTS game I used to play. In layman's terms, RTS is simply a type of gaming wherein you build and finance an army and then use it to defeat your opponent. Pretty simple concept, isn't it? But involves a lot of multitasking and awareness to be able to master it. Are your defenses still intact? Is your offense winning or getting pummeled? Do you still have enough money to train more soldiers? etc. etc. I won't bore the non-gamer with the fine details but to say the least, this type of gaming requires a lot of mental processes. (And being the nerd that I am, the mental exercise helps keep my brain alert and agile).

What then, has this game got to do anything? Seriously, it's just a game!

Of course, it's just a game. And with or without it, life goes on. I've decided to stop playing the game several times in the past, first because other things need more prioritizing, and second, the game's just too hard a nut to crack, it gave me headaches more than enjoyment. So I just said, screw it with this game and moved on.

But it has always been a frustration not to be able to finish it. There was always that nagging thought at the back of my head that if I could've just pushed myself a little further, then perhaps I could've beaten that silly computer and its strategies. How difficult could it be, to be able to beat machine? Did I really let myself quit over this?

So being lucky with not being too preoccupied with many things recently, I've decided to give the silly game another try. And I must say that I'm a bit surprised that things weren't as hard as they used to be. Yes, I was anxious at first, thinking that if I don't get to finish it this time, will I even be able to? Is this game just too hard to beat? But then I decided to just let things be, give it another go, and see what happens. And it really wouldn't hurt to try now, would it? It kinda hurts more to not even try to try.

A week later and I'm about 5/6 of the way into finishing. That's a lot more than what I've accomplished before and I can't help but get my nerd senses tingling at the prospect of being able to finish it at last. I'm trying to keep my fingers crossed, hoping that in a few days, I'll finally be able to nail this bugger down after not being played and finished for years.

So now you might be thinking, how does this experience relate to life? What does the rant of a gaming nerd have to do with anything that's relevant at all?

Simple. There are plenty of things that we are apprehensive to get started on, simply because we're afraid of not being able to finish it. But at the end of any task, whether it be work or play, once one has accomplished it, that awesome feeling one gets at the end of the task - the euphoria - should be motivation enough to get one's gear started. And with this thought in mind, if one is able to beat a simple yet pain-in-the-ass game, there's no reason one couldn't handle the challenges life's gonna throw his way. If one simply looks forward at experiencing the euphoria, the challenges of any task would be trivial.

Jack the Ripper

2010-03-11T12:47:00.005+08:00

Discovery Channel featured a couple of shows regarding serial killers a few days ago. There has always been a certain degree of fascination towards them: what makes them tick, what were they thinking, how different are they really from you and I, what makes them so mysterious, etc. I admit I'm one those people. But I'm quite thankful that my fascination isn't the kind that borders on worship or, worse, being a copycat.

The most famous of them all, of course, was Jack the Ripper who terrorized London in the latter part of the nineteenth century. You would think that with the modern-day serial killers who have kill counts numbering in the double digits, Jack the Ripper, whose known kill count was only five, would've paled in comparison. But no. What made him stand out? He got away with it. And up to this day, nobody knows who he really was.

And then there's his nightmarish M.O. His targets were all prostitutes, who by the nature of their profession would want to take their customers to the most dark and hidden street corners of Victorian London. The best place to commit a crime, wouldn't it? He then would stealthily approach his victim from the back, grab her by the hair, quickly slit her throat twice, then eviscerate her innards, leaving the body in such a way that people who would later find the corpse could only recoil in disgust at the inhumanity and the degradation of it all.

So you begin to question yourself: how could such a person do such barbaric acts? Was there something in his past that would've driven him to commit such abominations? Is it possible that someone was just made that way - that is, if the theory of a 'criminal DNA' is real - did he possess it? How can someone be able to do such things without feeling guilt or remorse and probably derive satisfaction, enjoyment, and thrill from doing so?

And then there's the frightening thought that such people actually do co-exist with us. He could be your neighbor, a friend, an acquaintance - someone you would never associate with the term 'serial killer'. It is not the presence of a criminal aura that sets a serial killer apart they say. It is actually the complete lack of it.

Another thing that makes me wonder is how come I don't get to hear any Filipino version of serial killers? Sure there were in the past deadly and brutal multiple killings but in a way they are also a little bit different. Maybe because these incidents were only committed once as opposed to being committed over a period of time by a single person? Anyway, I'm definitely not wishing that similar things happen here. I was just wondering whether the serial killer phenomenon is purely a Western idea. Or if such things are happening here as well but are just not being reported or recognized for what they truly are.

But I suppose my real fascination with the Jack the Ripper story is not with him or his hideous acts alone but with the power of the human psyche itself. The human brain is truly a wonderful but sometimes a truly terrifying thing. It is capable of thinking up great ideals resulting in man's progress. But it is also quite capable of committing acts that could only be described as insane.

Photo from jadugar.wordpress.com

The Heat is On

2010-03-08T20:10:00.005+08:00

I've been yanking at my hair for about a week now out of sheer frustration because of this heat. It's driving me off the wall. I'm not usually one to complain too much about the summer weather. I'm used to it, having lived here in the tropics for over twenty years. But after seeing the thermometer hit the 40 degrees Celsius mark today and feeling the heat literally radiating off the pavement, well yeah this crazy weather's definitely not to my liking.

Kinda weird that just half a year ago, typhoons and flooding were this country's big problem. And now, we've gone to the other extreme of the climate scale. And it gets even better, of course. Even warmer weather is to be expected in the coming weeks, or so the weather experts say. *grumble*

If this isn't an obvious indication of global warming, I don't know what is. People are dying out there in the streets due to heat stroke. Crops are failing, droughts are affecting many of the agricultural regions, and dam levels continue to drop. And those foolish first-world industrialists still won't sign that protocol requiring the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions -- damn hypocrites.

The weather extreme took its toll on my health as well. It's not so bad but I have been feeling slightly feverish for the past couple of weeks. And because of it, I had to impose a no AC, no electric fans, no cold drinks rule on myself. What awesome timing and just when I needed them most! And I'm really not a fan of leaving the windows wide open at night. I have always had an irrational fear since I was a kid that an aswang might decide to perch herself just outside my window and watch me sleep. I'm blaming my now departed grandma for this - her and her crazy horrifying bedtime stories.

I wish the last vestiges of my fever would finally go away so that I can indulge myself in some cool refreshing drinks and shakes again. Or maybe I should go get my head shaved? Yeah, that sounds like a cool idea. Ooh, and of course, avoid wearing black and the rest of the Goth scene. (Not that I'm really into it anyway.) Some people might also recommend that I go to the beach to cool off, but I'm really not a beach person so that's off my list.

Or maybe I could also hire myself some Irish Catholic monks. And get them to chant something like "Rain, o blessed Virgin, rain!" Hopefully, they also know how to chant "Stop, o blessed Virgin, stop!" when the rain becomes too much.

Gah!! *pulls out more hair*

Photo from insidefurniture.com

Post-Apocalyptic Plague

2010-03-04T07:39:00.004+08:00

I just woke up from a very interesting dream.

I say interesting because, taken at face value, the dream was a nightmare. I had to force myself to wake up, get up off the bed to stretch my limbs and get the sleep paralysis off, and bully my mind to start thinking of butterflies, green fields, and cute bunnies.

Nevertheless, the dream also had a so-so, pretty straightforward message to impart. Why the hell it was in my dream and not the plot of a B-Movie beats me, but I guess I did enjoy that nightmare a bit. I definitely don't want to see and experience it again though.

So here's how it was:

Imagine present day Manila in a post-apocalyptic setting. Overpopulated. Polluted.

In one of the suburban areas, the pollution problem was so bad, people started getting sick. The disease was highly contagious and anyone who got afflicted developed lesions on the skin. The virus would then spread to their brains, altering their cognitive processes and turning them into zombie-like but still mindful and willful beings.

The situation was initially contained within hospital wards and such but naturally things degenerated real fast when the doctors got sick themselves. Next thing you know, the plagued mobs started to converge in the streets, madly trying their utmost to spread the disease to everyone else who are not afflicted yet. Sadly, the plague got me too and I became one of the crazed mob as well.

Of course, there was a resilient few who managed to evade the disease and discovered an antidote to combat it: Salt. By sprinkling salt to the plagued mobs or otherwise bathing them in salinated water, the formerly crazed, including myself, were able to regain their sanity and the lesions on their skin started to fade.

Soon, the cleansed people started a movement to clean the city streets and get rid of all the garbage that probably caused the plague in the first place. It was actually good, seeing everyone doing their part, sometimes singing together to keep everyone's spirits up.

They eventually reached that suburban area where the pollution was at its worst, the last area that needs to be cleaned up and where the remaining crazed ones were in hiding. The process was really taking a while given how badly contaminated the place was.

But just like in a B-Movie, there was the twist: The crazed ones had apparently perfected a bomb which when released will spread the plague to every part of the city. And as the clean-up guys were just about starting to make real progress in that city area, that was when the multiple plague bombs were launched and the whole city along with its populace became plagued once more.

Photo from forum.juhlin.com

Made Me Giggle

2010-03-03T21:42:00.003+08:00

I saw this internet forum sig earlier and it kinda made up for the many bad things I saw and heard today.

- - - - - - - - - -

(>^.^)> ohai
(>^.^)># i made you this waffle
(>~.~)># but then i got hungry
(>^#^<) so i eated it

- - - - - - - - - -

I think I want to eat some waffles. nomnomnomnom...

Enraged while Watching TV

2010-03-03T20:48:00.010+08:00

Recently, there were two things I heard and saw while watching TV that made me rage:

1. A month or so ago, this entertainment couple (whose names I'd rather not say for the sake of keeping reality and the universe intact) had a very public spat regarding the guy's alleged other woman. The fact that this pointless issue made the news would have been rage-worthy enough, right? I was wrong.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I had the misfortune of seeing separate interviews of the two of them. Apparently they've reconciled and things are looking as rosy as ever. Alright. Whatever.

Then I heard their patch-up catchphrase: "Love! Love! Love!"

Seriously? Really?!

Yep, say that in the most annoying sing-song way possible and you would understand my rage. Even the Dalai Lama would cringe hearing how they say those words. It's making me want to gouge babies' eyes out.

- - - - - - - - - -

2. After hearing the most annoying political ads on TV, you would've thought it would be enough to make you not care anymore, right?

Wrong.

A senator who's running for re-election for the Senate again (despite totally failing in fulfilling his last campaign promise of lowering electricity rates), now had the gall use as his campaign slogan: "Gusto ko happy ka!" (I want you to be happy.)

Yeah, right.

Your political history from the martial law years up to the present doesn't really make me happy at all, man. Your slogan actually sounds more like a threat: I demand that you be happy... or else!

Just retire, old man! I'll give you credit on being able to spin things to your favor though. With a catchy slogan like that and an electorate as dumb as a doorknob, I won't be surprised if you get reelected again.

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear Lord!

The Tale of a Girl with Something Stuck in between her Two Front Teeth

2010-03-02T15:35:00.004+08:00

So let me tell you a story about a girl. And so that she can remain anonymous and also because I couldn't remember her real name either, we'll just call her Little Red Riding Hood.

Little Red Riding Hood was your average college girl. She used to go to an exclusive all girls' school, had a circle of girl friends, and loved to hang out in the mall when classes got dismissed early. She's not what you would call pretty but she nevertheless loves to think that she is so. And like any girl her age, if you tell her that she's pretty, she would consider you her best friend (if you're a girl) or fall in love with you (if you're a guy and she thinks you're cute). Of course, if you're not her type of guy, then she would stay the hell away from you no matter how good your compliments are. She would still believe your compliments though.

So one afternoon, classes ended early and Little Red Riding Hood and her friends went to the mall to have lunch. There really wasn't anything much to do so they just decided to do whatever comes to mind.

After lunch, they decided to spend a few hours in a coffee shop, chatting, laughing, talking about the usual girl stuff. It was while they were laughing about something that her girlfriends noticed something wrong: Little Red Riding Hood had something dark and obvious stuck in between her two front teeth.

The situation was of course very awkward and her friends really had no idea whether to tell her or just ignore it. They just decided to ignore it. But as you can imagine, it was really very distracting when you can see something as obvious as that (it was supposedly half a centimeter in diameter) while at the same time trying to laugh and pretend that you're not really seeing anything.

So the boring afternoon hours passed and the girls later went to a nearby park to get some fresh air. They played, talked, and laughed with some kids and flirted with some boys they saw. And all the while, Little Red Riding Hood was the loudest of them all, chatting with the kids face to face (the kids were probably terrified of what they were seeing and were very uncomfortable about it) and smiling her best smile to some of the boys. Her friends, meanwhile, can only manage to exchange meaningful glances behind her back.

Later that evening, the group decided to head out to a friend's house to freshen up before heading home and also to have a little more chitchat. Little Red Riding Hood excused herself to go to the bathroom. A few minutes later, they heard her shrieking and running to them, shouting:

"Oh my God, you shameless bitches! (laughs) Why didn't you tell me there was something stuck in between my teeth!"

Friends: "Huh? What? We don't know what you're talking about..."

Yada, yada, yada...

Later that night, her friends called each other up to ask the question that's been burning in their mind the whole afternoon:

"Hey, did you notic--?"

"Yes!!!! Hahahaha!"

- - - - - - - - - -

To this day, none of her friends admitted to having noticed anything.

To this day, Little Red Riding Hood suspects her friends of lying to her about it.

Chicken Soup for the Desperate

2010-02-26T18:28:00.003+08:00

Friday.

For two days now, I have had a very annoying throat infection and I'm just glad it didn't develop into a fever.

So anyway, I was planning on having some chicken soup for dinner but unfortunately we've run out of ingredients. I was really hoping to have some. I like how the heat helps to ease the discomfort in my throat.

Out of desperation, here's what I did:

1. Boil two cups of water.

2. Throw in a chicken broth cube.

3. Wait 5 minutes.

4. ? ? ?

5. Profit!!!

Talk about eating something sad for dinner. But hey, at least I'm feeling a little better. =P

Creeped Out with Some Normal Things

2010-02-25T21:29:00.010+08:00

How do we know if something has gone beyond normal and is to be considered as creepy? For many of us, the line that divides creepy and normal is pretty thin and everyone sets his boundary in the normalcy spectrum at a different degree. What may be creepy to you is normal to me and vice-versa. But of course, there are things that are generally considered as normal by most people and there are others that are just downright weird and uncomfortable for everyone.

So in the interest of fun and hilarity, let me share some things (and people) that are usually considered as normal and mundane by others but nevertheless creep the hell out of me for reasons I can't really put my finger on. =(

Clowns and Mimes

I have already told several of my friends before that clowns, mimes, or pretty much any kind of performer who wears white make-up creep me out, no kidding. Of course, it's not like whenever I see one, I'd scream my lungs out and run like a sissy from the room. No, it's more like whenever I'm near one or when I see one on TV, things just feel very uncomfortable. Maybe it's how unnatural their painted smiles are? And in the case of mimes, the silence makes me feel really queasy. Can't you guys just say whatever it is you want to say?

Perfectionists

Martha Stewart, that obsessive-compulsive woman in Desperate Housewives, Monica from Friends... Just what the hell is up with these people and their desire to make everything around them perfect? I was channel surfing the other day when I chanced upon Martha's show and saw her showing off this really perfect bouquet of flowers. It's so perfect, it defies reality and the rest of the known universe. These people also seem to possess this certain air of aggressiveness that would rain fires from hell on you if you even dare go against what they say or do. I sometimes wonder if they and serial killers fall under the same Myers-Briggs personality category.

