Rizal's Challenge

Where are the youth who will consecrate their golden hours, their illusions and their enthusiasm to the welfare of their native land?

Where are the youth who will generously pour out their blood to wash away so much shame, so much crime, so much abomination?

Pure and spotless must the victim be that the sacrifice may be acceptable, Where are you, Oh youth, who will embody in yourselves the vigor of life that has left our veins, the purity of ideas that has contaminated in our brains,the fire of enthusiasm that has been quenched in our hearts?

We await, Oh youth, come, for we await you!

Dear Prudence

Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, its a brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play

Dear Prudence open up your eyes
Dear Prudence see the sunny skies
The wind is low the birds will sing
That you are part of everything
Dear Prudence won't you open up your eyes?

Dear Lie

Dear lie

You're dumb

You think you've got the best of me

You think you won

Misread my vulnerability

I've got your walls

Now get the hell away from me

I've learned your art

Won't let you unnerve me

Won't let you control me

The truth will only free me

And your lies won't hurt

No more

Good Riddance

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So make the best of this test, and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.

It was one of the longest nights that Trinity ever had. The liar in Neo resurfaced, thinking he will not ever be caught. Sadly, she had to face the very painful part that the same person who professed his undying loyalty, never seemed to have stopped telling lies. That makes him not only a perennial late comer but also a perennial liar.

Now, that is very heartbreaking and throbbing yet at the same time, she felt an ounce of relief.

She felt relieved that it took her only a couple of years to realize that this person simply cannot be trusted with her life. Can you imagine the life that she will have with him, should she never found out about him being so reluctant in telling the truth? What a tragedy it might have been.

It is very clear to her. She is not trying to paint herself as a saint. She is neither a saint nor flawless. She made several wrong turns and have shortcomings. But trust and honesty are such biggies for her. You see, it is very important for her that the person she will have a family with – will never lie to her. Whatever the colours of such lies are – a lie is a lie. Case closed.

For the life of her, Trinity has forgiven Neo many times over - thinking that every person needs to be given a second chance. And she has given more than one second chances. But she realized that one cannot change a person simply because you have forgiven them and showed them a great ounce of love.

She has learned that maybe some people are just like that – they simply refuse to take you seriously. She can only guess that maybe, all his life, he could easily getaway with the lying part and that telling the truth has become such a burden. She does not know, she can only make assumptions.

Trinity is still visibly distraught by what she found out last night – what with such bulging eyes and heavy heart.

All the words he said and written are all still very vivid – those were nice and sweet words, but she had to wake up from this dream. Those lovely words aren’t true. Just make believe.

She looked at their pictures and could not help but weep. She did love that man and gave him all her best shots but he only took that for guaranted.

It is a tragedy but Trinity has decided she will not waste her time, effort and precious tears trying to relive the pain that Neo has carved on her. She is surrounded by her wonderful family and such great friends and that is good enough for her.

It's something unpredictable,

but in the end it's right.

I hope you had the time of your life.

Bulilit TVC

If you lie...

... truth will ALWAYS find the one you lied to.

Old Effing News

What happened in the past should and must stay in the past.

True but sometimes things of the past will just suddenly emerge and hit you in the face so hard that you start wondering why the hell did that happen.

For quite some time now, and I have been pretty vocal about this predicament – some insecure, bored and pathetic individual/s have been nudging me with information I am not very keen about. They bombard me with things that don’t even involve me. They tell me stories of things past – when I am still not even Beb.

What continually blows my mind is that – how on good earth can these people find out my personal contacts, even after so many attempts of creating new handles and nick? And I am not even Madonna! Okay, I know I have been a certified Netizen since 1995, discovering new sound artists through the net since 2000 and blogging since 2003 but I never posted my super personal contacts online. Damn it.

For a while I basked on certain peaceful ground – but then again it was only for a while. Soon, my favorite villain attacked again – sending me notes and what-have-yous.

