sentido kumon...

The Cosby Show!

2011-05-18T16:52:00.002-08:00

I miss the Cosby show. That was such a great show. I wasn't born yet during its original run, and neither was it readily available in the Philippines. But I was able to watch it on online showings, and it was such a fun experience being entertained by it. I'll write a better tribute to the show, the cast, and of course, Mr. Bill Cosby, himself. :D

If you're able to get a copy of this show, go watch it! It sure is worth every penny, if I am able to buy a copy of my own, that it. Haha.

Flickr-ing

2011-05-18T00:47:00.002-08:00

Marc Dimaano's photostream on Flickr.

So I've been trying to hone my photography skills lately. I've always had the urge to be really good at it, and do that through perhaps years of practice. So why not try to up the ante this year and hope for the best in terms of becoming a master of this craft. Haha. It's okay to have big dream anyway!

For now, you can catch me on Flickr. Above (I think) is my photostream. Join me on it!

Goodluck to me! :D

Life direction

2011-03-06T21:13:00.001-08:00

So I am at a crossroads right now. And sorry to say, things could have been much better if I just made very easy decisions and accomplished easy enough tasks. But I didn't. And I just need to take control of my life in a humble and calm manner and hope for the best from now on. I am too late for everything. But I have to take responsibility. We always have to, for whatever happens to us. This is me, slowly but surely, standing up and taking hold and taking responsibility. No other choice, but to live...

tumblring

2011-03-06T04:07:00.007-08:00

It's been a long time since I got down to writing. And I've been inclined to do microblogging or tumblr-ing instead of full-pledge weblogging primarily because the latter takes a lot more effort. Lol. But I am aware how less of a writing experience microblogging or multi-media blogging is (as the case of tumblr). However, blog sites like tumblr do make it easier to share multimedia content you can find from the whole cacophony of the internet.

So I am very much hooked to tumblr still. I can find and share content that I find interesting easily, with a lot of artistry and even more impact, since there's fairly good number of pinoys tumblring now. Catch me tumble-blogging at:

Flying with Dragons

http://boboykid.tumblr.com

(mah personal site)

and

Shoot and Scores

http://malfonshoots.tumblr.com

(attempt at photography)

and I'm also working on this project:

Flying Jeepney. Destination: World

http://flyingjeepney.tumblr.com

(It's supposed to be a blog about all good news and things about the Pinoy nation. I try to post about triumphs of Filipinos wherever they are in the world. I also post interesting stuff about our culture, history and our land, in general. It has 126 followers to date!)

If you want to try out tumblr, go ahead, it's really easy. Don't forget to follow me. Go to tumblr.com now! Haha. :D As for twitter, I think I'm going to deactivate it or something. Too much information on the internet about yourself, I think, is not a very good idea. :D

As for this blog, I think I'm also better off polishing my writing skills more and more. So this blog I will use to write things under the Aaron Dimaano byline (haha); my opinion and thoughts on the things affecting the world everyday, and also of the world inside my head and that world's comings and goings. :)

So there. Goodluck to me! And hello to whomever may read this.

P.S. Goodluck din pala sa grammar ko. Haha.

So hard

2010-12-18T09:48:00.002-08:00

Why is it so hard to write? Or better yet, why is so difficult for me to do better and be better. Sssshhh. I should end it here first. I promise to myself I will write come day light. O_O

Hi

2010-10-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

Hi!

And that goes a long way.

:)

presidentmarcos blogs for Cory Aquino

2009-08-19T08:42:00.006-08:00

It just occurred to me, that despite the utter enshrinement of President Aquino in this blog of mine, it seems the height of irony that I have nicknamed myself presidentmarcos or for that matter, addressed this site presidentmarcos.blogspot.com. Of course, all must know that Marcos was the dictator, and the widow Aquino was the liberator (in more ways than one). In other words, for presidentmarcos to blog exultantly about Cory Aquino is mind-boggling on so many levels.

Truthfully, it is quite funny and to an extent, disturbing, at the same time. By no means though, have I meant for this play on words to come about, given that I have made and named this blog, and my blogger self, almost four long years ago; not even perceiving that one day I'll have to say goodbye so emotionally to Cory, as a blogger who's namesake is her arch nemesis.

At any rate, this does remind me that I haven't really explained why these names are such: the blog and the blogger.

I'll explain it then, in my next post, how I've meant for this blog to live out its life, carrying such a name, and having such an alter-ego as its author. Certainly, when presidentmarcos blogs for Cory Aquino, explanations need to be threshed out. For sure. :D

Exploring love and sadness and the un-differentiating of the two

2009-08-18T19:54:00.015-08:00

This is about that spontaneous thing that I actually did this early morning (around 2AM).

I was having one of my random walks, admittedly to let an overwhelming feeling of sadness dissipate, and then I felt I could help organize my thoughts and let my emotions flow by writing something. I didn't really quite know what it was that saddened me, and I was getting tired of feeling depressed without knowing why. To a great extent, perhaps I knew why, at least unconsciously, or I haven't just been true to myself, magpakatotoo kung baga.