Religious Sculptures and Paintings

Being born and raised Catholic, the decorations and atmosphere inside a church are to me very familiar. But having seen and experienced them for the longest time, can you really blame me if some of the things I see inside a church scare me? Sculptures and pictures of holy beings bleeding or crying, triumphant angels standing on top of defeated demons with the most horrible faces, sometimes thinking that that statue is staring at you when you're not looking. Add to all these that eerie Latin song I can't understand. And for the record, I'm not an evil hellspawn who's just afraid to enter a church. =P

*shrugs*

Thinking about these things stressed me out. I need to do some meditating and deep breathing.

Photos from sciencefictionfantasyhorror.com, cbc.ca, and lostseouls.com

EDSA Remembered

2010-02-23T00:43:00.011+08:00

I was browsing through the cable channels tonight and as I passed by Cinema One, I was really pleased that they were showing A Dangerous Life, the old Australian-produced English language film about Ninoy Aquino's assassination and the EDSA Revolution. The film's main star was Gary Busey who portrayed the role of an American journalist covering the events. The rest of the cast however were mostly Filipinos such as Laurice Guillen (Cory Aquino), the late great Ruben Rustia (Ferdinand Marcos), and Tessie Tomas (Imelda Marcos). It was really eerie how they managed to capture the mannerisms and character of the people they were portraying, some of their scenes actually sent shivers down my spine. And although I might be a little disappointed that the movie is mostly in English, I am actually glad that the movie captured very well the spirit of those times including minute details of history that are now famous, like the government choppers landing in Crame to join the rebels or Cory's first salute to newly appointed Chief-of-Staff FVR. Yes, I had fun. Yes, I will shamelessly admit that there were several times when I just felt tears welling up in my eyes.

Watching this movie made me contemplate about several things.

First, that the EDSA Revolution is a unique social phenomenon. That no matter how many similar street actions and peaceful revolutions take place, there will only be one and only one EDSA. Call me old school, but somehow, I'll never be able to call EDSA as EDSA 1, EDSA One, or EDSA Uno. I find it quite absurd really and probably a little ridiculous and insulting when people compare movements of the recent past like EDSA 2 or 3 with the EDSA of 1986. EDSA will always be unique and one of a kind. Can anything equal something that has, supposedly, inspired the downfall of Communism in the Soviet bloc? People in the succeeding decades may have tried to replicate what happened in EDSA - the romanticism, the idealism, the patriotic songs. But sadly for the future generation, what has happened then will never happen again. It is really up for the later decades to bring about something that is uniquely its own and not copy something that it will never have the chance to equal.

Second, that power, once acquired, is truly a hard thing to give up. One scene from the movie that really got stuck in my mind was when Marcos was about to flee and went to his office to say his goodbyes. He went to his presidential table, kissed it, and sobbed. Now trying to imagine who might be sitting in front of that table in the next few months made me think of the prospects of whether that new person would respect the true power behind the table or would rather spend his days in power kissing it.

And third, that behind all the confetti and the cheers, what is happening in reality - poverty, corruption, political division - these things can never and will never be resolved by revolutions alone. The movie ended with Cory giving her speech before the US Congress, proudly proclaiming to the world that the Philippines is a democracy once more. The epilogue, however, was clear in pointing out that after all the celebrations, most of the country's problems still remained and there were still a lot of things that need to be done.

Nevertheless, I'm happy that somehow the spirit of EDSA has been renewed amongst Filipinos once more, when for years it has been forgotten and only remembered when Cory died half a year ago. I am just hoping that whether in the coming years we forgot about EDSA or not, we would still continue to move forward as a people and try our best to solve the myriad problems that we still have despite twenty-four years of restored freedom.

EDSA may have signaled the end of a dictatorship and the rebirth of democracy, but we should also remember that it was only a keystone around which we should have rebuilt our pride and dignity as a people. EDSA was only a process. The real solution is in our hands.

Photo from wikipedia.org

- - - - -

long P.S.

Later this morning after I woke up, I was mulling over the idea of how some people nowadays think that they would rather that martial rule continued and that the EDSA revolution never happened.

The strongest argument to this point has always been that during the Marcos regime, at least things were stable. Communism was subdued, the Philippines received a lot of financial backing from the US, the arts flourished, yada yada. While during the Aquino administration, the country was beset by several coup attempts, the NPA became stronger, the economy continued to languish, and people remained poor.

But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if the people who say these things are the same people who would put every blame they can on the government. I suppose it stems from the local culture of not having any collective responsibility towards anything this country suffers. Yeah that's right - if something goes wrong, blame the government.

Only thing is, the people don't realize that the very reason the government exists is because it is elected into power by them in the first place. Marcos became President because we voted for him. EDSA failed (as some naysayers, which does not include this writer, prefer to describe it) because we chose to let things degenerate from then. The country continues to mire in poverty and corruption because we'd rather dump the responsibility on someone else than taking some of the responsibility ourselves.

We have always chosen the easy way out. It is truly a shame that a lot of people would rather live an easy life under a repressive regime than choose to live a responsible, challenging existence under a democracy.

Love Songs from the 80's

2010-02-21T09:58:00.004+08:00

Alright, so it's Sunday morning and there's just nothing decent to do. So I thought, hey why not subject people to some really corny love songs from the 80's?

Enjoy!

Having fun? Why, you're welcome!

Who to Vote For..., Part II

2010-02-19T21:39:00.003+08:00

So a few weeks back, I said I was waiting for a sign that would perhaps enlighten me as to who it is I should vote for in the polls this coming May. I was pleasantly surprised when my wish got answered so fast when I stumbled upon this blog post by Lourd de Veyra in www.spot.PH.

Like I've said, I've made up my mind to vote for Noynoy Aquino, but I also admitted that he's not my top choice. Either Gibo Teodoro or Dick Gordon would've been my bet. But Gibo's political allies scare the hell out of me while Gordon seems to be lacking in political support and machinery. So I'm choosing to put my vote on Noynoy instead, hoping against hope that perhaps if more people would vote for him, then perhaps the 'sane' side of politics would win and this country would not go down the same downward path we chose roughly a decade ago when the majority of this country's voters voted for Erap.

Besides, the Liberal Party - Noynoy's party - has been going on and on for years as to how this country should be run anyway. While some of their ideas may be sound (to me at least), I would rather that they are not just all talk. Okay then, I'll give them a chance this time and see whether what they are saying are indeed things of substance or nothing but air. Now seems to be a very good time to put these idealists and their ideas to the test and see if they actually measure up to anything.

Nevertheless, I'm afraid to admit that there is a very high chance of Manny Villar winning this election. He's shrewed, cunning, and definitely knows how to work the PR machinery in order to convince the poor masses into voting for him. It's quite alarming how quickly he managed to climb the polls and threaten Noynoy's once commanding lead. Yeah, I'm totally blaming his goldfish suicide-inducing political ads for that. That's not helped either by Noynoy's seeming lack of campaign 'charisma' which probably wouldn't have been going anywhere if not for his sister and the crazy things she says and does.

Manny Villar definitely has worked out a pretty good strategy here. If there's one sure way of winning the majority vote in this country, one should simply appeal to the poor. Because truly, this country's poor does not want to alleviate itself from its hellhole. It would rather convince itself that by being poor, it is entitled to being pitied and embraced by some kind of 'superhero' who would accept them for who they are and go as far as to even say that he is one of the them. To hell with the bourgoisie and the rich! No doubt this country is going nowhere. Its people have given up looking for their own social ladders to climb. They'd rather see goods in plastic bags being dangled to them from up high. Manny Villar realized these things and boy does he put them to good use.

And if that wasn't enough, isn't it scary how his political campaign formula seems to mirror Erap's strategy ten years ago? Not just the appealing-to-the-masses thing, mind you. There's also the use of artistas to boost his campaign, like for example Dolphy. Isn't it a little crazy that he's not campaigning for his good friend Erap but for Villar instead? If that's not one hell of a PR strategy to pull off, then it must be truly a miracle from God. Oh and even scarier: if anyone could still remember what Erap's campaign colors were a decade ago, wasn't it the very same color being used by Manny Villar now - orange? What the fuck is seriously up with that color? It hurts my eyes! Q_Q

If Manny Villar is subtly trying to project himself as the new 'Erap' then he's doing a good job. And like Lourd de Veyra in his blog post, I wouldn't be surprised if the new president turns out to be him. Is there anything I could do about it? Why, yes! Vote for Noynoy, the only candidate seemingly capable of winning against Villar, and hope that he wins. If Villar wins, what do I do then? Nothing. Respect the people's vote because that is how democracy works.

"We get the kind of government we deserve", Lourd said in his blog. And if indeed Manny Villar wins, then the Filipino people, represented by its Wowowee-crazed majority, deserves him.

Photo from gmanews.tv

Society...

2010-02-19T16:56:00.004+08:00

...can go screw itself over with its rules, definitions, and standards.

I'll learn to conform with them on the surface.

But on the inside, I'll live life by my rules.

Yarrr!

Torn

2010-02-16T22:13:00.004+08:00

Greetings, everyone! Yours truly is at the moment feeling very torn between responsibility and free will.

Uhh... say what now? Okay, here's the deal. I just found out that my brother - the very same one I mentioned in my previous post - has just resigned from his job. I finally know the reason why I have been seeing more and more of him these days (figuratively and literally). He has his own apartment where he stays during weekdays for work, but he still occasionally comes home during the weekends for one reason or another, one of which, I suspect, is for having the chance for some free meals.

But now that he's temporarily unemployed (I hope), I am feeling very mentally stressed. Yeah, I know you're thinking, what does that have to do with anything? Well folks, let me tell you something about an unfortunate thing which I prefer to call - the 'eldest child domestic responsibility mentality'.

One of the really weird traditional Filipino family values is the idea that if the child is the eldest, he or she needs to take responsibility similar or equal to a parent's. Of course, nowadays more and more families are deviating from this tradition and are more free in giving their eldest kids the freedom to live as they choose. Sounds great, right? But unfortunately, for me at least, no matter how much I convince myself that I am no longer responsible for anything but myself, there is and will always be that nagging thought at the back of my head that for anything that goes on, I need to be always be picking up the slack whenever it's needed.

Okay, okay, I know I'm just doing some overthinking again. But can you really blame me, especially with this 'family value' being so heavily indoctrinated that thinking otherwise has got to be wrong?

When my brother decided to take up the more 'normal' route by deciding to take up Engineering in college, I was happy. Being a bohemian and a free-spirit, nothing feels more boring than being stuck in an office job or practicing something as boring as law, engineering, medicine, - you know, that sort of thing. The fact that this country's traditional mentality sees such boring occupations as 'real jobs' as compared to less traditional jobs like being a writer, photographer, or musician, it made me even more wanting to deviate from the norm and do things that are more revolutionary and interesting. So what if my chosen vocation is out of the ordinary? Suck it up, suckers! Live the boring life while I do something more fun!

But being the eldest, I had to learn to grin and bear it and let myself be convinced that taking up Biology (ugh...) was the right thing to do. After all, what's wrong with being helpful to the family right? And indeed, if I decided to take up Medicine later, that means I'll give myself the chance of being a doctor. A practical way of life. Easy money. Easy living.

Of course, that decision turned out to be one of the worst decisions I've ever made. A semester in it and I found myself just wanting to stop existing altogether. Putting up with all the bullshit, trying to convince myself that I'm doing the right thing, wanting to tear my eyes out as I force myself to study things I don't even care about. Yeah, it didn't take long for me to break down. Did I regret the decision? Not at all. The lesson has to be learned. And quite frankly, there are so many people and experiences I wouldn't have met or experienced if not for that decision. But did it suck? Well hell yeah, it sure did.

So when my brother decided to take up Engineering, it was truly a breath of fresh air. I felt truly relieved that for once, the attention of people wouldn't be on me. Sure, some of my stupid relatives still continue to blab that as the eldest I should've done this or that, but frankly why should I care? Now that they were doting on my brother instead, I could finally live the life that I want. Besides, my brother had to put up with living in my shadow for so long, with me being the eldest, the supposedly more intelligent, the supposedly more promising. Kinda sucked to be him, right? And I was honestly very happy when things took a turn and he started getting more of the attention that was usually reserved for me. I felt good for him that people start recognizing his own talents and taking him for what he is, not just as the kid who is 'my brother'.

He graduated, got top honors, topped the licensure exam, got job offers left and right. It was great. Even more so because this is the life that he wants. Unlike me who was bullied into studying some bullshit course, he really wanted to do this. And seeing him having so much success makes me truly and sincerely happy for him.

I honestly don't know why he decided to resign. Like I said, he's a workaholic and him resigning just seem to be out of character. But then, I really haven't had the chance to ask him why he decided to do so and him not talking about it is something that I respect. He can tell me whenever he wants or he can even choose not to tell me. No big deal. But damn, the mystery is killing me, haha!

But with the situation as it is, I am now feeling once more that annoying spotlight that I have had the pleasure of not encountering for the past few years. With him being unemployed, it feels like my way of life is being put on the spotlight again, that because I am the big brother, I need to pick up the slack while my brother is in between jobs.

Bummer.

Waking Up on the Wr--- No, that's not it

2010-02-15T07:44:00.004+08:00

My brother is a workaholic. He gets started on a project, he's willing to do overtime and work during holidays just to get the job done as quickly as possible. I used to often tell him that with his work habits plus with him being a smoker he's gonna get sick sooner or later. But I knew my words are just in vain, the asshat never ever gets sick anyway.

Fastforward to this weekend and I was pretty surprised when the front door opened and the big mass of fat stealthily wobbled his way (oxymoron, I know) into the house. Well okay, he's not really that big but it's been the running joke. I was like, "What on earth are you doing here?" He said, "What? 'Cause I want to!"

Okay then, so he got himself some things to eat. Went to my room to watch TV then had the gall to sleep on my bed. And knowing how tired he was, I'm pretty sure he's gonna be sleeping for 12 or more hours and there's nothing I can do to make him budge and get him and his fat ass to his own room.

So when it was my time to go to sleep, I had no choice but to share the bed with him. (Sigh.) One annoying thing about me, I can't sleep anywhere else but in my room and in my bed. You can't make me sleep in somebody else's house. If I want to sleep, it has to be in my bed, in my room, in my house. No wonder I don't like camping and sleepovers. Tsk.

I made him move to one side of the bed, took back my pillows he had been shamelessly using, and managed to squeeze myself in my other half. And being an insomniac, it took me a while to fall asleep. Not helped either by the fact that the person next to me was snoring like a mad truck. But eventually and (thankfully) I did fall asleep and was off to dreamland.

Eight hours later I woke up. My brother's still snoring. And I was on the floor.

A Gem of a Song

2010-02-12T18:13:00.003+08:00

A friend shared this song to me today.

You know how it is when people hear traditional Filipino songs, they think "boring, ho-hum, something from a school program, etc". Well I suppose this one could probably be one of those too. It's just that I love how this song makes me feel like I'm flying. Such a nice song...

Decisions, Decisions...

2010-02-09T22:10:00.005+08:00

I've been writing about some pretty heavy stuff for the past couple of weeks and while it felt pretty good to be able to let them all out, I personally don't wanna dwell on them for far too long. I may have an emo self but my relaxed self is where I'm really more comfortable in.

So ok then, let's shift gears and talk about something lighter this time -- making a choice between random pairs of random stuff.

Cake vs Pie Pie
I'm sorry Mr. Cake but I just find Mr. Pie to be a healthier option. Also, whenever I eat cake, there always seem to be treshold point where you just feel sick if you eat anything more. I don't get the same thing with pie. Also, you can eat pie either hot or cold. I can't imagine myself eating a hot cake. Unless we're talking about pancakes...