My analyst self will tell me - after trying to connect the dots, that the wrath of these unwanted “visitors” roots from that one individual very dear to me. They just simply want this person, not me. Safe to say, that I am at the wrong place and situation. Of the late, I have been told a lot of very horrible and demeaning lexis already. Some of which, my stomach could not handle. I was raised in an environment where such horrible tones were not that common.

I could only surmise that these cruel entities never felt they were loved at all. Or that they were not taught that harassing other people is not okay. Well, what can I say - hurt people hurt people.

Not that I am trying to insinuate that I am perfect – I am just as flawed as any other person on this planet but harassing other people is not something my good folks raised me for. I will no longer strain myself by trying to level with these dogs – deciphering where they’re coming from. Maybe my friends are right; I have been way too nice and too kind that some people may have abused this soul already.

I deserve better. SO MUCH BETTER.

And what makes this even more degrading is that, you keep on being lied to. How lowly is that? So, don’t ever be surprised if you lose the confidence of this very soul.

Oh well. Such is life.

Run

Louder, louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say

To think I might not see those eyes
Makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do

Star Trek

While I did not grow up watching Star Trek TV series, I was sure that my parents did. I remember sitting beside Mom while her eyes were all glued on this TV series when I was still very young. I wasn’t a Star Trek fan and didn’t bother checking it out in YouTube now. My brother and I were more of GI Joe, Transformer, Mickey Mouse and friends, Sesame Street and yes, even Batibot kids – that was our epoch.

So when Star Trek movie trailer was previewed early this year, I was not that keen about it. To me, it was just some (or another) sci-fi movie produced by Hollywood.

But all these changed after watching the movie.

The movie opened with USS Kelvin being attacked by Nero, a Romulan captain who wants to avenge his destroyed homeworld, Romulus. As the USS Kelvin is evacuated, newly-appointed ship captain, George Kirk decided to stay behind in order to cover their fleeing shuttlecrafts – saving many lives including that of his wife and son, James T. Kirk.

Fast forward to the present, we see James T. Kirk being synonymous to trouble - having gone to bar fights and yes, being a pain in the butt. And then he met Capt. Christopher Pike who tells him of his late father’s heroic act and convinced him to join the Starfleet.

Projecting this certain air on his head and being quite difficult at that, it took so much for James to earn the respect of his colleagues, most especially that of Spock.

Soon, they caught themselves hand in hand in combating Nero as The Enterprise was being attacked by the latter. How they did it, is one of the many reasons why people (both Star Trek fans and otherwise) should see this JJ Abrams film.

This movie, for me, also tells us how the camaraderie of James T. Kirk and Spock was inevitably formed. Both men grew up with such pretty troubled lives – Kirk grew up without a father figure while, Spock is a half-breed (half-Vulcan and half-human) that easily made him an object of mockery.

What with the superb storytelling, time warps and special effects, this movie is a top notch. And it was not thorny at all for newbies, like me, to appreciate the gist.

I so heart it.

Live long and prosper!

Sounding Words

“Those who go through the desolate valleys
will find it a place of springs,
for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.”

Why are we a nation of servants?

By F. Sionil Jose

Here we go again, some inconsequential columnist in Hong Kong takes a cheap shot at our unhappy country, calls us “a nation of servants” and immediately an uproar, and magma feelings of hurt are unleashed. Editorials, columnists, politicians are outraged — they demand apology as if one would really salve the bone-deep insult. It was the same sometime back when an English publisher defined “Filipina” as a housemaid. Such insults hurt profoundly but the pain fades quickly and soon after all that enraged outburst, we settle down to the same complacency, we continue sending more of our women abroad to be raped by Arabs, demeaned by Malaysians and Chinese, heckled by the Brits. What has our sense of outrage brought us?

Go to Hong Kong, to Singapore. Visit the Star Ferry environs in Hong Kong or Lucky Plaza, and Singapore’s Orchard St. And there, on Sundays you will see them, hundreds of Filipino domestics, yak-yaking, socializing on the sidewalk, having a pleasant respite from their work.