So I stopped at a nearby 7-Eleven store, bought a Gatorade drink (cause I thought they had a promo, but they didn't! sigh) and a hot dog sandwich and then, as if I always wanted to, a pen and since I couldn't find another type of notebook, I bought an almost girly notebook. Haha. At any rate, I bought them, without really thinking much, sat down and wrote.

I just let my thoughts flow, but at the same time I didn't really think of them. To a certain degree they were emotions textualized, a sort of translation of sadness to words, of apprehension to words, of doubts, of questions, of visions, of futures, into words.

Below is what I wrote. I am tempted to put a disclaimer, but I would very much negate my idea of being true to do that. Disclaimers, after all, sometimes translate to "I didn't actually mean it". Nonetheless, this I will say: The essence of fiction is not to present the truth per se, but from the imagined the truth is born, from the un-true, the glaring truth is given light.

In that context, I say, these are all the truth, written as un-true forms.

"I want to write a story that's why I've bought this, these pen and paper. I want to write a story because I feel restless, yet very tired at the same time. I want to write a story because I'm sad and I really don't know why. Okay, maybe I'm just not ready to accept why; why I'm sad, why I feel the need to write, or why I want to share a story, perhaps my story. Just now, I think I've realized... I don't know exactly how to put it in words

Is it because I've loved, or think I've loved, or at least felt and cared? But somehow the boundary up to which my heart can give selflessly has been passed; that perhaps the I in me, deprived of utter compassion, has longed too much, too long and turned to a broken wing, to a barren field, to a snowy peak, to a shard of glass, to an endless wail and sharp pain. I long for warmth undisguised, for intimacy uninhibited, for the mending of a scar, for a drowning embrace and a curious glance. I only wait to melt in your heart, to be considered part of you, to be loved and seen and hear and thought of.

I travel alone, not so much to leave but to be found. Too long have I walked to reach you, too heavy has been my burden in carrying you, expired has been my voice in reminding you, too weary my mind is thinking of you, too lonely has my heart been in caring.

Permit this time for me to consider myself, to consider perhaps my needs, to consider the me, the I who has cared despite myself.

I do not know what I aim for, what I shoot for. I only know I've cared, but I'm tired now. Perhaps, just perhaps, love has found cliffs that are far too steep to climb and the fall too far down, that I think I've fallen enough times.

Simply, I have not regretted my care for you, but perhaps I ask, I expect from you that which you could never give. I am sorry that it is at this point in my life that I've decided to fore go many things that I've been generous in. I fore go our friendship not to end it, but to start over. Hopefully, this time it is to forge a bond where I, the I, the me is present.

I do not know what or how that really is. Neither do I know who. I no longer think about that, I only am, be, do.

I've loved you all sincerely and truly from the core of my heart and being. I just feel tired from loving too much and perhaps I feel I must rest. I do not think I can ever figure in your lives that way you all have in my life. Perhaps I just love too much indeed, and that has only brought me pain that overwhelm the bright times of smiles. I hurt, and I want to stop it.

The spring that flows within me has dried up. I must give my heart then to people who will replenish me as well.

Consider my genuineness as a friend and perhaps you will find me there.

If you wish to forget, then that will be hurtful, but I guess inevitable.

I sincerely don't know what I ask from you then.

Let me just find myself, and make sure that me survives.

You're very much welcome to help me out, if you deem it so."

There. Now considering it, I'm certain this is more fiction than fact or personal reflection. I don't think I'm the one speaking there. At the very least though, I think and feel, that this is more of a writer's exploration of love and sadness and the un-differentiating between the two. Although, I feel that the line that separates them is more muddled than clear. Perhaps to care is to be at risk of pain? Hmm. A question that sits atop an iceberg of more questions, that's what that is.

Yet, after writing that, I feel more lighter now. Maybe some heavy truth is hidden in that text, something unchained from my heart and my heart is a little freer.

Perhaps, the truth does really set you free? But what if that truth is the one that tells that there is no difference between love and sadness; that they're one and the same?

Hmm.

Nagpapakatotoo

2009-08-18T11:02:00.003-08:00

Did and wrote something spontaneous just a while back. I was wondering what to post (yesterday), and had a lot of ideas, but somehow, I guess I was just waiting for something other.

I'll post it in a while, the moment I wake up I guess. Its around 3:10 AM already anyway, and I'm just heading off to sleep, because I do feel sleepy. Okay, that was borderline nonsensical.

At any rate, I'll update the world once I do, for now, however, I sleep.

Sweet dreams!

Paalam po

2009-08-17T01:41:00.016-08:00

Paalam po Ginang Aquino!