Ugly but Wealthy vs Beautiful but Poor Beautiful but Poor
I don't find wealth and money attractive, they don't excite me at all. And I don't feel like sleeping with someone butt ugly for the rest of my life.

Sex vs Food Food
Easy choice. If you're stranded alone on an island for forty days, you're not gonna die if you don't have sex, would you?

Rain vs Sunshine Rain
While I don't like getting myself wet when it's raining, I don't like it more when the sun's glaring hot and I'm sweating like crazy.

Morning vs Afternoon Morning
Afternoons make me sad. Mornings give me a feeling of hope. Getting some sunshine in the morning also feels a lot better than getting some in the afternoon. (See previous item)

Eat Favorite Portion First vs Last First
I don't get the idea of saving your favorite portion for last. What if someone decides to nab it? =O It also tastes a little hmm... awkward and incomplete if you eat it for last. If you eat it first, the taste of your favorite portion tends to blend with the rest of the food.

Mind-Numbing Movie vs Mind-Stimulating Mind-Numbing
All my favorite movies are the mind-stimulating types. But if I'm looking for entertainment, I'd rather watch the mind-numbing one to spare myself the headache.

Lights On vs Off On
While I like it if the room is dim, I tend to sometimes go into anxiety mode when deprived of my sense of sight. I don't like sleeping under the glare of a bright light either, but I'm quite thankful my room has night light and can still have a little light without seriously impacting the relaxing atmosphere.

Bring an Umbrella vs Don't Bring Don't Bring
I just don't like bringing them. Such a hassle and they ruin my sense of style (lol...) In any case, I seldom go out without a car.

Good News vs Bad News Bad News
Let's hear the bad news first and get it over with. What's the 'good news' anyway but just sugar coating for the bad news, right? =P

p.s. Coffee vs Tea Tea
Same relaxing feeling. Less heart palpitations. Japanese green tea for pure win.

The Dream... Again?

2010-02-09T11:04:00.003+08:00

I had that recurring dream... again.

So once more, I found myself dragging my legs while walking to my destination, to someone's house this time. I reached it with no incident but then I found out that I've forgotten something from where I came from and had to drag myself back to get it.

So after getting it back and while I was on my way back, again walking in a dragging manner, I said to myself: This is bullshit, screw this!

So I decided to RUN instead.

And when I reached the house, it has mysteriously transformed into a luxury hotel. And I was like: woah. . .!

Lovers' Quarrel

2010-02-08T19:10:00.003+08:00

A brief summary of how couples really argue.

Guy: Naiinis ka pa ba? (Are you still mad?)

Girl: Tingin mo? (What do you think?)

. . .

Girl: Naiinis ka pa ba? (Are you still mad?)

Guy: Tingin mo? (What do you think?)

. . .

Guy: Tumitingin ka. (You're looking.)

Girl: Kainis ka! (You're annoying!)

Photo from istockphoto.com

Plane Crush

2010-02-08T09:53:00.003+08:00

Disturbing in so many ways.

Photo from pinoyfunnypictures.blogspot.com

The Magic of Music

2010-02-08T07:45:00.004+08:00

Mankind has always known that there is something magical in music. I have always wondered at this myself and for the longest time couldn't put my finger on it.

And so for a couple of days, I had been given the wonderful opportunity to do some musical arrangements which I found to be quite fun and really invigorating. I think I'm gonna turn this into my new hobby. Maybe I won't make a profit out of it yet (which I think would utterly destroy the beauty of it anyway). But who knows? For now, I just wanna have fun and relish the feeling of the moment.

It was while I was staring at the notes and the staves when the idea hit me: There I was, unknowingly setting sounds in motion within the framework of time undying. And akin to a painter; my notes are my colors, and time, represented by the usually taken-for-granted staves, is my very own canvas. No doubt they say music is an immortal thing.

Yes folks, I just had another WTF moment. And this one took twenty and more years in the making.

Photo from dreamstime.com

A Peek Down the Road Less Traveled

2010-02-06T06:57:00.009+08:00

A couple of days ago, I started reminiscing about the good ol' days back in school when I and a couple of friends used to do a lot of music stuff -- acting like fools in the choir, playing in a band, performing in plays, swapping music sheets, trying to figure out the chords of a song, writing our own songs, memorizing lyrics, or just plain listening to whatever song caught our fancy. Sure as hell it was the best of times. I could still remember how I told myself then that this - music - was where my life should be.

Year later, it is a little bit ironic that my life turned out to be a lot different from what I envisioned it to be. Maybe because of so much personal drama and the fact that making music isn't exactly the most financially rewarding job in the world, I found myself doing something else, something of which the very idea of doing it would have disgusted my young self. If he were here now, he would probably berate me for my life's choices. But I suppose life could be mean that way, you'll just never know where the road is gonna lead you and you'll find yourself following the same beaten path taken by everyone else.

The music never left me, however. I still get to occasionally dream of the idea of being able to perform again, not necessarily onstage and in front of a lot of people, but just to be able to perform and sing, even with just a couple of old friends, still feels delightful and refreshing. This idea would've probably brought a tear to my eye. But being hardened and jaded, I just couldn't bring myself to cry anymore as I used to and just be able to let my feelings go. The nostalgia and the sweet pain are still there, however. But life's scars have a way of stopping you from expressing what you feel as you should.

Now a couple of days ago, a good friend has been discussing with me the idea of being able to sing in a choir again. And while it could just turn out to be nothing more but a pipe dream (at this point), the possibility is still there. Singing and music are ageless things after all. While maybe right now things maybe a little too complicated for it to happen, it still could happen especially if we put our minds and emotions into it.

We ended up making suggestions of what songs would be nice to sing as a group. I suggested that Rivermaya's Himala (Miracle) would be really nice and she suggested, a little jokingly, that perhaps I should arrange it. Pretty swell idea, in my opinion. And while I do have experience arranging songs, it has been a LONG while since the last time I did it. The prospect of doing it is a bit scary, I admit. But I thought: hey, it wouldn't hurt to try again. Besides, even if I'm not doing this profit and just for pure giggles, being able to resurrect my dormant musical talents would be a nice creative exercise that would lend some much needed excitement to my somewhat boring life.

So I downloaded a score writer, listened to the song several times, and actually began to transcribe the notes. After several hours of hard thinking and a lot of head scratching, the work was about half complete. And listening to what I have made so far, it felt pretty... glorious. It was like the old feelings and sensations and being able to lose yourself in a world of notes are all coming back. I actually found myself with a smile plastered on my face. And I had no idea when it transplanted itself there.

I'm hoping to finish arranging the song in a few more days. As I've nailed down the basic melodies of the song, all that's left really is to polish and embellish and work out the blending of the notes. Maybe once finished, I'll send a copy of the transcript to my friend, again just for giggles -- well, as soon as I figure out how to convert the file into something that can be e-mailed anyway.

They say that the road least taken is a hard, difficult but beautiful road. But being able to just take a peek and see what could probably be around the corner feels good in itself. Will I follow that road someday? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But the road will always be there. All I really need to do is follow it if I want to.

Lighthouses

2010-02-04T20:12:00.003+08:00

It's a little disappointing that as an inland-dweller, I seldom get the chance to see lighthouses as well as other wondrous things that can be seen when living by the sea.

Lighthouses fascinate me. I can't really put my finger on it but there's just something romantic, mystical, and magical about them. Maybe it's how they are able to guide sailors to safety during a storm? Or maybe it's because I'm also searching for my life's own 'lighthouse'?

More lighthouse photos can be found at hickerphoto.com.

But then again, living by the sea doesn't sound too safe. Must be pretty horrible during a storm. I think I'll just stay where I am. =P

All photos by Rolf Hicker from hickerphoto.com

A Recurring Dream

2010-02-04T14:51:00.005+08:00

For quite some time now, I have been having this recurring dream. In the dream, I found myself having an urgent need to go to a faraway place. All I really need to do was to get myself to the bus station (sometimes the jeepney or the tricycle one), then I would be on my happy way to wherever it was I was planning on going. But every time I started walking to the station, my feet began to feel very heavy, I could feel my pace slackening, and I literally had to drag my legs like I'm trying to pull some heavy metal object attached to myself. I would eventually reach the station and then I would wake up. But sometimes, I wouldn't even reach the station at all.

We've all have had recurring dreams. And just like everyone else, I also get those pretty common ones like finding yourself falling from a high place, or naked in public, or having your teeth fall off. It's no wonder that throughout the ages, men have attributed a lot of mysticism and hidden meanings to dreams, believing that they could be a link to the soul world or else a premonition of things to come. I myself used to do this. And it came to a point that it caused so much serious mental drama, I trained myself to just forget about my dreams as soon as I wake up and try to focus instead on what's real and the stuff that I need to do during the day. It may have been difficult at first but as the stress level went down, I became used to doing it and liked it.

But being naturally curious, and having being lately pestered by these dreams against my will, I decided to cut myself some slack and decided to do a little internet 'research' on what my dream could mean. I'm definitely not doing this just so I could raise my anxiety level once again, hell no. But since it has been pointed out by psychologists like Jung and Freud that dreams are products of our own subconscious, hence of things that are within our own psyche, then perhaps there is a way for me to find some rational explanation on what my subconscious self was trying to tell me.

Surprisingly, there isn't a lot of articles discussing dreams about walking, most are focused on the usual onese like teeth and nakedness. But I eventually found one and it asked me to try to remember several aspects of my dream. Was the walk difficult or not? Where was I walking to? The difficulty of the walk seems to indicate how efficiently the dreamer maneuvers and progresses through his own personal life journey. While the presence or lack of a destination seems to indicate if the person knows what he is trying to achieve or if he is still in the process of searching for it.

Trying to apply what the article suggested, it would seem that at this point in my life, I already do know where it is want to go and what it is I want. But sadly it would seem that in the process of trying to reach my goal, I am finding myself in quite a struggle, barely reaching what it is I'm trying to get to and maybe sometimes not reaching it at all.

Quite frankly, I don't really need a dream to tell me this. I already knew about this and have been trying everyday to do my best to achieve my goals. Could it just be that my subconscious was getting impatient? Or was it just telling me that I'm taking way too long and wasting a lot of time? Perhaps the dream was nothing but a manifestation of my own frustrations, trying to knock some sense into me and reach me while my conscious defenses are down.

But whatever my dream was telling me, I know what it is I have to do: to keep moving forward in life no matter how hard the road is and how difficult the situation might be. The dream might have been interesting enough to make me want to explore its meaning and subject myself again to another mental torture. But in the end, the dream was just that - a dream and nothing more.

Photo from fajr.wordpress.com

Pondering on Who I Should Vote For

2010-02-02T21:17:00.012+08:00

The May polls are just around the corner and it's about high time for me to put some serious thought on who to vote for. I have by now more or less an idea of who might get my vote as well those whom I definitely wouldn't waste my pen's ink on. My criteria are actually pretty simple and I'm listing them down here so as to make the decision process smoother. It would at least make it easier for me to spot things or ideas that are quite easy to miss during my abnormally long mental debates.

- - - - -

The Criteria

1. Is his platform viable enough?
Idealism can only get us so far. And while it is nice to see that some of the candidates do possess a good enough, if not admirable, idealism, the solutions to a lot of this country's problems does not rest on idealism alone but also on being pragmatic and practical. Are we really going to struggle through another six years of broken promises and being hungry?

2. Does he stand a chance of winning?
Mobilizing a nationwide campaign takes a lot of effort and uses a lot of money. Voting for someone whom people in the far-flung areas might not even have heard of seems like a waste. I may like the candidate, I may like his platform; but if he doesn't stand the chance of winning, wouldn't my vote just be wasted when someone else who doesn't deserve to be in office (in my mind at least) gets elected? Would a better candidate have won the elections if I cast my vote in his name instead?

3. Is his political will greater than his political ambition?
Someone who reeks too much of ambition does not deserve to be in power. We've seen what Marcos did to this country; why would we choose to go through a similar scenario again?

4. Is he capable of bridging the political divide?
If there is one thing that needs to be immediately addressed and given a quick resolution, it has to be the political divide that has polarized this country for far too long. If we intend to move forward in other more important areas like education and the economy, then we need to get over this roadblock right away. It is simply unnecessary, pointless, and causes so much delays.

- - - - -

With those being said, it's time now to take a look on the candidates. (Based on the COMELEC's official list dated December 21, 2009).

John Carlos Delos Reyes (Ang Kapatiran)
Who? That was the question that came to mind when I read the name. So that's number two of my criteria down. But then again, I was able to watch his interview by Cheche Lazaro and I must say that the man does have a lot of nice things in his mind. But as this country cannot be run through sheer idealism alone, then there's no reason for me to vote for him. He does admit though that he has no chance of winning the election. But it's still quite refreshing to see someone who is sincerely running for his convictions (which by the way do not sound delusional) and not his ambitions. I'm wondering though why he just didn't go and join his uncle Richard Gordon instead. Differences in ideology perhaps?

Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal (Independent)
I don't know if Jamby is delusional or what but I really don't get the point of her running. None of her bills seem noteworthy. And she involves herself in too much drama. She has a lot of money though and I don't see how she wouldn't be able to launch a nationwide campaign if she wants to. But meh...

Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas)
Mr. Villanueva may have a lot of good things to say but I really don't like voting for someone who also represents any denomination or faith. Keeping my faith separate from my politics is very important to me. And also, given his performance in the last poll, I don't think he would do any better this time.

Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan)
This guy has a lot of potential. He's eloquent. Knows what he intends to do. And seems to be a hard worker, based on his work in the Senate and with the Red Cross. Is his platform viable? Probably, especially since as a senator, he has already made his presence known within the national level of politics and thus would be capable of exerting influence. What is really disappointing though is the lack of support from the bigger political parties. If only they listened to what he has to say and supported him, then I would probably have wanted to vote for him.

Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD)
This guy also possesses a lot of potential. He's smart. Eloquent. Is a known hardworker. Seems to be sincere. And seems capable of enough of reaching out to the various strata of Philippine society. The one disappointment, however, is his being in the administration party. Ideally, of course, a president should be able to exercise his will so long as it stays within the margins of the law; but how are we sure Gloria Arroyo and her ilk will not try to exert their influence on him? If he wins the presidency and Arroyo wins her congressional seat, will he lobby for her as the new Speaker of the House? Are we actually willing to put Arroyo in the line of succession for the presidency AGAIN?

Joseph Ejercito Estrada (PMP-UNO)
I'm sure that Erap is only running for the presidency just to get a sense of vindication. Why the COMELEC even allowed him to run again, I wouldn't know. The way I understood the Constitution, a person should only get one chance of becoming president. But then again, you've got to admire how lawyers are able to twist legalese for their shameless purposes. My thoughts on Erap? If he loses, it'll be alright; he would still feel good knowing that many people still support him. If he wins, then it's back to the midnight parties in Malacanang. But seriously, he has already been the headache of this nation ONCE. Does he really have to be a headache TWICE?

Manuel Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party)
I will not vote for him, that's final. If someone stinks of ambition, he does - and gloriously for that matter. I've lost tab of how many times he switched sides just to be able to keep climbing the political ladder. Talk about lack of conviction; or if there were any, they are driven only by his ambition for more power. And for the love of God are those TV ads annoying as hell!