To the visitors, tourists and the natives, they are a piteous sight, illustrating so clearly and so well how this country has sank. As a Filipino, having witnessed such, I am utterly shamed. I do not blame our poor women for their sorry condition, for I know only too well their plight is the only way by which they can help their families at home and survive.

It is such a boring cliché now, but back to the not-so-distant past: Filipinas was the second richest country in the region, next only to Japan; our universities attracted students from all over Asia, and we had the best professionals, the most modern stores and hospitals.

And what was Hong Kong then? There were slums crawling up those hills on Victoria island, and slums all over Kowloon. Singapore as an English naval base was like old Binondo, with its small squalid shops and equally small houses.

But look at Singapore and Hong Kong now, then look at our country and people.

Sure, you can find in Makati magnificent mansions, the biggest luxury cars, the tony restaurants, skyscrapers. But elsewhere the ugly sprawl of slums, the very poor who now eat only once a day. We must ask ourselves that question, why we became “the hewers of wood and drawers of water” of the world. What happened to us, a very talented and heroic people with a revolutionary tradition?

Once we have answered this question, then we should no longer wonder why there is a continuing diaspora of our brightest people, of our women. It is then the time for us to be truly enraged — not at that Hong Kong columnist — but at the creators of this dismal miasma we call Filipinas. Do not kill the messenger who comes to us to tell the horrid truth about us. Ingest his message, then turn all that outrage, that vehemence, to the Filipinos who turned this beautiful country into the garbage dump of the region: the oligarchs, the Spanish mestizos, the Chinese Filipinos and the treasonous Indios who sent their money abroad instead of investing it here in industries to create jobs for our people. Then it is time for us to rail and condemn the crooked politicians who are the allies of these wretched rich who permitted the relentless hemorrhage of this nation’s capital.

Revolutionary tradition? Ask those rebels why, after 40 years, these leeches are still feasting on our blood!


*text from Philstar
*photo c/o of this.

Pantene Commercial

Really extraordinary.

Fake Eggs

While browsing the internet, I stumbled upon this news about fake eggs being sold in China. I searched in YouTube if there was anything about these fake eggs and boy, was I taken aback at what I've found.

This is a major HUWAAAAT?! moment for me. Tsk.

Ignored

It sure has been days
since that "brave" email
has been sent out
but no reply just yet.

No answer
just a few shrugs.
Now you start
to doubt.

And feel so -
unheard of.

Or maybe,
brave words
are just simply
ignored.

Chapters on Change

Chapter 1.
I walk down a street and there's a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. It takes forever to get out. It's my fault.

Chapter 2.
I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It still takes a long time to get out. It's not my fault.

Chapter 3.
I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It's becoming a habit. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

Chapter 4.
I walk down the same street and see the deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter 5.
I walk down a different street.

Tempting

These MJ bags are just so tempting.
I want them. NOW. ;-)

Viva Pacman

It was undeniably a fight like no other.

Manny Pacquiao has astonished both his fans and foes alike by knocking down Ricky Hatton only 2 rounds after their most anticipated fight tagged as “The Battle of the East and West” commenced.

I am no boxing fan but Manny Pacquiao, without any shadows of doubt, is the best fighter there is today. Being the sole boxer who fought in “four weight classes in four successive fights” and won them all, Pacman (as he in fondly called by adoring fans) is being tagged as a boxing legend and the best pound-for-pound fighter.

While most people watched the game either at home or Movie Theater, my man and I opted to watch it at National Sports Grill – a few walks away from where we attended Sunday service.

With much anticipation, I patiently waited for the game to commence and when it did – they’re showcasing it piece by piece. Yes, it was such a drag for me. Every time they’d flash Pacquiao or Hatton, long effing commercial breaks came after.