Finally, after quite a while, I am starting to grieve a lot less and to release the sorrow a lot more, from the passing of our dear, yellow-clad leader. I really don't understand it myself, but for the past days, from her death until the days of mourning that followed, I was deeply depressed. I know for one that I can be a greatly emotional person, and to add to that, I am emotional with anything that concerns this country of ours. The passing of Cory, I guess, compounded themselves to burn my heart with grief.

I have cried, and cried many times. But why or for whom, I could never really say.

I cry for the family she left behind, her children and grandchildren, her siblings and cousins, her in-laws, her, our people. I cry for the nation that has lost its living conscience. I cry for myself, who has lost a personal hero. I cry because I do not know how to express my love and appreciation of her person.

A friend asked me why I was a fan of Cory. To my ears, he asked me why I shed tears for this lady. She was a person he never really knew a lot about. He wasn't born during Aquino's time. Neither was I, I thought. But even if I do know quite a few things about her, I couldn't really answer.

Yet, words came out of my lips, recalling her political significance and her democratic legacy, as well as her courage and tenacity confronted by tragedy and impossibility. But in my mind, her impact to me is truly more than words can say. In the same breath, her death is as incomprehensible.

I could say a lot of things, and say nothing at all, but this I say: She showed me, as Ninoy did before her, that there is goodness in humanity; and that there is value in hoping against hope; that there is courage in the most humble of hearts; and that heroism is not about being the one but being someone, someone who cares, someone whose principles move him to act, someone who encourages, someone who tries to make the lives of others better despite how heavy that burden is, someone who believes and makes his life a vocation for humanity.

Helen Keller shared before that "I am one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do." That for me is what heroism is: giving everything to do that something that you can contribute. President Aquino exemplified that; and she is gone.

I cried and I hurt. But now the hurt is gone, and slowly, but surely, I guess I understand more the reality of her death, but also the magnanimity of her life.

I could write never-ending texts about this incredible lady, yet that wouldn't express my gratitude for her nor live-up to what is due her. I leave the countless resources on her life and legacy for you to read. What I can share here then is my heartfelt thanks to her.

I hope she knows that here is one human soul, fundamentally inspired by her, with the way she lived her life and carried on. I hope she knows how much as a Filipino, I look up to her as a modern mother of this, our troubled nation. I hope she knows that her memory continues to warm my heart, in facing the cold storms of an uncertain future of Philippine democratization and good governance.

I am happy, and I no longer cry, because I have been a witness, however indirectly, of the giantess that is Cory Aquino. After all, they say we reach and see farther when standing on the shoulders of giants. Tears are held at bay by this beautiful thought; that wherever we go, what ever the risks we face, and no matter how dark the times can get, President Cory Aquino showed that there is good in the hearts of men and that there is value in hoping and fighting for a better world.

My tears have been shed for the last time, and I say goodbye to them, to the pain. I comfort myself with the thought that, perhaps, it is in our hearts where the departed survive, and it is in our works that they live on.

More importantly, we do it not for the ones who have left this finite world, but for the living, the oppressed, the dismissed and the marginalized, to whom Mrs. Aquino fought a lot for.

She showed me the grace of inspiration, colored the nation yellow, and to the world, I share my own hue.

Paalam po, aming inang bayani,

Ginang-Pangulo Cory Aquino!

A goodbye and a start

2009-08-02T01:10:00.004-08:00

I will write when

the wailing wind withers;

but for now, the rain falls

and the river floods and all

of the plains of my heart drown

to the depths of a dark sea.

Paalam, Ginang Pangulo.

Paalam, aming tiya, aming nanay.

Sana ang araw na sumalubong sa iyo ay maging kasing liwanag ng iyong buong pagkatao, dahil ikaw, kahit paalam man ang sa iyo aming sinasambit, ay ang nagbigay pag-asa at gabay para sa aming puso at buhay. Isang bagong simula para sa ating republika ang nabigyang buhay buhat ng inyong kadakilaan.

Paalam at Maraming maraming salamat po!

Para sayo aming bayaning Ina

2009-07-24T12:26:00.008-08:00

A yellow ribbon, I banner, for a woman who faced the world for us and caressed all our hearts towards life

For whom I will shed these tears of anguish and of solitude for my heart and spirit will miss that her shadow that casts upon me the ideals upon which this, our motherland has been established.

Despite the falls, she rose. Despite the gunfire, she lingers on. Despite us, she is.

In spite of the evil of this world, I pray for our souls. That we may uncover that path bordered by tress and shrubs adorned with yellows, and hearts and principles. The path which she birthed from the earth upon which she has lead, and we have trod upon, yet forgotten our way.

She is, and that will give her rest. I trust the universe will give her, her due. But what is she but a dreamer? A mother? An advocate? A worker.

An icon? A voice? A noise?

A check? An end? A beginning? A myth? A dead?

And we?

The blood and sweat and tears that she has shed will forever flow in us and through us. Only if we allow it to.

Will we? Should we?

We must.

I share these my thoughts: Live a good life so that others may live better lives.

The essence of being human is living for others. To live for oneself only is death but to live in the hearts of others is immortality.