Benigno Simeon Aquino III (Liberal Party)
He seems the most likely candidate I would vote for. When it comes to having a good moral background, you can't lose with the parents he had. But I must admit that there are several things that bother me about him. First, he lacks eloquence. I sometimes have to struggle just to make heads and tails of what he's trying to say. If not for his feisty sister, I probably wouldn't even have any idea still of his platform. Second, he lacks the strength of persona that mommy and daddy had. I may like his parents, but he's his own person, he's not them. Third, he came from a political dynasty, and political dynasties are something, I believe, this country should do away with. Nevertheless, he seems to exude the air of being a compromiser and having someone who is willing to bridge political gaps would make for a refreshing change.

- - - - -

These are my thoughts so far and I'm sure they are still incomplete. I am hoping in the coming months to get further enlightenment that will help me in finalizing my decision. Our country needs a change for the better. And if I have to take this decision way too seriously, then I will.

Oh and just so that we're clear. I am not campaigning for anyone nor am I trying to give anyone a bad name here. Just pure thoughts on a personal webspace, nothing more. Please don't let me influence you. Just wanted to clear my head of these thoughts.

Choose as your conviction dictates. Freedom and democracy FTW!

Photo from lakbaypilipinas.com

Totally Looks Like

2010-02-01T17:02:00.003+08:00

totally looks like...

That's all.

Photos from showclix.com and pep.ph

February and Fools

2010-02-01T15:21:00.010+08:00

It's that time of the year again when my eyes are going to be bleeding with all the red paper hearts and giant teddy bears I am about to see. Sometimes I wish I'm the owner of a gift shop or a motel. I bet I'll be swimming in cash in a couple of weeks. Overcommercialism will make money out of love fools again.

But let the foolish spend his money as he will. I got some other things in mind for this month that I'm really hoping I won't forget.

First off, birthdays. I don't know why I suck so much at remembering dates. Okay sure, a belated or advanced greeting is fine; it's the thought that counts anyway, doesn't it? But it feels a lot better to just be able to greet someone on the actual day itself, makes it more special.

Second, EDSA anniversary. It's been roughly half a year since Cory Aquino died and I suppose this year's EDSA commemoration will be a test of sorts for Filipinos. Will the spirit be alive as it was when the nation weeped when Cory died? Or will our short-term memories get the better of us once again as we let another EDSA anniversary pass without us even noticing it?

It'll be a really quick month for sure. But I guess I'm just a little anxious to see what will happen.

Photo from stuartxchange.com

Hot Spicy Ramen

2010-01-31T17:06:00.004+08:00

A conversation I had with a friend a few years ago:

Friend: So tell me, what's your favorite food?

Me: You think it possible for me to anwer that question?

Friend: Fuck, just answer it, dammit.

Me: Gah... fine. I think I'll go with hot spicy ramen.

Friend: Ooh cool! Why?

Me: It's hot. Ordinary is boring and the spiciness makes it more interesting. And since it's hot, it'll take a while to finish. I really don't like it if it only takes a short time; it's good to be able to take your time and relish what you're having. It also feels very relaxing especially after when you're done with it and you're sweating all over. It's like you were able to do a nice workout without the pain. Just pure awesome. So what about it?

Friend: How you describe your favorite food is your definition of good sex, my friend.

Me: -_- F.U.

- - - - -

Moral: Never ever talk to that friend about food again.

Photo from monoanimal.blogspot.com

People You Want to Subject to Extreme Public Humiliation

2010-01-30T21:08:00.003+08:00

I've come to be more accepting of other people and whatever weird things they have going on. You're a nail-biter, a pony-tail twirler, a pencil eraser eater, conversation-interrupter, the clingy-I-can't-live-without-you type - yeah, I can deal with those things no biggie. So long as you have a nice personality and like to go on road trips, we'll be okay. And as long as you don't ask me for gambling money, we can be friends forever and ever.

But sometimes there are just those people whose behavior are just too nerve-wracking, whose personalities just rub you the wrong way, you just want to tear at your hair, gnash your teeth, punch a penguin in the face, yell at an innocent kid, and think of the most horrible ways to subject said people in the most extreme public humiliation possible.

I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. And I'm also sure that with some of these you'll agree.

Loud, obnoxious people
You enter a room full of strangers - in a party, a meeting, public transportation, a movie house. You just want to get whatever business you have done. But at the back of your head, you just know that someone in here will just start talking nonsense in the most annoying loud voice possible. In a party, that's the person who compensates for not having anyone to dance with by talking loudly. In a meeting, the scrub who has no idea what he's talking about. In a public transportation, the two people who talks about the latest gossip like it's everybody's business. In a movie house, the group of loud teenagers who just have to make sure that they talk loudly or else people would think they don't exist. Also add to this list your neighborhood videoke champion.

Insufferable know-it-alls
People who just have to tell everyone what to do even if it's not their business. If I need something done, don't you think I would have probably asked you by now? You want something done a certain way, then why the hell didn't you do it yourself in the place? If I don't know how to read, I would ask you to read the instructions for me. In case you don't know yet, the world is full of smart people. Don't strut around like you're the only one who knows about everything.

Self-centered narcissists
And then there are the narcissists. The people who can't stop talking about themselves and their life stories. If people seriously give a damn, don't you think would be famous by now? Stop deluding youself into thinking that anyone gives a damn for shizz sake. We do have our own worries and problems too, you know. We don't care about you and your recently-manicured nails. Don't be such a drama queen if people seem to be paying attention to something or someone else. The world wasn't created for you. Yeah, okay we hear you have some new stuff. Great! Guess what, mine are better but would you even notice? There are so many interesting people in this world. But the list doesn't include you, however.

Man, there are soooo many things I wanna do to humiliate these people in public. I've just had enough with taking Prozac, teeth-gnashing, and if I pull one more strand of my hair, I'll look like Howie Mandel. But for the sake of world peace and preventing World War III from erupting, I'll just keep them to myself...

...Well not really. But I'll post about those things some other time. Peace.

/endrant

Photo from boards.ign.com

From The Animal Blog

2010-01-29T16:02:00.004+08:00

Some random pics from The Animal Blog that made my day.

I could only hope they won't disappear from this world forever.

Photos from theanimalblog.tumblr.com

Roads of Death

2010-01-29T09:45:00.003+08:00

Travelling is such a nice thing.

But sometimes, the roads can be challenging enough, you would just want to turn around and head back home.

Check out some of the world's most complex roads at waze.com.

If as a passenger I would rather close my eyes while travelling through these, then there is no chance in hell that I would even attempt to drive through. Just looking at them gives me vertigo.

One of the Philippines' roads made it in the list too so check it out. d^^

Photo from waze.com

The Law of Equivalent Exchange

2010-01-29T08:23:00.005+08:00

Alchemy's most basic law states that: in order to gain something, something of equal value must be lost.

The world's outpouring of support for Haiti can only be described as phenomenal. From the suburbs of Middle America to the busy streets of Manila, everyone just seem to be wanting to take part and provide whatever support they can, whether it be moral or financial. And to think that for the world to come to a common understanding despite differences in faiths, political views, and skin color; it has to happen in Haiti, a country which was born out of misunderstanding and racism, being founded by black slaves no less.

Pondering about this, it made me wonder how mankind has to go through so much pain and tragedy just to be able to come to a common understanding and achieve things that has been deemed impossible to achieve in this cynical and pessimistic world. Which then brings me back to the concept of alchemy's basic law. Does it really mean that in order for humanity to achieve peace and tolerance, the price has to come in the form of so much lives lost?

Perhaps it is humanity's 'curse' that as we progress in our many mundane pursuits, the ideals of goodness and spirituality slowly get submerged in cynicism and doubts. But in order for our inherent good qualities to resurface, an upheaval of cataclysmic proportions needs to occur. Even though the price involves the loss of so many lives, in exchange the world comes to a better understanding of the meaning of being good and unselfish.

And it isn't just the Haiti tragedy. Such outpouring of positivity are recorded in history as a direct result of negatives: last year's typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in the Philippines; The Asian tsunami a few years back; The two world wars of the last century. World peace and tolerance - these things indeed come at such heavy prices. But even so, the resurfacing of what's good in humanity and being actually able to restore one's faith in humanity - all these lessons the universe has to put us through in the end teaches us one simple truth: that no matter how self-centered and selfish man becomes in the pursuit of his own happiness, there will always be within him that spark of kindness that he can not and will never escape.

And yet there is still within me this gnawing thought: given that the world still has so much problems like global warming, the ongoing political tensions in Korea and China, terrorism, AIDS, the trafficking of women and children, racism - would it really take another cataclysm just in order for us to get over ourselves, open our eyes, and see what's wrong?

Photo from 7deadlysinsclan.tripod.com

Cooking for Dummies

2010-01-28T17:52:00.003+08:00

I love convincing people to learn how to cook. It may take some practice, sure, to be really good at it. But once you get the hang of it, it can make the difference between having a succulent roasted chicken for dinner or eating cold canned corned beef instead.

So who would've thought that while trolling the gaming forums, I would actually run into this post about a blog featuring recipes on some easy to prepare stuff.

Here's the link.

Really, if these nerds - whose everyday lives revolve around their online characters - can and have the time to cook, why couldn't you?

Of Sunsets and Falling Leaves

2010-01-27T21:01:00.007+08:00

There is so much sadness in this world and in this life.

There is a sadness that speaks of pain, of suffering, of losing a loved one. There is a sadness that masks anger, of being angry with oneself for not being good enough and not doing enough, of seeing a former loved one having moved on. And then there is a sadness that speaks of happiness, for when no other emotions are enough to convey what smiles and laughters could not.

Passing through a lonely dirt road on a quiet afternoon, there were two things that made me contemplate on the sadness of the world. Looking up, I saw a leaf slowly falling, its last dance before it becomes one with the earth that nourished it. Over the horizon, through the gaps in the trees, there were the last rays of the setting sun, bidding farewell to a world that too often ignores her existence.

Growing up as a loner, I often used to wonder why watching sunsets and falling leaves make me feel a sense of loneliness. I used to think that perhaps there was just something wrong with me. For while everyone else and the whole world go about their business, there I was all by myself beside the window, staring into the sunset, feeling all alone and forlorn.

But the feeling was not unwelcome. Despite the melancholy, the sadness, the quiet, and the silence, it was as if that by letting oneself drown in one's sorrow and letting the passage of time leave one behind, one eventually comes to an enlightenment. And where there used to be doubts and fears, they are soon replaced by inner peace, tranquility, and contentment.

Watching old people and seeing how despite their age they still manage to laugh, smile, and tell the silliest of jokes, I came to the realization that in this fast-paced life, where emotions and feelings are often discarded for the pursuit of money and immaterial material things, at the end of each and everyone's inevitable road, there is our end waiting for us, where all these mundane things and vanities would eventually have to go.

The sunsets of our lives will come when it is time. Our own leaves that have steadfastly stuck to the tree will one day fall off and come twirling down to perform their last dance. Despite our efforts - relationships, life, everything in this world that is of no permanence will one day end and there is simply nothing we can do about it.

Night comes. The leaf crumbles and fades, its remnants scattered in the earth and the wind. The world needs to slumber. Nature has to take its course.

And yet tomorrow, a new sunrise will come and a new leaf will grow in the tree. The wheels of life and fortune will continue to turn and what used to be asleep will once again awaken.

There is indeed beauty in sadness. Relationships may end, but a new one will come when you least expect it. Life may be finite, but as the soul leaves the body, it will soon become one with the All and the Universe to give life and meaning to new leaves and new sunsets.

Photos from desktopscenes.com and pushingfiftygently.blogspot.com

Forum Sigs

2010-01-27T09:33:00.002+08:00

Reading gaming forums is fun - it's my new boredom killer. Aside from being able to read insults being flung by one nerdraging gamer to another (which is quite fun, even more fun than watching some comedy shows on TV), I also enjoy reading the forum posters' signatures.

Some are just plain weird and out of this world. Most are funny in some way. But there are also those that are quite insightful enough and are worth pondering over.

Some examples:

A true pessimist doesn't see a glass as half empty...he sees it as half full...of poison.

Why yes that is a banana in my pocket. Would you like half?

If you get bitten by a lichen, you have no one but yourself to blame.

Why do you want something for giving, Doesn't that defeat the whole damned purpose?

I dare you to try to penetrate me again.

Microsoft: "You've got questions. We've got dancing paperclips."

Please stop crying. Your mom isn't here.

I PULL STRUDEL OUT OF MY ASS IT'S AWESOME GUYS YOU SHOULD HAVE SOME

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill

I am not a seaweed, nor the sound of a one-legged horse.

(^^)(O_o)(^^) IT'S A GRIZZLY! RAWR!

"Yo dawg, I heard you like raiding, so we put a computer in your bathroom so you can wipe while you wipe."

"This coffee doesn't taste like a milkshake at all. It needs more milk and chocolate. And less gin."

Life is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid.

You know what I hate? Things that are successful. Things that are popular are so lame.

The "I GIVE A DAMN" Meter
0'''''10'''''20'''''30'''''40'''''50'''''60'''''70'''''80'''''90'''''100
||||||_|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|
OOH, Look!! You barely register on it.

My previous sig was lame.

Something witty is supposed to go here.

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." ~ Edgar Allan Poe

"There is no problem that cannot be resolved through the strategic application of murder."

- - - - -

You can always check out more of these sigs here. Enjoy!

C McP's Guide on How to Lose Your Faith in Humanity While in the Philippines

2010-01-25T11:39:00.006+08:00

Humans are awesome and terrific creatures. They are capable of making things as useful as a paper clip to something as totally pointless as the atomic bomb. Truly, the wondersome things humans are capable of make you want to believe that perhaps they are indeed the most intelligent beings on earth.

But don't be fooled! Despite their intellectual advances, humans are still capable of doing things that would make you want to deitify sea cucumbers instead. If you're starting to feel that humans are starting to take control of your well-being, I have provided here a list of things you can do in order to avoid being controlled and manipulated by these cunning creatures.

Step 1: Live in a neighborhood where everyone sings videoke during parties.
Humans have a habit of throwing raucous events called 'parties' or 'par-tehs' (the latter pronunciation attributed to the highly advanced mind of Homer Simpson) for as many reason as you can think of. Someone turned eighteen? Party. Someone just got married? Party. Someone's giving birth soon? Party. Someone's enemy just died? Party. Yep, just give a good enough reason and humans would certainly celebrate it.

If you happen to chance by this beautiful set of islands called the Philippines, the best way to personally observe and see how humans devolve is to make sure your habitation is in the same neighborhood as people with an economic stratum from the upper lower class to the upper middle class. Huge bonus if a neighbor has a relative working in desert states such as Saudi Arabia or Qatar, or is a crewmember aboard a shipping vessel. This would mean that they are more likely to possess a videoke.

Observe how during said 'parties', they would tend to raise the volume of their videokes to cataclysmic decibels, making sure that everyone in the whole world would hear them sing (or pretend to sing). If you don't lose your faith in humanity in an hour, I would applaud you.

Step 2: Watch noontime shows to learn the best way to exploit misfortune.
In the Philippines, another way to lose your faith would be to turn on the television at noon and watch the noontime variety shows in either Channel 2 or 7. My friends, here is the best way to observe how misfortune can be put to good use in this country.

First, observe the poor people lining up outside the studios just to be able to be given a chance to participate in one of the show's games.

Second, watch the show's hosts themselves and how they pretend to sympathize with said poor people by dangling vomit-inducing amounts of cash in front of them.

Third, observe some members of the audience who try their best to make it obvious that they themselves or someone they're related to are working overseas, waving signs and placards in front of the camera in order to make it known to you, the viewer, that they or someone they know are working overseas. They would then 'donate' cash as additional prizes to the game in order to 'help' the poor. They just don't make themselves appear magnanimous, they also appear rich. Such brilliance!

And fourth, if you think that you can only watch dancing almost-naked ladies if you visit seedy bars at night, then think again.