And my thoughts are forever with her, in her journey and in our peoples'.

Death games with Mr. B

2009-06-01T17:09:00.002-08:00

"Let them call me rebel, and welcome, I feel no concern from it;

but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul"

- Thomas Pine

Life is a trivial place

to find one's soul sprout in.

Everything you think and do,

seem to be done in vain

and are vain.

Like a big casino and amusement park,

you revel at every new thing you see,

you bet a coin here and there,

you find the urge to always

have a token.

The token becomes your life.

The less tokens you have,

the less amusing life is.

The more tokens, the better it is.

And these tokens are much

more than money,

more than money...

Yet, the discovery of a spirit,

apart from your own being,

and that much greater spirit,

that encompasses your own

is always,

always something to behold.

To realize that there are other

people playing along and against you.

That beside you are people betting,

looking, craving for more coins and tokens.

To realize that below you are

people who have not got a penny

to play or property to bet,

below you, rotting away

away from your much,

keen stares.

To realize that in this game

we play, no matter how

genuine your advocacies are,

there will always be winners.

and there will be losers.

and counting...

Realize that, as Lenvic Lesigues once

said, health can never be achieved

by an inherently sick society,

the issue is not how to play the game,

but whether we should still stick by it?

Our way of life is inherently wrong.

No matter how innovative and landmark

our betting is, there will always be those

at the losing end. The question we must ask,

are we consciously preventing ourselves

from true sacrifice?

Sacrifice that is beyong austerity?

Anarchy finds sense in a society inequitably

mis-ordered.

Sumilao

2009-06-01T06:50:00.002-08:00

I dare to write a story, but

I will never be able to tell

it. I try to write a poem,

but I will never be able to

sing a tune. As a painter can

only paint and a photographer

can only shoot, a painting is

just a part; a photo is just a

shot. And when I thread a

trail, all I can do is follow.

And when I live a life, all I

can do is dream. Until the

apple is back on its tree

and not in the mouth of a

pig. Until then, I continue

the fight, living out a dream.

The Greatest Good

2009-05-31T17:45:00.002-08:00

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. -Benjamin Disraeli

Of all things uncertain in our hazy, hap-hazard history from the mythology of the Greeks to the oriental lore, men certainly regard knowledge as a glorious, glowing gem, from only which realities of our finite world are formed.

Great thinkers throughout periods of time are all alike around the philosophy that to think is what we ought. That truth is closer to what our imagination indelibly involves has been the learning that we’ve been taught.

Although time and again we’ve been religiously, repeatedly reminded that an unexamined life is not worth living, it can not be denied how humanity has been a bastard battering the world that has given us life and meaning.

As problems arise, we resort to delaying, distant discernment, and we think to think. As the world cries, we resort to relaxed, rubbish reflections and we stop, to think.

In a world, where there is but a never-ending, nostalgic need of humanity for change, for revolutions, for peace, we live a trivial life that stops to think, to think, and we try to make sense of a world in dire need of deed.

What we have is not an eternally existing earth, yet we while our time dreaming as if it is exempt from being dead. The world will soon end its sorrowful song of suffering, its time we realize that thinking is overrated while action is undiscovered.

My friends, what good is green grazing grass to a horse, if the horse has already died? Indeed, what helpful light can we blue beings bring to the others, if they’re already too blind?

The death of university

2009-05-31T02:56:00.003-08:00

Well all I see are students,
but nobody is studying.
They're just preparing to be
managers of the real world.

All I see are professors,
but nobody is professing.
They're just sales agents
of the real world.

Well all I see are scholars,
but no scholarship.
They're just discounted
costumers in the real world.

All I see is education,
but no educating.
It's just the ad campaign
of the real world.

Well all I see is a university,
but nothing whole. Perhaps,
nothing different from
the real world.

Universitas, the whole.
and University?

Just a sad way of piecing
together things that describe
everything about humanity
but the essential.

Dare I say it,
capitalist evils have once again won.

Dare I say it,
University is dead. Learning is dead.
Living is dead. Humanity is dead.

Poet's Guide to Nothing

2009-05-30T17:35:00.003-08:00

Okay I am not a poet, I think. Well its safer to assume that I'm not one lest the lords and ladies of Poet's ville criticize me for thinking I am a decent poet... Okay, that was a shameless disclaimer, haha. But the point is, I try.

For the next few posts, let me share some of the things that I have written then.

By the shelves that hold
the attempts of men to
understand the lives they
lived, I find myself lost.

So upon a piece of paper,
I thread upon a path, a
path that countless others
before me have found their
place in.

But also have lost their
minds, their souls and their
hearts in. Forever apart
from them, forever in the
midst of the curious mind.

Yet find the way I must,
the one that leads me there.
There at the corner of a
seat and nestled on a table,

I endeavor to find myself
and to share it to the world.