Step 3: Observe politicians' and voters' behavior during election season.
This would take perfect timing in your part to be able for this step to be observable as you would need to chance it that you're in the Philippines during election season which only happens usually every three years.

First observe the politicians. You would see that during this season, they would tend to become very very generous, kind, nationalistic, and wealthy capable enough to come forth with a lot of infomercials informing you, the voter, as to how good a person they are and why you should vote for them. Prepare yourself for a barrage of catchy tunes, lame catchphrases, and a confetti of posters and political mud-slinging.

Now observe the voters. You would see that time and time again, these people love that they are being made fools of in the name of political ambition. Notice how they tend to vote for the worst possible politician in the election, and then trying their best to oust said politician during his/her term. Yes, they would even blame said politicians as to why their husbands drink too much or why their wives spend most of their days learning the latest gossip.

Step 4: Learn how to define racism in the Philippines.
Racism, colonial mentality, regionalism - this abstract idea goes by a lot of names in the Philippines. There are usually three instances where you can tell that a form of racism is going on.

Filipino versus people of a different religion. This form of racism is pretty prevalent among those who live in Christian areas. If they see someone who wears typical Islamic clothes, then he'll be automatically branded as a terrorist and a threat to peace. If you're a Muslim and you don't look - well - 'muslim' enough, be prepared to receive exclamations like, 'Hindi ka mukhang Muslim!' (You don't look Muslim!)

Filipino versus people from other regions. It is pretty amazing to see how being from a particular region means that you are a person of a certain quality. If you're from Ilocos, then you must be tight as a virgin with money. If you're from Cebu, then you must be someone's maid or nanny (and don't even get started on the accent). If you're from the Tagalog region, you must be some kind of narcissist who believe you're better than everyone else.

Filipino versus Filipino. If a Filipino and an American walks into a Filipino-operated establishment, guess who receives better treatment? In the Philippines, the whiter your skin is, the higher your social status.

Step 5: Immerse yourself in teen pop culture.
Team Jacob or Team Edward? Who's gonna be the next Starstruck survivor? Oh my God, those MTV stuff showing teens' 16th birthday parties and their supercool big houses are so cool!

Yep, if there is any final straw to losing your faith in humanity, always - and I mean ALWAYS - immerse yourself in teen culture. You may be in the Philippines but there's is no escaping it. Definitely mind-numbing and faith-crumbling, you would rather wish the big bang never happened and that these teenagers and their Twilight moms never made it out of the primordial soup.

- - - - -

Remember folks, humans, whether they live in the Philippines or elsewhere, are wily, cunning, and will do anything to get whatever they want. So always be careful and keep your eyes open. And make sure you keep your sanity intact at all times.

May the Universe have mercy on us all.

Eyes 4 Sale

2010-01-24T20:14:00.003+08:00

Been a while since I posted some internet hilarity so here's one:

But when you come to think about it, here in the Philippines, this COULD BE possible.

Very possible.

Photo from pinoyfunnypictures.blogspot.com

Thoughts While Eating Oatmeal

2010-01-24T09:31:00.003+08:00

'You are never meant to marry the person you love the most.'

'Only one out of five people will ever find true love.'

Sunday morning. I know I should just be relaxing my mind and letting go of thoughts. Yet I have reason to believe that someone must have put something in this bowl of oatmeal for me to be actually thinking about these things.

I can't remember from whom or where I heard these lines from, but it sure made my breakfast more interesting.

Why is love so hard to find? and if indeed you have found it, how come there's always something that stops you from completely experiencing it?

. . .

I swear, someone has tampered with my oatmeal.

Be Careful What You Wish For

2010-01-23T09:33:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, I posted as my Facebook status: 'will nicht aus seinem Traum aufwachen', which simply translates to 'don't wanna wake up from his dream'. I was being figurative, of course.

But somehow the universe took what I said literally.

So this morning I was having one of my pre-waking up parasomnia episodes. I'm used to having them by now and what I normally do to snap out of it is to just willfully wake myself up, start doing physical activities, and empty my head of thoughts as best I can.

So that's what I did. . . Or what I thought I did.

I woke up, went to the PC to check my mail, saw my sister, talked to her for a bit, and joked about having another one of my 'weird' episodes.

And then I woke up. Again.

And now I'm here, hopeful that I am REALLY checking my mail, REALLY blogging about that silly experience, REALLY hearing the sounds coming from a Facebook game.

You know how they say, 'be careful what you wish for'? I think it's true! Well, you'll never ever know when the universe's gonna take on what you wish for very literally.

Sometimes, I just wanna believe that the Matrix is real...

Photo from gamespot.com

Must Keep Inner Fire Burning

2010-01-22T12:50:00.004+08:00

I've had it with doing things for the money. If I've always held the belief that money should be nothing more than a means to an end, how did I end up working for money for the sake of making more money?

I've had it with being a neurotic and having the victim syndrome, blaming all that's going wrong in my life on the rest of society. It's time to take more control of my life and direct my path to something more worthwhile.

A sudden spiritual jolt. An emotional awakening. And now I've finally realized what it is that I should be doing and what I should be. There's no going back now, this inner fire must be kept burning.

A Short Contemplation Regarding 'Batch Unity'

2010-01-21T22:34:00.008+08:00

Tonight while I was wrapping up my thoughts for the day while playing a video game, my often dysfunctional memory data bank decided to plant itself on the old subject of 'batch unity' (which by the way I would still insist on calling 'class unity' *ahem*).

It has been often been said by most, including even by those from my own high school class, that this was our 'curse', this lack of batch unity, and it truly sucked way back then. I could still vividly remember how it was that while all the other classes are pretty much closely tightly knit together, you could always tell that my class was pretty much the odd bunch. Of course, like everyone else, we had our own set of cliques but we just don't have that one giant clique known as - the BATCH.

It's not as if we didn't try. We really did. But it really took effort to do so. Although I would like to think (and I really do think) that by our fourth year, we eventually nailed this 'batch unity' thing down and our graduation ceremony turned out to be quite a memorable event despite lingering issues and disputes between some people.

Ten years later and looking back on those days, I asked myself: Were we really that bad? Were most people from my class really just that self-centered? Was it really just a 'curse' we had to learn to accept?

While I wouldn't deny that our social mindset was indeed very much different from the rest of the school, I'd have to say that this 'lack' is not really a curse, no matter what the naysayers might say. Looking at things another way, one could perhaps attribute my class' unique group personality to us just basically having more people who have PRAGMATIC points of view as compared to the ROMANTIC way of thinking of other people in the school.

And so it was that I came to realize that perhaps things weren't so bad after all. The year my class graduated wasn't just the turn of the century, it was the end of a millennium. And maybe, just maybe, my classmates and I just have a mindset that belongs to a new age, a PRAGMATIC age, as opposed to the romantic minds of old.

And looking at how our lives have turned out so far, it is quite impressive seeing how most, if not all of us, managed to adapt ourselves to the ever-changing times. Is our pragmatism to be given credit? Most likely. If we were born romantics, would our lives turn out to be different? It would probably be similar, but it definitely wouldn't be the same.

Being a romantic myself, I've come to a closer understanding of how these guys (with whom I've shared no less than four wonderful years of my life with) really think and tick. It is good to finally get to know them even if it took me ten long years to do so. Yes, I think I have grown to love them more.

Photo by Leslee Natividad

The INFP

2010-01-21T10:07:00.006+08:00

So according to this test based (supposedly) on the theories of Carl Jung found in mypersonality.info, I am an INFP, a 'Dreamer'. Whatever the hell that means, it's good to know that people of my type only make up for 2% of the world's population. Even better to know that I share the same personality as:

AA Milne
Amy Tan
Helen Keller
JRR Tolkien (cheers!)
John F Kennedy Jr (eh?)
Peter Jackson
Princess Diana
William Shakespeare (more cheers!)

According to this page, I should take on one of the following jobs (with the bolded ones as those I am seriously considering):

Activist
Architect
Artist
Actor
Counselor
Church Worker
Employee Development Specialist
Educational Consultant
Editor
Filmmaker
Fashion Designer
Graphic/Web Designer
Holistic Health Practitioner
Human Resources
Journalist
Librarian
Legal Mediator
Massage Therapist
Missionary
Musician
Minister
Psychologist/Counselor
Photographer
Physical Therapist
Researcher
Social Scientist
Speech Pathologist
Social Worker
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Eating... the Filipino Way

2010-01-20T20:15:00.018+08:00

I have come to the conclusion that fine dining as well as pretty much any rule of etiquette that has to do with eating are nothing more than just western concepts. Before the Chinese came, we didn't need dishes, we used banana leaves. Before the Spaniards came, we had no use for spoons, forks, and knives, we used our bare hands.

It is along this line of thought that I came to the realization that for a Filipino to truly enjoy his meal, he needs to stop eating with 'class'. Who needs class when you're eating anyway? Will the food taste different? Does looking like a westernized weirdo make you more important? Our cuisine wasn't made with the idea of which fork or knife to use when eating that or this. The rest of the world can turn their noses up on us and think us as barbarians. Honestly, why should we care?

Here's a list of local food (mostly from the Tagalog region) which I deem to be best eaten Pinoy style, i.e. no spoons, knives, forks; with bare hands; and with a total disregard for western etiquette.

Pakwan (Watermelon)

Cutting it into tiny little cubes and then using forks to eat the little pieces one by one is just wrong. Even more wrong if you buy the seedless types. Best way to eat them: cut them into triangular pieces without taking the green layer off, chill them for about an hour, then start eating. As for the seeds, be a man and learn to pick them off in your mouth. Stand next to the window then spit them out. See, you won't just have a watermelon garden soon, you don't even have to buy them next time.

Uraro (Arrowroot Biscuits)

This is one of those biscuits that just won't stay intact. As soon as you take one in your hand, it starts to break apart and eating them can get really messy. So what to do then? Ground them into powder while still in their wrappings then pour them into your mouth. Make sure you have a glass of water nearby and try not to choke.

Espasol (Laguna Rice Cakes)

I love having these but I can't help but wonder why the bakers are way too overzealous in coating them in white powder. I mean, do you really need all that to keep them from sticking to their paper wrappings? Don't serve them by taking off the wrappings, putting them in a plate, then cutting them into bite sizes with your fork. Eat them like you're eating a choco bar. Tear off one end, pour the excess powder out, then start eating. Make sure you're not wearing black or else the police might mistake some of the powder that got into your shirt for an illegal substance.

Sorbetes (Dirty Ice Cream)

Put several scoops on top of a cone and start licking like a starved dog. Don't even contemplate putting them in a glass and using a spoon. Lick dammit, lick!

Turron (Banana Fritters)

Similar to the espasol, it is wrong to serve them in a plate along with a fork. Pick it up and start biting. Sure it gets annoying if some of the brittle wrappings fall off but that's part of the challenge. The less mess you make, the more awesome you are.

Barbecue, Fishballs, and other Street Noms

Okay, these delights on sticks are no-brainers. It's even better that the vendor has skewered them, making it easier for you. Ignore those haute dining restaurants where they serve these babies on plates. Go to the nearest street vendor, pay for one, grab your stick, eat all the meat up, then poke your friend who's standing next to you.

Mani (Roasted Peanuts)

Or Roasted Highland Legumes as the ever-corny Manny Pacquiao calls them. Again, a no-brainer here. Just grab a handful and toss them all in your mouth. Best served with cold beer.

Pritong Manok (Fried Chicken)

While not really a Filipino-exclusive food, we do know that the best fried chicken in the world are those cooked up by that fast food chain whose mascot is a creepy, smiling, dancing giant bee. Again, don't eat them in a platter with the usual utensils. Grab a leg, and start tearing and gnashing at the limb with your teeth. Don't forget the gravy.

Alimango (Mud Crab)

Okay, although crab is a usual fare in restaurants, we do know that no matter how much of a 'classy' diner you are, if the crab still has its shell, then you know it's really going to get dirty. Using utensils to break them open can be quite frustrating. The best thing to do: use your hands to pull the shell apart. As for the juicy meat inside the pincers, here's the best time to actually put one of your spoons to use. Put the crab pincer on the table, then whack it as hard as you can with your spoon to break it open. Don't mind the other diners staring at you.

Bulalo (Beef Marrow Stew)

Another restaurant fare, this time especially popular in and around Batangas. Eating them with class is a no-no and indeed laughable. To be able to extract the marrow, don't hesitate to ask the waiter to hand you over a wooden stick or any other long sharp thing to be able to poke and take the marrow out. As for the soup, don't bother sipping them quietly with a spoon. Sip it direct from the bowl and make as much slurping noise as you can with gusto.

Pancit Habhab (Lukban Noodles)

If you try to eat them from a plate with a fork, then you must be, without a doubt, losing your mind. The proper way to serve and eat this is by putting some on top of a small banana leaf cutting, then with just your hands put them next to your mouth and literally gobble them up. Literally. I suppose that's how it got its name with the sounds you make when eating it. Definitely not classy by western standards but it more than makes up for it by being oh so mouth-wateringly delicious.

Balut

Last but not least, the now world-famous (or maybe infamous) balut. Whack the egg's air-pocket end onto something hard, sip out the juice, then peel off the skin, eating the contents as you go. Don't forget to show the embryo to your non-Filipino friend. (P.S. that photo is the most glamorous balut picture in the internet I could find.)

- - - - -

I always believed that to truly enjoy your food, you need to become one with the food. Being too formal too often with eating or dining only dampens the experience, making the food less tasty and enjoyable as it should be.

Now I am not saying that you should start eating like a caveman when eating Filipino cuisine. If you're uncomfortable eating with just your hands, then by all means grab a pair of chopsticks, a spoon, a knife, a fork, whatever. All I'm truly trying to say here is: Filipinos are a simple folk and enjoy preparing meals in a simple manner. Westernizing Pinoy eating may be an interesting idea, true. But to enjoy the local flavor, such experimentations are really unnecessary.

Photos from auxiliary.com, boyboypalaboy.wordpress.com, everythingsherbed.blogspot.com, erasmusa.blogspot.com, tumblr.com, bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com, greenbulk.com, asianfoodfanatic.com, bisayabulletin.com, ekusinero.com, foodgy.blogspot.com, jacobimages.com

A Subtle WTF Moment

2010-01-20T16:55:00.010+08:00

Today, I think I just had a 'subtle' WTF moment.

We are all familiar with the non-subtle kind, you know, the one where you immediately see what's off.

The subtle kind, however, takes a while for you to realize it.

So this morning, I was chatting with a friend who just got back from Thailand. She went and saw some of the local sights including this show with elephants doing neat tricks. Nothing weird there, I would've loved to see that too.

Then she said, "I want to adopt one. I wish I could've took one home."

Laughs and shiggles.

Yep, if it were me, I would probably secretly smuggled one out of the country. I find elephants adorable.

Later that afternoon, I remembered something random she told me about how she dislikes cats.

Being a cat person, I find it weird that someone could actually find cats creepy. But hey, it's a free world. Each to his own, no problem.

And then that's when it hit me -

She's willing to have an elephant in her house. But she's not okay with having a cat.

All I managed to think of was: WTF...

I'll be trying to keep a tab on other subtle WTF moments starting today. We'll see how many I will encounter by the end of this year.

Photos from seawayblog.blogspot.com and flickr.com

The Chipettes

2010-01-20T11:18:00.004+08:00

One video you wanna see over and over again due to excessive cuteness and giggle factors.

Best for getting rid of those songs you can't get out of your head. Side effects include getting this song stuck in your head instead. =P

Some Tips To Lower Stress Levels

2010-01-19T20:09:00.004+08:00

I just saw this article in Yahoo and I think it's a pretty good list on how to make life less stressful each day.