But there's this noise I hear,
of a thousand pangs of a
heartbeat, a thunderous
breath, that pierces through
the very fabric of my mind
and it overwhelms me.

a thousand blogs, a thousand false starts

2009-05-30T06:23:00.004-08:00

Its almost a full year since I wrote anything down. Not just in this blog, but in and for a lot of things too. I can barely remember the last topics I wrote about, for school and acads, or the last time I wrote anything for that matter. Nor have I typed away on a blog, or scratched a pen against paper, to answer an eternal thirst within me to put into writing, the thoughts that overwhelm me and the feelings that spill from my heart, on many varied things, unto many varied things.

I will try to write again.

Though now thinking about it, I do remember a couple of stories, poems and lyrics of songs that I have managed to write, on paper. Pathetic attempts at writing any good, really. But I do stand by them as decent work. I do stand by the fact that they are attempts; genuine attempts. Perhaps I haven't had a writing drought as serious as I perceive I have. Writing is close to my heart, and I breathe it along with the literature of every day sights and sounds. To walk the talk (or the print) is what I yet to discover, or do.

But a point remains that for my many blogs, including this one, I have been a sorry example of a blogger with ningas cogon. Its a supposed Filipino trait where one is ecstatic at beginning things but utterly fails to follow through. That is what I have been. Obviously. I can show you my other blogs, to make the point clearer. Perhaps another time though. Sadly, it's not just in my literature and life chronicling but also in my life itself, that I am failing. Academics, health, spirituality, etcetera. Name it, and I have endless lists of examples of how I wholeheartedly started a thousand things, but ended up failing to accomplish what I set out to do...

So much for that... and talk about drama. Too much for this fresh start. I'll keep this senseless thought babble, este, bubble on the fact that I have utterly missed blogging, writing or expressing, whatever you call it. I miss sharing thoughts and hearing them from people. I miss imagining things.

But most of all I am missing a lot from life. I've always thought that writing, literature is fundamental to humanity as the idea of a soul is. To write is to express and to express is to live. For what is the life you live but a expression and impression on this world, nay, universe we live in?

So much for a thousand blogs and a thousand false starts in life. I hope, and I will sincerely try and do, a real start. This time to actually achieve my goals, any goal. Ok fine, many goals. One memory at a time.

This is me writing.

Mabuhay ang pagmamahal.

smarty pants

2007-02-27T02:35:00.002-08:00

I have a question, but there really are no correct or wrong answers to it... yet, that is as long as you can logically explain your way through.

The questions goes: "If you're doing nothing, are you actually doing nothing or something? Nothing is nothing. Something is something. Nothing can't be something and neither can something be nothing. But then the act of doing nothing is something. You can't do nothing and another something at the same time. You are either doing something now or your doing nothing. In other words, you're always doing something. So then, when your doing nothing, are you actually doing nothing or something?"

Haha... What do you think?

(Sorry if its quite weird, i ended up thinking about this question because i wasn't doing anything earlier...

or was i?)

i died

2007-02-27T02:06:00.001-08:00

posted October 4, 2006

This is not to joke with death or anything like that but virtually i'm already dead. You see just an hour earlier at around 2 pm, we had an earthquake drill. And if what happened in RSF Computer Lab, where i am right now, is any indication of what would happen in a real earthquake in Ateneo, then casualties would be really high. In other words, the Earthquake Drill, from my perspective was an almost TOTAL FAILURE!!! The community was already told about an earthquake drill last monday, but only through posters posted on classroom walls and hallways. It stated there what the right procedure of action was in case of an earthquake. Basically it directed everyone to duck below chairs or tables and hold on to the legs of these furniture in the duration of the warning siren or "until the shaking stops". Only after the siren stops should people go with their hands covering their heads outside and congregate at designated areas. Apparently not all read these directives. In fact to say many read or knew about the specifics of the drill is an overstatement. So when the drill was put into reality, the time of which wasn't disclosed, the people in the CompLab either just stared at each other, stood-up or didn't mind the siren at all. I myself was ready to go down below the computer tables, but the guard directed everyone to stand-up and leave the building in lines. The other personnel weren't much of help since they themselves weren't sure to let the students out immediately or not, only when the siren was about to stop, i guess, did they remember to first ask everyone to cover their heads. So what was happening was that people on the other side of the room, near the guard and exit were standing up ready to leave, meanwhile, the people in the middle portion of the room were oblivious and the ones on the other end didn't know what to do, since we were also asked to duck. It wasn't chaotic, that's for sure, but it was, for me, alarmingly unsuccessful. So obviously, with all certainty, we would all have died if it was a real strong earthquake. Tsk Tsk... And now an hour or so later, people in the CompLab are staring once again at their inanimate dates of white and wires as if nothing has happened. Even during the drill, the technicians/personnel inside the complab didn't bother joining everyone in the drill as they stayed inside the complab, probably thinking of what meal they will have for dinner. What is saddening is that sure, there is no sense of urgency, completely understandable, but people seem not to have a sense of civic responsibility and consciousness of reality. They do not bother to become aware of their proper roles in any eventuality. We seem to lack greatly the wisdom of engaging ourselves in seemingly Corny and cheesy but widely important, matter-of-life-and-death undertakings. As if the worse that can happen to us in school are unannounced quizzes and dysfunctional powerpoints. People! Earthquakes happen to us too... Hopefully, Ateneans will get it through their thick skulls that being part of the economic or intellectual or spiritual or whatever elite doesn't make us immune to the realities of the world. The same goes to the personnel from whom we expect guidance and direction in a calamity. I might be overreacting, maybe... Then again given that i died, i guess i have every right.

When Mike Tyson dates Mickey Mouse

2007-02-27T01:58:00.001-08:00

I've always heard that the worst thing one can do is to let PGMA meet-up with Joma Sison... Well, i really don't know, they would be all formal and such or would just give each other the silent treatment if ever you put them in one room... And not kill each other ala MTV Celebrity Death Match... Actually, since for around 10 minutes earlier i didn't have anything to think about, i thought of the worst team-ups or buddies. I thought of many and these are just some of them... There's Hawkgirl and Robin... Seriously, Robin is too young to be a super hero, he'll be eaten alive... Then again, there's also Robin and Spiderman... Haha... Siyempre, andyan din si Jollibee and Ronald Mcdonald, you'll never know, nasa loob lang ang kulo... And also Mara (in Mara Clara played by Judy Ann) and Judy Ann, she's so good at acting, she's her alter ego... There is also Kris and Micheal the Archangel... Father forgive for her, for she does no know what she is doing... And of course, the worst couple would be Mike Tyson and Mickey Mouse... "Oh what cute ears you have..." haha... Oh well, this is really nonsense not to mention corny, but then again, nonsense is otherwise when you mind it... Hehe... Pero seriously may mas worse pa ba sa Mike Tyson - Mickey Mouse team-up?... haha..

this one

2006-03-01T01:22:00.002-08:00

Down at the tunnel of Quiapo

Quiapo (kee-yah-po) – I’m sure you’ve heard lots of things about it, right? You even probably paid it a visit already. But I’m guessing you haven’t heard a lot or heard nothing at all about the great tunnel of Quiapo. I myself have discovered what it is just recently.

You see most of time, what people know about Quiapo are the usual descriptions of it given by tourism manuals or people that have been there: It’s a district located in the City of Manila, and it is where the famous streets of Carriedo and Avenida are. It is also here, right beside Quezon Boulevard and near the Quezon Bridge, where you can find the historic Liwasang Miranda (Plaza Miranda) adjacent to the Black Nazarene Cathedral (Quiapo Church) and the Quiapo open markets full of products ranging from the miraculously low-priced merchandise to the mysterious interestingly-named medications. And the Quiapo Mosque, for our Islamic brothers, is just on the other side of the boulevard. Yes, all of these are in Quiapo; however, there is another less known Quiapo landmark that more often than not is not known to Filipinos especially from the provinces and even to those from the metropolis. This is the great tunnel of Quiapo that is often left at the sidelines of tourist destination catalogs yet it is one of the most important and useful (not that there are many) landmarks there are.

The great tunnel that I’m talking about is officially named as the Arsenio H. Lacson Underpass. This underpass that is more commonly known as Quiapo Underpass is also located in Quiapo –or more appropriately, under Quiapo. Strictly speaking it is not a tunnel, but then again, tunnels can either be passageways of people or of machines, as long as it is underground. And well the Lacson Underpass is technically under the Quezon Boulevard and has been there for the past 45 years or so –no arguments there. The late celebrated Manila mayor Arsenio H. Lacson commissioned its construction in the early 1960s and since then, it has served both the busy locals of Quiapo, devout visitors and curious foreigners in getting from one side of the boulevard to the other, marking its importance to the continuance of the flow of life in Quiapo. It has a total of 7 entrances/exits on either side of the boulevard. Well, to make things easier, let’s say you were already inside the underpass, and then you’ll have 7 exits to choose from. The first is the Carriedo Exit; this will lead you to the inner compound of the Quiapo Church, where fortune tellers and prayer sellers abound. But if that’s not your thing, you can always take the Villalobos Exit, to come out at Liwasang Miranda, redeveloped into a piazza-like square with Roman-style arches and urns, and there either take in the sights or head on to the Quiapo Church, or if not just troop into the big Mercury Drug Store –yes the one with the big TV screen. Then again, if you’re not staying long in this vicinity you can either take the Quezon Bridge Exit or the Paterno Exit. The Quezon Bridge Exit will lead you, well, to the Quezon Bridge while taking the Paterno Exit will let you walk out to the sidewalk and Jeepney Bay right between the Quiapo Church and Quezon Boulevard. If you’re heading on towards to the other side of the boulevard, then you should take the rest of the exits. You can choose from the three, namely Escaldo St., Hidalgo and Echague Exits. The Escaldo St. Exit same as the Echague Exit will serve as your egresses to the sidewalk beside Quezon Boulevard. Upon exiting, you must be prepared to differ from sellers of Lotto tickets, calendar catalogs and sink de-cloggers. The last exit is the Hidalgo Exit, which, truth be told, is the most lawless part, but don’t be afraid. Your life won’t be at harm, that is if you are not Sen. Bong Revilla or Chairman Fernando, because you could die from a heart attack – for as cheap as 35 pesos. Yes, whenever you need a copy of the latest Hollywood movie before its release, be sure to come out of the said exit and have your pick –though of course buying pirated CDs, DVDs and the like is definitely discouraged; however, bad as it is, this is still a part of our varied culture that there is to be explored and experienced at Quiapo when you walk out at different exits of the underpass.