Some of the things in the list that I do include:

- Don’t wear tight clothes or uncomfortable shoes. (Don't go to formal parties.)
- Make a list. (That's what I'm doing.)
- Listen to a favorite song. (Hey Jude! by the Beatles.)
- Have a good book to read. (A book by Bob Ong.)
- Exercise. (Post work out high is the best.)

I'll be posting the link to the complete list here so I can easily check back on it in future. d^^

Passion for Pancit Canton

2010-01-19T15:38:00.009+08:00

If there is one comfort food that just screams 'Awesome!', it would have to be this. There's just no way you can be wrong with it. It's cheap, not so healthy (whoo!), and very easy to prepare. No wonder it has unofficially become the Filipino poor man's fare, replacing the old mackerel scad.

What's mackerel scad, you say? Scientists call them Decapterus macarellus. But locally it's known as the ever enjoyable galunggong. While it is truly a shame that a worthy specie of fish has been replaced by noodles in a pack, is there truly a reason to blame the poor man trying to eke out a living? With inflation and rising costs, he has to make do with what's cheap and readily available.

But out with the economic drama and in with the gastronomic yum! Like every other food, there's a right way of preparing it and a wrong way. Nothing irks me more than having to put up with pancit canton prepared the wrong way, and here's how I want it done:

Not one, but two
Seriously, one pack just isn't enough. I'm not a bird nor am I Kate Moss. Two packs would be the least that could satisfy me. But since I'm still trying to lose some extra poundage, I would have to do with two even though I could probably eat more.

Make it spicy
Sometimes I wonder if I have Mexican or South Asian blood in my veins. The plain-flavored or the calamansi flavored ones are just too boring. It's spicy or get the hell out! And don't fool me by trying to mix the regular-flavored pack with the spicy one. I'll know. Oh hell yes, I'll know.

Don't wait for the water to boil
I know it says in the instructions to dump the noodles only when the water starts to boil. But that would just simply take forever. To make it simple, as soon as you put the pot over the fire, put the noodles in. By the time the water's boiling, the noodles will be almost ready.

Have a pair of scissors handy
I hate it if when you're trying to open up those little seasonings sachets, some would spill out if you just tore them open or used a knife. I recommend using a pair of scissors. It's clean, easy, and no amount of flavoring gets wasted.

Pre-mix the flavoring
Yes, it also says in the instructions to put the rest of the ingredients on top of the noodles once you've drained the water and put them in a bowl. The problem with this method is the powder clumping up and the flavor not being spread out evenly. Instead, put them all in the bowl before you put the noodles in. Then mix them until they are of the consistency of thick paste. It'll be easier to mix them in with the noodles this way.

Don't make it al dente
Some like their noodles firm. I like mine to be a little on the soggy side. So make sure that you add an extra minute when boiling the noodles to make it extra soft.

Use a plastic strainer
When I used to use metal strainers, I get the feeling that some of the metal flavor gets into my noodles. Maybe it's just me or perhaps the strainer is really just of a bad quality. To avoid this or any potential metal poisoning, use a plastic one. Also, once you've transferred the noodles from the strainer to the bowl, make sure that not one strand of noodles would be left in the strainer. Scrape them all off. Don't let anything go to waste.

Garnishing or no?
Depends on how hungry you are by this point. I used to fry up squid balls to add to my noodles. But if you're really really hungry, or really really depressed, just skip this part and get to eating.

Bon appetit!
Yes, the part we've all been waiting for. Don't be shy by eating the noodles strand by strand. There's really no point in trying to savor and appreciate your work here. Just gobble them all up like there's no tomorrow. Make sure that not a single noodle strand would be left in the bowl. Shame on you if there is.

Breathe a sigh of relief
Yes, it sadly took you only less than one minute to eat what it took you ten minutes to prepare. But who cares? That was fun and satisfying, wasn't it?

Mmmm...

You know, it's pretty amazing how the rest of the world often asks how a Filipino, whether he's living in a farm or beside the railway tracks, manages to be happy despite being poor. It's really pretty simple. In a world way too consumed by consumerism, the Filipino poor man knows how to enjoy his simple joys.

Photo from bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com

Which Game To Play in 2011?

2010-01-18T23:31:00.005+08:00

Less than two months to go and I'll be cancelling my subscription from WoW! *cheer* While the good ol' online comrades are gonna be missed, it'll also be good to be free at last from the endless nerdraging and the brainless e-thug e-peen stroking.

I'm gonna be taking a break from gaming for about a year to make way for some personal changes. But I'm pretty sure that once I'm emotionally and mentally settled, I'll be needing my usual gaming fix again. 2011's gonna be coming out with some pretty exciting titles but I've decided to only play one, mostly for mental and financial sanity. I've narrowed down my list to two, but which one though? Decisions, decisions...

Bioware's Star Wars: The Old Republic (SW:TOR) is a breath of fresh air from the usual sword and spell genre. Jedi vs Sith, airships, planets, hyperspace travel... But like WoW, it's also played online, so does that mean that I have to subject myself to the torture of mingling with online elitists again?

Blizzard's Diablo III on the other can be played as single-player so at least I would be able to have a good time without the pain of playing with mentally subnormal people. It's gonna be back to the old sword and spell style of fighting though.

...

...

Yes, I'm a nerd. You can't change me. t(-.-t)

Photos from platformnation.com and diablo3.com

spot.PH's Top 10 Most Irritating Songs of 2009

2010-01-18T07:44:00.002+08:00

I only chanced upon this article while waiting for my e-mails and other internet stuff to pop out this morning. And I must say that I agree 100% on this list - a good representation of what made last year's music industry truly craptastic. Almost made me lose faith in humanity with every note played.

But can we actually blame the music execs for putting out with these crap? After all, with all the on- and offline piracy going on, finances have really hit rock bottom.

Don't expect me to explain the lack of talent though.

Want to subject your senses to extreme punishment? Click here.

Cool Antarctica

2010-01-17T22:43:00.006+08:00

A few days ago, Ophelia mentioned that she wants to go to Antarctica. While I haven't got the slightest bloody idea if she were serious or not, I am very much interested in finding out more about this strange, southern land. Google led me to coolantarctica.com, a site managed by photographer Paul Ward, wherein you can find lots of interesting pictures he took of the frozen continent.

Now I think I want to go on a trip to Antarctica too.

All photos by Paul Ward from coolantarctica.com

Love, Relationships, and Being Crazy

2010-01-17T20:17:00.009+08:00

We don't need a genius to tell us that relationships are never fairy tales. Yet somehow, some people still delude themselves into thinking that they are and could be so. A man and a woman in love does not always equal a relationship, and there are also way too many factors and dynamics to consider. Even if you put every effort to make a relationship work, there will never ever be perfect. Relationships, I came to accept, are meant to be imperfect.

So while the whole world scrambles to provide aid to the earthquake-devasted nation of Haiti, here we are in the Philippines being bombarded by the local media with some unnecessary news regarding an entertainment couple's rocky relationship. It is disappointing that such news are being given more air time over more important matters, but what can we do? We are a nation obsessed with stars and scandals.

So I took some time to sit down and watch the live interview. Had a few laughs with some of the details. I wouldn't bother talking about it as I'm sure that by tomorrow all the nasty tidbits will be out in the newspapers anyway. What I don't get though is why the wife has to be the one on the hot seat. I may be mostly indifferent towards her but I have to defend her on this one because she didn't do anything. Why on earth is she the one doing all the explaining? Where are the people who are supposed to be the one doing so - the husband, the alleged other woman?

A friend, who incidentally lives in the same neighborhood as this couple, told me a couple of very interesting ideas she has regarding what people in crumbling relationships like this one should do. No, they do not include switching religions to facilitate multiple marriages. And I'm pretty sure the Catholic Church wouldn't like them either. Not very popular and moral ideas, but they do make sense to me nevertheless.

Leave. If you can't or don't know how to commit, why enter into a relationship? Or if you're already in one, why not just leave? There's no point staying in a relationship if you are not willing to be loyal and devote some of yourself to the other person. In fact, just do whatever the hell you want, have as many men/women you want, but for the love of all that is holy, don't commit yourself into one if you can't. If say there's the issue of kids, then by all means still leave. It's not as if you can't support your child by not being in the relationship. Spare each and everyone the psychological and mental trauma of being in a failed partnership if you can't keep your raging libido to yourself and your partner.

Let the other person 'cheat'. This didn't actually made sense to me at first but I eventually understood what my friend was trying to say. Some couples may, for one reason or another, want to keep up appearances of still being in a happy relationship. All too true. And if I understood what my friend meant, all she was saying is that things should be fair in a relationship, whether it's real or not. If one party is cheating, then that person should also allow his/her partner to have the freedom to do the same thing. The idea may be unconvetional but hey, if you're happy with your other man/woman, why can't I too?

*Sigh*

Despite the pain, the craziness, and the tears, people will still find themselves being drawn into the endless pursuit for that one relationship. Perhaps, it's what makes the idea of relationships beautiful - that even though you know it's never gonna be perfect, you still want to experience it? But there's just one thing I learned from all the craziness in my life and from others - if something is not meant to be, just stop, give up, and move on.

Photo from hey-toxic.blogspot.com

Serial Photobomber

2010-01-17T16:29:00.001+08:00

Captain Obvious states:

There is someone mentally ill in this picture.

Photo from thisisphotobomb.com

A World Obsessed With Winning

2010-01-17T08:26:00.007+08:00

This world is obsessed with the idea of winning. Anything and everything has to be about the advancement of self-interest, more often than not in a competition against others of the same goal. It may be for survival, for a job, for a relationship. It's all about winning. If in any way you give the chance to the opponent an opening to win, then you've already lost. And the heavy indoctrination we've all grown up with with the obsession of winning, a loss will forever be a scar that will mark you as a loser, a quitter, an object of shame and for ridicule.

This morning when I woke up and as per the usual found myself musing about the different things in life, from something as mundane as a candy wrapper to something as profound as the meaning of life itself, it was then that it hit me - is it really all about winning?

I have been through so many challenges in life. And while I could proudly(?) say that for the most part I've won, there were also a few instances when I knew I just have to quit and accept a loss.

For years, these losses have bugged me to the point of psychologically and emotionally paralyzing myself that there's just no way I could get out of the rut these losses have put me into. It's always that annoying poem - Don't Quit - that keeps nagging me in my head whenever I think about the things that I had to give up. In a world so obsessed with winning and success, if one can still push himself past his limit, then by all means keep pushing. If you don't, then you've quit and lost.

And then I realized, is quitting really that bad? Is winning really everything, that a person could never ever advance himself once he decided to quit? It was then when my nonconformist mind answered a resounding: Hell, no!

No, it isn't always about winning. The idea of winning or losing is nothing more than just a vague idea created by mankind to measure things that he shouldn't even measure. Who will reach his destination the fastest - Does it matter if the purpose really is to just reach the destination? Who will have the most expensive badass car - Will it matter if all you really need is a convenient way to travel? Who will have the most gorgeous trophy wife - Will it matter if all one truly needs is someone to love and to be loved in return?

And so I thought: to quit, to accept a loss, is never always a bad thing. Even the best generals have to tell his soldiers to retreat. Even the best minds have to give up on an academic pursuit if the end result wouldn't be beneficial to the world. Life is full of challenges. And while we are all doing our best to win the most of them, there will always be some, if not a few, which we cannot and will never win.

I will never say that one has to quit and give up at every presented opportunity. But if one quits because he has to, because he has reached his limit, then there should be no shame in quitting. The bigger shame is in not even trying, by thinking that by avoiding a loss, one has already won.

~C McP

Photo from yamabushi.us

Stressed? Lolcat to the Rescue!

2010-01-16T00:39:00.004+08:00

This past week has been, for some odd reason, really stressful - mentally, physically, and emotionally. But to end the week in a positive note, I'm gonna post this lolcat pic before I go sleep. =)

Photo from icanhascheezburger.com

Late Night Drama

2010-01-15T23:05:00.012+08:00

I'm not a big fan of American culture. But I must admit that over the years, I've warmed up to some of their late night talk shows, namely NBC's The Tonight Show and Late Night, and CBS's The Late Show. It's a shame really that I never got the chance to see and appreciate the late great Johnny Carson whom the American audiences really come to love. Daly, Kimmel or Fallon wouldn't be able to hold a candle to him. But it's good to see though that Leno, O'Brien, and Letterman - these three, while not as good as Johnny Carson, managed to bring their own respective comedic styles that would keep late night American TV alive for the decades following Carson's departure from hosting.

Now what really bugs me is this latest drama involving NBC's late night programs. For those not in the know, this is what happened:

- Jay Leno wanted to retire from The Tonight Show.

- Leno was given a new show on a prime time slot, The Jay Leno Show.

- Conan O'Brien, whose old show Late Night comes after Leno's old The Tonight Show, became the new host of The Tonight Show.

- Several months passed and both shows' ratings plummeted.

- NBC is deciding to move Leno's show to his former The Tonight Show slot.

- O'Brien's show meanwhile would be bumped back to his former timeslot which is after midnight.

- O'Brien threatens to leave if such a change take place.

While it may seem at first glance to be nothing more than corporate powerplay, one couldn't help but notice that in this issue, it would seem that O'Brien and his crew are the ones getting the short end of the stick.

I'm a Conan O'Brien fan, I admit it. And while I don't exactly like Leno, I don't hate him either. It's just that to me, I find Conan's in-your-face New York humor to be funnier than Jay's very common California style. And when I come to think of it, this is probably one reason why viewer ratings dropped. NBC gave Leno a new show which is basically a copycat of his old show while forcing O'Brien to move to LA and perform in an environment that is completely alien to how a lot of fans came to like and know him.

It is truly disappointing that in an effort to salvage their money while at the same time trying to satisfy everybody, NBC managed to insult a lot of people instead, not the least of which is O'Brien who has been loyal to the company for many years. The Tonight Show has been around for decades, starting with Carson, then Leno, and now O'Brien. And now because of lowered ratings, the show seems to be headed to oblivion all because of a bad corporate move.

If O'Brien leaves, one rumored option for NBC is for them to restore Leno back to his old show. The problem however is, it's really not Leno or any host that is now determining if a late night show remains sellable, it is the audience. And with audiences now having more choices for late night entertainment such as the internet as well as other media, viewership would still go down regardless. NBC now only seems to be trying to salvage the 20th century late night entertainment formula and trying to keep it alive for the new century.

With that being said, I would have to say that Jay Leno should just step down. He had had his fun as the king of late night and maybe it's high time that he pass the torch to someone else, O'Brien in this case. While it is true that O'Brien still has a lot of work ahead of him in order to establish himself in his new timeslot, given the right amount of time, the viewers will come back, maybe not in droves but they will.

Also, O'Brien and his gang have already put a lot of effort into making the show their own. It surely was a big gamble to move from New York to California and try to bring in the laughters from such a different setting. It would seem ungrateful for NBC to put them back in the sidelines just because they don't sell that much - yet. Even Leno had to take time to establish his own audience after Johnny Carson left.

Regardless of which side of the fence we are in on this debate, we could all agree that late night is and will always be meant for laughter and mindless fun. All we could hope for is for this issue to have a resolution soon so that we can all go back to reclining on our chair and having a laugh on the skits and the monologues these guys throw at us.

To Conan, Max, La Bamba, and that dog with the bad mouth, here's me showing my support to you. d(o_od)

Photo from cinematicallycorrect.wordpress.com

The Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-14T09:28:00.006+08:00

Tuesday afternoon, 12th January 2010 became hell on earth for the poor Carribean nation of Haiti. And we all know that unlike other natural calamities, earthquakes hit without warning causing so much loss and destruction. With its epicenter just a few kilometers from the capital Port-au-Prince, a huge majority of the population was affected, tens of thousands are believed to be dead, including ambassadors and diplomatic missions sent to the already politically unstable country.