But people were not always keen on using the underpass. Though at the time of its completion the technology behind the underpass was world class, it gradually became one of the least visited –or if people had their way, one of the most not visited– places in Manila. In fact the underpass was one of the first underground passageways in Asia. And it was at par with Europe’s underpasses. But as much as the rainy season is perennial to us, so is the problem of maintenance of government projects and so the underpass was left to its ruin. Later on, the underpass even became a hazard to those left loyal in using it. Several kidnappings have had their crime scenes here. One of the victims, Maureen Elizabeth Pizarro, 19, the aspiring model, was kidnapped on September 7, 2003 and fortunately, got back alive. And so Manila mayor Lito Atienza came to the rescue of the underpass in the form of his “Buhayin ang Maynila” Program which lit up and revived the underpass to its former glory. Presently after its refurbishment, it is already properly lighted, enough to set a certain peaceful aura even, has security guards with impassive yet reassuring faces, exits are also well marked with large nameplates, has notably very shiny marble flooring and is complete with furnishings of artificial vines and leaf garlands atop the pillars at the main passage way that are undoubtedly Christmas décor.

Now, it is definitely once again living up to its name, it being the namesake of the late mayor Lacson. Much can be remembered from mayor Lacson’s administration and from him as well. He was revered as one of the best city planners of Asia, having Manila as his masterpiece. His leadership and mere presence as the mayor of the capital was instrumental in not only the physical evolution that Manila undertook but also in the personal transformations of his constituents in embracing the new cosmopolitan way living in the metro. Mayor Lacson will forever be remembered for his outstanding vision of manila that he manifested through his selfless service to the people. Similarly today we find his continued and furthered service to the people via the underpass by it being more than just a passageway but a center of commerce and ultimately of culture and history as well, in turn indulging its diurnal –and others nocturnal as well– inhabitants into an everyday lifestyle that is sophisticated in its own right. More than that in fact, the underpass has also everything – well almost. It has 25 stalls, 24 for commercial shops and one for the Underpass Administration. One of the most famous is the Razen Shoes shop, a shore store, which began its operations in 1961. It also has dress shops like the one called Sobee, a pharmaceutical store, the Save More Drug and an Internet Café, the name of which wasn’t disclosed. And if ever you have an eyeglass emergency there is a branch of the familiar Acebedo Optical. There are food concessionaries with old reliable brands of Tender Juicy Hotdog and Mister Donut to the more modern Zagu. There’s even a Transportations stop for booking offices of companies like Cebu Pacific, Super Ferry, Sulficio Lines and the like. Moneychangers and jewelry shops can as well be found. There is the Omaimah Jewelry Shop and the Omairah Money Exchange and Lia’s General Merchandise which sells Catholic Articles; the first owned by a Muslim, the latter, well, owned by a Catholic. For the kids and the kid inside us, there is also a shop of Computer Games (don’t worry as far as piracy is concerned they’re okay) and devices and another one of Toys. Truly, as you can see there is something for everyone in the underpass, if you look hard enough.

Yes, for those who just want to transfer to the other side, or for those who want to shop, for those who want stay and stare, for those who want to travel, for those who believe in Jesus, and those who believe in Allah, for those who want to spend money or get it, for those who want to eat or drink or do both, for little emergencies, for those who want to play, for those who want to go and pray, and for everyone else in between, the Quiapo Underpass is definitely the place just right for you.

In it is a little bit of everything that Quiapo has to offer; yet it is a package of its own. Whether you are a tireless or tired traveler, you can also find your place in the Quiapo Underpass. Inside, you can admire the different shops and the structure as a whole and zoom into the times of the past of what the underpass was once, and the splendor and the suffering that it had been in, in your reverie or you can head on out to one of its exits and there begin your journey in the real world, towards home maybe or other places, exploring once more the different attractions of Quiapo.

Just remember that this great tunnel will be the best of them all, continuously beaming and shining with its simplicity, not sticking out like a sore thumb in the modern chaos that is Quiapo but hiding in the ground like a prized gem waiting to be discovered once again.

AMD

August 24, 2005

revised september 20-21 (overnight, hehe...), 2005

one's view...