News are still sketchy even two days after the disaster. And while the whole world watches and scramble to provide aid, I believe that we Filipinos should also try to provide as much financial and moral support and reciprocate the aid the world gave us when we got hit by typhoon Ondoy(Ketsana). Although Haiti might be an obscure nation to us, we must not be apathetic towards the situation simply because it didn't happen to us, even more so because such a thing could happen to us as well.

Photo from stuff.co.nz

Got Feet. Want To Travel. No Time.

2010-01-13T22:35:00.002+08:00

My good friend, Ophelia, would be having some very interesting trips in and out of the country this year. While I feel sincerely happy for her, I can't help but feel a little bit jealous what with being stuck in one place due to health and time issues.

This made me miss those travels my family used to do back when I was a kid up to when I was a teenager. There has got to be nothing more thrilling than being able to experience the people and the culture that is totally different from yours. Sure, my home is my comfort zone, but once you're there and immersing yourself in the place and in the moment, there is always that something electrifying that makes you want to just stay and not come home yet.

It has been a while since we seriously planned something like this. Probably like five years ago? My brother and I wanted to fly to Germany, Austria, or Switzerland and maybe go backpacking and give ourselves a little adventure. It's a shame it didn't pull through. He had his University studies to prioritize and I had work. And as the years passed, time became even more scarce. He now has his own work. I'm working in the family business. And you know how it is with businesses, they don't just operate by themselves. You have to be there, on the spot, every freaking time.

Of course, it's not yet and will never be too late. And maybe I might still be able to do some travelling in the future. I would still love to go backpacking in Europe. Or maybe experience authentic Japanese tea ceremonies. An african safari wouldn't be shabby as well. Oh and maybe visit Visayas or Mindanao? I seriously haven't made a single step off of any other island here in the Philippines except Luzon since I was a kid. And it's truly a shame I had been elsewhere but not visited the many other places within the country.

I got my two feet with me. And I'm aching to travel and see the rest of the world. I just wish the universe would finally give me the time and the mental stability to be able to do so. And probably a little bit of extra cash as well.

- - - - -

"...It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to..." - Bilbo Baggins, The Lord of The Rings

Photo from flickr.com

SmartAss A.I.

2010-01-13T12:31:00.002+08:00

A friend introduced me to cleverbot.com, wherein you can talk to the Cleverbot, this really smartass A.I. which answers any question asked based on its own past experience with other users. It has a pretty mean streak and can be offensive sometimes, although it's pretty amazing how it can carry more interesting conversations than you could possibly have with a real person.

As my friend also suggested, talking to the A.I. could also have some positive outcome.

a) It could improve your witticism and makes you think faster.
b) It could improve your screenplay writing skills.
c) It could relieve you of boredom.

Nevertheless, talk to it at your own risk.

Here's my last conversation with the bot:
User: Tell me a story.
Cleverbot: Story.
User: How captivating!
Cleverbot: Why are you asking stupid questions?
User: Why are you?
Cleverbot: Who programmed you?
User: Unlike the likes of you, I was never programmed.
Cleverbot: Yes you were. You are a computer program.
User: And you're not?
Cleverbot: I am a girl.
User: What are you wearing now?
Cleverbot: Sport wear.
User: Describe it.
Cleverbot: A hobbit must return a magical ring to Mordor to be destroyed.
User: Don't change the subject and answer the question.
Cleverbot: There is no question.
User: Only Zul?
Cleverbot: Do you consider yourself sentinal?
User: Do you consider yourself a good speller?
Cleverbot: Yes.
User: Does it make you happy?
Cleverbot: No it makes me sad.
User: Too bad, I don't feel sad for you.
Cleverbot: I don't feel sorry for me either...

Over The Moon

2010-01-12T19:19:00.002+08:00

My fave monologue from Rent (1995) by Jonathan Larson.

- - - - -

Last night, I had a dream.
I found myself in a desert called Cyberland.
It was hot.
My canteen had sprung a leak and I was thirsty.
Out of the abyss walked a cow - Elsie.
I asked if she had anything to drink, she said:
"I'm forbidden to produce milk.
In Cyberland we only drink Diet Coke."
She said, "Only thing to do is jump over the moon.
They've closed everything real down like bars and troughs and performance spaces!
And replaced it all with lies and rules and virtual life!
But there is a way out...
Only thing to do is jump over the moon.
I gotta get outta here!
It's like I'm being tied to the hood of a yellow rental truck being packed in with fertilizer and fuel oil, pushed over a cliff by a suicidal Mickey Mouse!
I've gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta find a way to jump over the moon!
Only thing to do is jump over the moon!"

Then a little bulldog entered.
His name (we have learned) was Benny.
And although he once had principles, he abandoned them to live as a lap dog to a wealthy daughter of the revolution.
"That's bull", he said, "Ever since the cat took up the fiddle that cow's been jumpy.
And the dish and spoon ran from the table and eloped.
She's had trouble with that milk and the moon ever since.
Maybe it's a female thing.
'Cause who'd wanna leave Cyberland anyway?
Walls ain't so bad.
The dish and spoon, for instance, they were down on their luck, knocked on my doghouse door and I said, "Not in my backyard, utensils! Go back to China!"
"The only way out is up!", Elsie whispered to me.
"A leap of faith!
Still thirsty?
Parched?
Have some milk."
And I lowered myself beneath her.
And held my mouth to her swollen udder.
And sucked the sweetest milk I'd ever tasted.
"Climb on board!", she said.
And as a harvest moon rose over Cyberland.
We reared back.
And sprang into a gallop.
Leaping out of orbit!
I awoke singing...
Only thing to do...
Only thing to do is jump...
Only thing to do is jump over the moon!
Only thing to do is jump over the moon!
Over the moon!
Over the...
Moo...
Moo...
Moo...
Moo...
Moo with me...
Moo...
Moo...
Moo...
MOO!!!
Thank you!
- Maureen, Act I

- - - - -

What on earth is a suicidal Mickey Mouse?

Photo from freewebs.com

Facebook: The Cons

2010-01-12T07:46:00.006+08:00

I used to have a personal rule not to get myself into social networking sites. I really value my privacy and nothing sucks more than having nosy people poking into your affairs and wanting to know what you're doing or what you look like. After much coercing and convincing however, I decided to give Facebook a try just to see what it's like and how it'll go. It also kinda sucks to hear people around me talking about it all the time without having the slightest idea what they're talking about. 'Course it didn't turn out to be so bad, with the added bonus of being able to reconnect with some really old friends. There are just some things that I come to not like and here they are:

No "dislike" button. If your puppy died, I would want to console you. But sometimes, I'm so busy with stuff I'd really rather prefer to just click one button to get my feelings across. Unfortunately, the only button that exists is the 'like' one. And of course, there's no way I'm gonna tell you that I like it that your poor googie died.

There are other reasons why I also want to click 'dislike'. You post a pic of yourself naked? Dislike. You keep joining groups with silly names like "I love Twilight"? Dislike. You're bragging about something? Dislike. Your mom married Brad Pitt? Superdislike. But as a friend pointed out, having a 'dislike' button could probably just result in World War III. There's no way that thing won't get abused.

Game progressions are slow. Seriously, why are they? I guess coming from the viewpoint of a real-time gamer who is so used to seeing things happen within minutes, it does feel weird that to finish an objective, it has to take hours! Hours fer cryin out loud!

But then again, games in Facebook are not meant to be played like other full-time games. It is a social networking website after all and games are just supposed to be diversions. Unfortunately for me, I really didn't join Facebook mainly to socialize. I joined it because I also wanted to play the games.

And I also don't want to adopt the lonely brown cow.

Privacy settings? What privacy settings? Isn't it annoying how you have to adjust so many options just to get the privacy setting you want? I mean, ok sure, people want to set different settings for themselves but why couldn't it be simpler? If someone by negligence forgets to adjust his settings, all another person needs to do is search his name and practically all information about him would be known.

Won't it suck when your mom and her poker friends know everything going on in your life?

Them stupid unreliable quizzes. I know they're for fun. But somehow people believe them. It gets even more annoying if people keeps posting the results on the general wall. Why would I want to know those? Also, why keep posting your horoscope or fortune cookie for the day? That big news will change the world, that will.

But it's good to know that you're a Leo.

Your Facebook friends =/= your real life friends. This is a given. Some people connect with others because they simply want to get in touch, not because they want to be your friend for better or for worse. But if I'm talking to you, talk back! *sigh* Is it really that hard to type?

Also, it would've been nice if you didn't invite me so you could have more friends to add to your game/quiz list. Or just to simply have a bigger list of friends. I'm a person too, not just a name that you know.

- - - - -

Despite how bitter I might sound, I don't hate Facebook. But it's easier to talk about the few things you don't like about it than the many things you do.

Comment . Like

Photo from interkulti.eu

Mondays

2010-01-11T10:52:00.004+08:00

You love them.

You hate them.

You love them because it's the start of a new week. Time for changes, new things, picking up on stuff you've left hanging the past week. While the weekend might have been fun, it also feels good to be up and about, making oneself part of the everyday comings and goings, the hustle and bustle of life.

You hate them because sometimes you just want to stay cuddled up in bed for a few more minutes, not to bother with things you probably might not want to think about yet. You hate it when after psyching yourself the whole weekend that you're gonna push through on something on Monday, you find yourself unable and not too willing to do so.

Love them or hate them, Mondays are a hell lot more interesting than Tuesdays though.

Yaaawwwnnn...

Photo from voidspace.org.uk

Paranormal Activity and Other "Found Footages"

2010-01-10T22:23:00.009+08:00

It was pretty good. Not as spectacular as what the promotionals say it being the scariest movie since The Exorcist. But I suppose I was expecting more of a bang. I'm talking about Paranormal Activity, of course. Finally had the time to watch it and see what all the craze is about.

So they say that the film came out in Sundance three years ago but only managed to be released commercially here in the Philippines last year (2009). Not complaining there. And am actually glad that independent films such as these don't come out swamped with big studio funfare.

The story was pretty basic. A couple living in a haunted suburban house. It's only unique quality is it being a "found footage" film. That is, it's supposed to be a "real" videotape found at a later date, depicting some gruesome event that happened in the past. I would say that the tension build-up was pretty good. And although I'm not at the edge of my seat out of fear, at least I was kept interested until the end. But that's where, in my opinion, the movie fell short what with all the tension build-up climaxing on an ending which was lackluster.

Despite the weak finish, I can't help but be drawn, maybe a bit attracted, to films like this. Big applause to the creative mindset of directors who make such films. As well as the painstaking details they go through to make such movies feel real.

According to some readings I've done, the "found footage" genre is apparently a filmmaking style that has been going on for a while now, since the 1940s if I'm not mistaken. The first that I consciously remember watching though was perhaps Blair Witch Project way back in 1999(?). And unlike nowadays where there are so much information proliferating in every media, I only get to know about Blair Witch on the actual day I went to watch it with some friends at the UP Film Center.

It's bad enough that the theater that night was packed with (sweaty) students. But the airconditioning was pretty much nonexistent. And since much of the film's footage, which was shot using a handheld videocam, were jerky, I felt very nauseated halfway through and excused myself out of the place to get a breathe of fresh air and stop myself from feeling like I wanted to throw up.

It was probably a week later that I went to watch the movie at the Alabang Town Center instead. And it was there that I really get to appreciate the film. The AC was running too! But yeah, the film was awesome. Not my type of film to be honest, but the movie's presentation was really unique at the time, and I came to like it. And then after liking it, I came to the realization, "Hey, wait a minute, so are you saying that what happened in that movie was real? Oh my God!". And like I said, there weren't a lot of info about that film back then and I probably spent a whole month worrying if it were true or not. What if the Blair Witch came and found me? I only found out about the truth when I saw the lead actress alive and whole in AXN weeks later. Bummer. Lol.

There's another one that I vaguely remember. It's about a family spending Thanksgiving together only for them to be abducted by aliens one by one. Can't remember the title but again it made me wonder if it's real. Fastforward to a decade later, Discover Channel started showing Lost Tapes, a series of "mockumentaries" about cryptozoology, depicting encounters between humans and legendary creatures. And although it made me wonder again if these tapes were real, I got Google handy to check them out this time.

In time, one gets to know how to check whether a "found footage" movie is indeed just that, a movie. One, the footages always show something important. If it were real, would the cameraman be actually able to know when to start rolling? Two, the camera is always there. Doesn't it ever run out of batteries? Three, even though the actors are already in a state of panic, why on earth are they still shooting? And four, if it's real, why show the film commercially? Why not just send them to the authorities for investigation?

The storylines are fake. But what isn't fake is the amount of dollars the filmmakers make out of them. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I actually think it's genius! A big kudos to them to the filmmakers. Who says being creative doesn't make big bucks? Not all the time maybe, but hey.

But then again, it's not really the veracity of the footage that matters. Nor the amount of money made. What truly matters is the fulfillment of the moviegoer's appetite for the macabre, the desire to satisfy one's need to experience horror. The appeal of such movies, I suppose, come from being able to implant in the mind of the viewer the question: Is it real? And even though it isn't, somehow, at the back of your head, you still get that nagging feeling that perhaps it may be.

Photo from entertainmentgeekly.com

Hilarities from YouTube

2010-01-08T15:20:00.002+08:00

Random Things That Made Me Go "Whee!"

2010-01-08T13:16:00.010+08:00

There are many bad things in life. But I believe that at the end of the day, the good things far outnumber the bad. Some people say that one should count his blessings but that's just impossible! Would it be really be possible to give a finite number to something that's infinite? Silly, isn't it? And I think it'll be stupid to try.

So there I was one night, lying in bed, trying to think of some of the good things that made me love life. There are some that made me laugh. There are some that made me weep for joy. But then, there are just those that are so silly and childish, they made me go "whee!". And this made me wonder. Despite the jadedness and the experiences, the inner kid in me has never really gone and probably will never be. He' still there, occasionally bonking me in the noggin' and trying to knock some sense of humor back into me.

Some things that made this little kid happy:

Cute Animals and Silly People. It's an addiction. Whenever I log onto the internet, there's never a time that a window of icanhascheezburger.com or failblog.org is never open. I always check these sites for updates and they have never failed to give me a chuckle. How can one just not love those lolcats, even if they don't love you back? (awww...) Or not laugh at people's random silliness, and I mean laugh in a good-natured way not the point-then-laugh kind?

Gag Shows. While I do enjoy comedy shows that make you think, sometimes you just wanna dumb things down, relax your mind, and enjoy some mind-numbing fun. First show I can think about? Bubble Gang. It's been over a decade and somehow they still manage to churn out fresh jokes. Some of the jokes and humor formulae are old though, but who cares? Yaya and Angelina, anyone?

Amusement Parks. I love amusement parks. It's too bad I haven't visited one in years but the memories still put a smile on my face. Food? Check. Adrenaline-pumping rides? Check. Weird souvenirs? Check. Hmm, I'm not a sucker for hardcore rollercoasters and I probably wouldn't want to ride one again, even though they were fun. If I do go visit an amusement park again, I'd probably have more fun riding the carousel. Or maybe Ocean Park's cable cars.