2006-02-28T02:51:00.001-08:00

Something worth reading during these times of political uncertainty...

To reflect and...Act.

"Where we are as a country is one of nature's unfathomable mysteries;
what
we want to be and what we eventually become as a nation are matters of
choice that could transform a mystery either to a glorious gift or a
painful curse..."

The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the
"age" or location of the country. This can be shown by countries like
India & Egypt that are more than 2000 years old and are still
considered
poor.

On the other hand, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, which 150 years ago
were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich.

The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the
available natural resources. Japan has a limited territory, 80%
mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is
the
second world's second biggest economy. The country is like an immense
floating factory, importing raw material from the whole world and
exporting manufactured products.

Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the
best
chocolate products of the world. In its little territory, they raise
animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they
produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that
transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the one of
the
world's strongest and safest countries.

Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts
in
poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual
difference.
Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in
their countries of origin are the productive powerhouses in rich
European
countries.

What is the difference then?

The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by
education & the culture. On analyzing the behavior of the people in
rich &
developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the
following
principles in their lives:

1. Ethics, as a basic principle.
2. Integrity.
3. Responsibility.
4. Respect to the laws & rules.
5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.
6. Work loving.
7. Strive for saving & investment.
&n bsp; 8. Will. Accompanied by super action.
9. Punctuality.

In poor countries, only a minority follow these
basic principles in their daily lives. We are not poor because we lack
natural resources or because nature was cruel to us. We are poor
because we
lack attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these
functional
principles of rich & developed societies.

hehe... got this from the net and well its quite sensible, dont you think so?... hehe... copy nyo at let this message circulate... hehe... =)

toast

2005-12-14T02:28:00.001-08:00

?
Some say life is a long journey, is it not?
Some say life is never ending, how is that?
Some say life is easy, there’s no need for math…
No mystery to pull a hare out of a hat.
Some say life is only finite and physical
From dust you came from, to go to dust you shall
But then others say it is mystical
A puzzling labyrinth with no end, it’s abysmal
So many what others say, can’t you see?
If I finish them all, it will take eternity
Maybe that’s just life, undefined for you and for me
Even if you tried, it’s just our destiny
We’ll never know what life really is?
I’m not pessimistic; I just don’t want to miss
The truth, the reality that is shouting in your ears
The sad fact, actuality, verity, that our end nears
So instead of defining life with all your might
Why don’t you stick to the simple reason and keep it tight
Maybe the rationale of our becoming being with life
Is to give guidance, happiness, replace darkness with light
I hope you understand what in this poem I meant
Sorry if it’s not good, I’m just not a poet
I just thought that maybe with this I could change the present
And when you read the next line, I hope its really message sent
In this world, there are too many things that people require
They ask too many questions like an uncontrollable fire
So many, yet some questions, they forgot to inquire
“How many people have you helped in your life, have you even helped yourself or is your life as useful as flat tire?”

-amd

July 11

2005-12-13T01:43:00.001-08:00

hehehe... up to now, i'm still laughing... hehe...

You see, today is monday so as usual we had our lit class, and well i guess, as usual, our teacher had a lot to talk about... hehe... but i guess, not as usual, she decided to talk about the present political hullabaloo, hehe... instead of the lesson... And well to make the long story short, she wanted the president to resign and all that with matching conviction and drama, hehehe...

You know, i'm really sick of all this... yeah, you might say i'm a hardcore Gloria supporter that's why i'm reacting to my hardcore Anti-Gloria lit teacher.... and well, yeah, you're correct... hehehe... There are just these questions i was dying to ask mam but dared not interrupt her public speech... like "Who are we anyway to judge or determine who is telling the the truth or not? Who are we to say that the tapes of the opposition are the real ones and not those in the hands of the malacañan? Who are we anyway to say that PGMA cheated when all we can use as proof is a recorded bugged telephone conversation between her and garci, which i may note, is illegal? hmmm... Who are we then? Rational Filipinos fighting for the survival of our country? or Would-be saints who exude with hypocrisy, condemming "immoral" acts when we ourselves have skeletons in our closets? hehehe... LET HIM WITHOUT SIN BE THE FIRST TO CAST THE STONE... May GOD truly bless us.... hehe... In the present political crisis, it's better to stick with the what we know is right, the constitution, lets fight for the turth, keepin in mind that Moses only had his faith when he divided the seas... Again GOD bless us all! = )

eyoy

2005-12-13T01:24:00.001-08:00

well i've created a new blog account... it seems that my old one was scraped from here... i just can't remember my old user name... ah... anyways, i'll just transfer first some of my posts that i like from my friendster blog... i guess, we'll see after that if i can maintain this blog of mine, and not leave it to its eventual neglected death... hehe... well i guess that's all for now... (p.s. sorry this blog will have more of the argument-laden posts i have... hehe... but i'm not all about that... i have a separate blog for almost all things under the sun... http://aaronmd.blogs.friendster.com/udo/)