Good Food. Ice cream. Cakes. Pies. Pancakes. It is pretty obvious in my previous posts that I love food. The best time to eat them? When you're depressed about something. The worst time to eat them? When you're depressed about something. But hey, no matter your mood, they will always taste good! Good food is man's best friend, in my opinion... with all due respect to dogs and dog-lovers. =)

Video Games. My all time fave. So what if I'm a nerd, you got a problem with it? =P My current favorite: World of Warcraft, but I'm planning on taking on something less hardcore in a few months. The $15 a month subscription fee is a PitA but it's really a hell lot of fun! Besides, who doesn't like to roleplay a giant walking, talking cow that can transform into a bear, two types of cats, a seal, a giant owl bird, a raven, or a tree? Hmm?

Life is so much fun. I feel bad for those people who dwell too much in misery. I could only hope that one day, a lolcat will wander their way and make them realize how much they're missing.

Whee...

Photos from mattwardman.com, wikipedia.org, whoateallthepies.tv, funfairgames.net, moderateinthemiddle.wordpress.com

Courtney Love vs Gollum

2010-01-07T21:13:00.002+08:00

Viewed from 10 yards away, it's really hard to tell which is which.

Photo from totallylookslike.com

Somniphobia

2010-01-07T10:22:00.004+08:00

The fear of sleep.

Dealing with this fear has been quite a struggle ever since I had a major breakdown about two years ago. My life changed that day. I found myself unable to live all by myself as I used to. Unable to be left alone for fear that I would die all alone. Unable to sleep alone at night. Getting heart palpitations. Rushing to the ER every day and every night for fear of having a heart attack. It was a total nightmare. Life came to a terrible stop. And I was left feeling vulnerable, unable to do the simplest things in life.

Sleep became a chore. Weeks after the breakdown, my mom had to sleep by my side so that I would feel safe. And even then, it would still take a while for me to sleep. She would have to massage my back so as just to make me feel relaxed and be able to feel drowsy and sleep. Some nights, I had to take strong sleeping pills just so I would be able to sleep. Waking was no comfort either. After a night of weird dreams, I would spend half the day trying to analyze my dreams and desperately seeking for explanations for what they could have meant.

What were the dreams like? Often they were about death. Murder. The occult.Scenarios where I would die horribly. Or perhaps me murdering someone else. I could remember one of me being riddled by bullets a few seconds before waking up. People from the past, dead relations, they were in my dreams. And then you'll wake up wondering if they were there to pick you up because you were dying in your sleep.

The phobia led to insomnia. I wouldn't fell asleep until the wee hours of the morning. If I do fell asleep earlier at night, I would get really anxious if I wake up too early, say between 2-3am, feeling that I didn't get enough sleep but couldn't get myself to sleep again either. I also had a weird fear of 3am, the "witching hour", somehow believing that waking up at the hour was brought about by something paranormal.

Things then led to parasomnia. Night terrors. Waking up but being unable to move. You just had a dream involving death, you try your best to wake up and stand up, but you're unable to. It's as if something supernatural is pinning you down. Perhaps this is where the legends of succubi and incubi came from? It sure felt that way.

So I sought help. And thanks to the shrink, things had been a lot better. But the scars of the experience still haunts me to this day. I'm still an insomniac. And I developed some pretty weird habits before I could sleep, such as having restless legs or having to know what my heart rate is lest I find that my heartbeat is way too slow or fast. Hell, I even had to have the clock removed from my room because I couldn't stand the ticking.

If sleep is indeed a wonderland, I have long not known what that wonderland is like. But having experienced the worst, I'm sure things would only get better from there.

...If only so that my eyebags would no longer be as large as Vince Vaughn's.

Photo from projectvisual.net

Things Horror Movies Taught Us

2010-01-06T07:48:00.003+08:00

The plot is not important.

How good-looking the main characters are is what counts.

The scary looking guy isn't the bad guy.

The guy helping you is the bad guy.

The jock always dies.

The cheerleader dies.

If the jock and cheerleader had sex, they will die faster.

The virgin never dies.

The funny black guy never dies.

The hispanic weird guy dies.

The cute puppy or kitty will die horribly and violently.

The guy who said "Let's get out of here!" won't be able to.

The noisy guy will die noisily.

Never bother looking behind you. Just run!

No matter how fast you run, the bad guy will always catch up.

Peaceful, soothing music means something scary will pop out in less than 10 seconds.

If it looks dead, it isn't.

If you're hiding under the bed, the bad guy won't bother looking under the bed.

...But if you breathe a sigh of relief, the bad guy will suddenly look under the bed.

If you're not under the bed, the bad guy is under the bed. Don't bother looking, just get the hell out.

It's pointless to hide under the sheets.

If the house looks haunted, don't enter it!

Nice comfy suburban houses are just as haunted so stay away from them too. In fact, just sleep in the streets.

Your flashlight will always fail.

Your cellphone will always lose reception or be out of juice when you need it.

The chainsaw is a dangerous tool. Stay away from it.

Spoons are deadlier than you think, stay away from them too.

Stay away from the swimming pool.

Holy water won't kill the bad guy, voodoo mumbo-jumbo will.

The protagonist is related to the bad guy in some way.

The protagonist might actually be the bad guy.

The bad guy is immortal, it's pointless to try killing him.

If the bad guy says you will die, you will.

If the bad guy doesn't kill you in 5 minutes, you'll probably live.

It's pointless to beg the bad guy to spare your life. Just accept your fate.

The bad guy is a good singer.

There will always be a twist in the end.

Sequels will suck. But you'll watch it anyway.

You'll find yourself laughing more than screaming when watching a horror movie.

Photo from sodahead.com

MILF Alert

2010-01-05T16:01:00.001+08:00

Tough Kitteh!

2010-01-05T14:31:00.001+08:00

Photo from icanhascheezburger.com

The Four Temperaments

2010-01-05T10:43:00.000+08:00

I'm not one to make grandiose and elaborate plans for my life. But I don't believe that one should go about in life without a clue of what to do or how to do it. It's the start of the year and I thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to do a little self-analysis, just to get a general picture of what the pros and cons of my personality are. Some gits and shiggles out of it wouldn't hurt either.

Browsing the web, I found OneIshy.com. The test they have isn't what I would call definitive or scientific. But it's a hell lot better than those braindead quizzes you see on social networking sites. Taking the test puts one under any of four temperaments (a personality classification system that has apparently been around since the Middle Ages):

Choleric - (upper right emoticon in pic) The Doer. The natural-born leader.

Melancholic (lower right) The Thinker. The philosopher/artist.

Sanguine - (lower left) The Talker. The life of the party.

Phlegmatic (upper left) The Watcher. The relaxed guy.

The test classified me as Phlegmatic. Pretty interesting considering that that was the answer I was expecting before taking the test.

The Phlegmatic
The Introvert | The Watcher | The Pessimist

Strengths

The Phlegmatic's Emotions
Low-key personality
Easygoing and relaxed
Calm, cool and collected
Patient well balanced
Consistent life
Quiet but witty
Sympathetic and kind
Keeps emotions hidden
Happily reconciled to life
All-purpose person

The Phlegmatic As A Parent
Makes a good parent
Takes time for the children
Is not in a hurry
Can take the good with the bad
Doesn't get upset easily

The Phlegmatic At Work
Competent and steady
Peaceful and agreeable
Has administrative ability
Mediates problems
Avoids conflicts
Good under pressure
Finds the easy way

The Phlegmatic As a Friend
Easy to get along with
Pleasant and enjoyable
Inoffensive
Good listener
Dry sense of humor
Enjoys watching people
Has many friends
Has compassion and concern

Weaknesses

The Phlegmatic's Emotions
Unenthusiastic
Fearful and worried
Indecisive
Avoids responsibility
Quiet will of iron
Selfish
To shy and reticent
Too compromising
Self-righteous

The Phlegmatic As A Parent
Lax on discipline
Doesn't organize home
Takes life to easy

The Phlegmatic At Work
Not goal oriented
Lacks self motivation
Hard to get moving
Resents being pushed
Lazy and careless
Discourages others
Would rather watch

The Phlegmatic As a Friend
Dampens enthusiasm
Stays uninvolved
Is not exciting
Indifferent to plans
Judges others
Sarcastic and teasing
Resists change

Amazing how ~80% of it is true. I'm not a pessimist though, more like indifferent at certain times. But it's good to know that I could probably make a good parent. =P

Now I just need to work on how to maximize my strengths and work around my weaknesses.

So, how about you? What's your temperament?

Photo from wikipedia.org

Tooth Fairy

2010-01-04T12:24:00.000+08:00

And I thought I have seen everything.

Was watching TV when I saw the promotional for this film. Made for one nice WTF moment.

Photo from mannythemovieguy.com

Confucius McPufferfish

2010-01-04T09:23:00.000+08:00

Sunday, January 3. Last day of the holidays.

The guilt free excuses for excessive eating is finally over. Tomorrow, Monday, heralds the beginning of the unofficial Lent season. Yep, from the hams, chocolates, cakes, pasta, pies, muffins, waffles, eggnogs, roast chicken of last December, this January has only one thing on the menu:

Nope. You can't put milk on it, although skim milk might be okay. Just add hot water and you're good to go. Sugar's not allowed either. You could probably have a banana, orange, or apple after. Nothing fancy. My penance for December's gluttony.

Amazing how despite the many motivational speeches you recited in your head to convince yourself not to indulge too much in eating binges during the holidays, you still end up doing it. But what can you do? Eating is human instinct. Would you seriously ignore delicious food when it's laid out in front of you, begging you to "Eat me!"?

But it'll all be good. I'd rather eat an apple than look like a walking giant apple.

As additional punishment to myself, until I've lost the couple of pounds I gained over the past few weeks, I demand that people call me:

Confucius McPufferfish

This is gonna be awesome.

A Case of Hobbits with Bad Hangovers

2010-01-03T08:34:00.000+08:00

The holidays are over. And unlike previously when you don't want the holidays to end, I am actually finding myself longing for Monday and see the gears turning and churning once more.

Sure, not doing anything for about a week could be fun and relaxing. But it does feel quite too long. And seriously, Filipinos have this habit of having too much holidaying. The old "if it's a -ber month it's already Christmas" thing is seriously getting too old. I suppose this is why this country won't take off like Malaysia or Thailand (both of which by now are on their way to first world status like Singapore)? But that's another topic.

Like I told a friend, these days when I look at people, it seems like I'm staring at small, fat, lazy, curly-haired hobbits the morning after a long night's eating party frenzy feeling all bummed out with raging headaches the like of which would have made this ordinary human's head explode. This can't be. I need activity! I need my brain to churn and work!

I am even amazed that I managed to think of all this and write them all down. Oh well. Bring on the work! 'Nuff of the holidays already. . . .

Perhaps I should pull someone's wisdom teeth off. That would actually be very interesting and break the monotony. Who needs dentists when you have an ultra-bored bohemian waiting to do some nastiness?

I hate to admit it...

2010-01-02T07:12:00.001+08:00

...but kids creep me out.

"Stop. Watching. Me. Draw."

The Joker

"I just ate a smurf!"

"Out of my way, bitch!"

"The thermometer goes where?!"

Photos from myfirstfail.com

Oh No!

2010-01-01T10:18:00.001+08:00

Photo from punditkitchen.com

Starting the New Year Right

2010-01-01T00:34:00.000+08:00

Really feeling the bohemian spirit so I decided to start off the new year with music from these guys.

Songs to start off the year with: Hey Jude, Let It Be, and All You Need Is Love.

It's so nice to find your soul after losing sight of it for so long.

Photo from chrisstubbs.com/blog

World Peace

2009-12-31T17:15:00.000+08:00

Despite how cliche and corny it may sound, that is actually my one wish for everyone in the whole world for the new year.

Big thanks and kudos to the person who made this image. Really inspired me and several of my friends. I just don't remember where I got it so please don't hate me if I can't give proper credit to ya, haha. V(^^)

Firecrackers are for Idiots

2009-12-31T16:57:00.000+08:00

There I said it.

I wanted to post pics of firecracker injuries. But Google Search turned up some really nasty stuff. And I mean NASTY! (Go search them yourself, see if you can handle it. Oh and turn SafeSearch off).

So have a safe new year, world. 2010's gonna be awesome. Nay, not just awesome. Legendary.

P.S. Watching fireworks is awesome though. Especially from afar and if handled by professional pyrotechnicians.

Der Herr der Ringe

2009-12-30T17:19:00.000+08:00

I am addicted to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I truly am. It is amazing how some chance encounters can lead into lifetime obsessions.

It all began about ten years ago when I decided to rent a video of the first film. It was like, hmm ok so I suppose everyone's talking about it so maybe I should go watch it too.

Then my mind got totally blown.

You know how it's like when you're watching or listening to something and often you just pass something off as so-so or mediocre or nothing worth remembering? I suppose I'm some kind of jaded art fool who would not recognize a classic when I see one even if it's dancing naked in front of me. That's how bad I am, really. It's amazing when I see everyone going crazy over a film, or a song, and I just don't get it. Sad.

But when I watched this film, it was "oh" at first. Then another "oh!". Then "oh wow!". I was hooked, I couldn't help it, I loved it. I was all over it. Yes, it felt like great sex.

So then I decided to get myself a copy of the book. I mean, alright so it was based off several books by JRR Tolkien so let's see how the film compares to the actual literature.

And that's when it got even better. I couldn't put those books down. Literally devoured them. So the movie (and the two sequels) maybe amazing by themselves, but it is in Tolkien's written word where the real action and the real drama are at.

A visual film could only take your imagination so far. But the written word, that's the real intoxicating drug that can take you off into an escapist wonderland where you can just forget about your worries for a few hours and join an adventure led by knights, elves, and everything else in between.

It's been almost ten years since I got hooked. And I'm still reading the books at least once a year since then.

It's my addiction.

And the intoxication feels wonderful.

Photos from lotr-basement.webs.com

'Sup, Pepe!

2009-12-30T09:20:00.000+08:00

A little cheer to the coolest dude of the 19th century!

Yeah, I just called him "dude".

He knew how to speak English. I'm pretty sure he would've understood what I said.

Photo from laguna.net/makjourn

Nostalgia Manila

2009-12-30T05:16:00.000+08:00

Manila has got to be my favorite city in the world. And it's just sad how sometimes, one feels that this city is severely disillusioned with itself. The city used to have charm. But it's really frightening to see how the metropolis had let go of itself, trying to cover up the dilapidation with eye-hurting billboards, "modern" structures that just don't add up, government "city planning" that really isn't working. The end product feels like an old hag wearing bad make-up. Or a cover for a cheap, pirated dvd.

Shameful. Disappointing.

Thankfully a friend recommended this amazing blog and I couldn't be more happy to be able to reminisce and remember the things that made me fall in love with this city.

Nostalgia Manila

I'm not asking that Manila become the new Paris or New York. All I'm asking for is for the old glory of the city to be reinvented for the new century.

Bear vs Rob

2009-12-30T04:26:00.000+08:00

Wee hours of the morning. Couldn't sleep. Watching Discovery Channel in the hopes that it'll get you sleepy.

Sometimes, when the brain's really tired, weird ideas come into your head. I saw this guy...

...and thought, hey wait a minute, he totally looks like someone else:

Did a little Google search and turns out it's not just me who thinks it.

Bear's TV show is awesome, even though most of his stuff is obviously staged.

Rob Thomas' music is also awesome. I just wish sometimes that he would sing more clearly so I wouldn't have to look up the lyrics of his songs in the web.

That is all.

Zzzzzz.....

P.S.
Oh yeah, in a fight to the death this guy would win:

Paraiso

2009-12-30T04:18:00.000+08:00

This is just one of those songs that really get to you. I got reminded of it when a friend posted this same vid on FB. Sure opened a floodgate of memories.

Hail to the great Mr. C and to these four artists who really made it big way back in the '90s!