As soon as the announcer declared, “let’s get ready to rumble”, I knew we were about to see a fight like no other but we all know by now what happened. In less than 7 minutes, the game was over – Hatton saw his stars very early on. Really, I was not expecting him to be all drowsy after receiving several punches from Pacquiao during the first round. After all, before the game proper, Hatton and his trainer kept bragging about how he “will beat Manny in his own game”. Oh well, all yakking. Yada, yada, yada.

While I was naturally gleeful and extremely proud for Manny Pacquiao, I had very high hopes that The Battle of the East and West will send other boxing events a run for its own money. With all the bragging and foul talks, I was expecting for a tough fight and I am pretty dang sure that I wasn’t the only one who felt “shortchanged”.

I heard that Ricky Hatton is a tough guy and definitely loves to brawl but the last time I saw him, he was semi-unconscious and was lying flat on his back after receiving a left hook on his jaw. It was definitely not a good sight.

After 2 rounds, I realized, that he and his trainer were just all blahs. Ha! So much for all the non-sense bragging!


*photo courtesy of Inquirer.

Saturday Sentiments

By lunchtime
fever found her
start ruining what she thought
is a perfect day.

Her body weighed down
spirit slowing going
a few notches north.
Saddening.

A week ago -
talked to herself
that no negative thoughts,
will ever put her down.

But she failed today -
miserably.
Whispered prayers
in between such sobbing.

Everything just aches -
from head to toe.
And no warms hands
to comfort her.

At night time,
while in bed -
she hopes to be well
hen the sun shines.

But for now,
she fights this fever
even when there's no one
out there, at the moment.

Fix You

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

Fashion Mask

These fashion masks are hot.
Swine flu is definitely not.


*photo courtesy of Irinablock.com

Hotness

The heat is definitely on in X-men Origins: Wolverine.

*photo courtesy of People.com

Scary Swine

The recent turn of health events made me flinch and simply fancy to stay home. Aside from having to pay my physician a visit on a pretty regular basis, this new epidemic is really driving me nuts. Call it paranoia or something but swine flu, now in its very startling rate, bothers me.

I am OC already but recently my OC-ness morphed to a notch higher – as in Adrian Monk OC! Save for a few loved ones, I refuse to touch anyone at all or if I do, I would immediately rub my hands with a sanitizer or alcohol. Yesterday, I purchased a mask just in case. I know that is over the top but still, prevention is better than cure.

My 6-year-old cousin, Patrick is probably one of the most curious little boy I know. His questions are endless and would try anything at once – simply to satisfy his curiosity. With that, I would often catch him tinkering on a lot of “interesting” stuff that I wouldn’t dare touch. Last night, I had a “cool talk” (as he puts it) with him. I explained to him why it is very important to keep our hands clean – with matching visual aids and a lot of coloring, too. It was a good 10-15 minute chitchat, with him making a “promise” that he will make sure his hands are always clean. To that, I was naturally very happy.

Cheers to clean hands. Boo to swine flu.

==

From yesterday’s Inquirer, here’s an excerpt from Swine flu etiquette:

"Do you know that there are “etiquette rules” to follow when coughing? Our most instinctive reaction when we cough or sneeze is to cover our mouth and nose with our bare hands. But, say health authorities, this only increases the spread of germs since hands, if left unwashed or sanitized after, could very easily transfer the microbes.

Some would sneeze into the sleeves, taking care to cover their mouth and nose, although this is not easy to achieve. If one doesn’t have a handkerchief or tissue at hand, the “proper way” of coughing, say health authorities, is to cough into one’s shirt, holding the neckline over one’s face to prevent the spread of germs – carried in the air through droplets expelled by your mouth or nose – to other people.

Washing one’s hands frequently, or using alcohol hand cleansers, are also practices we can adopt to prevent spreading not just swine flu virus but other germs as well.

Germs can spread by direct physical contact, or by holding items that an infected person has held before. Our mothers were right: wash hands before and after eating, after using the bathroom, and after sneezing or coughing. "

Again, prevention is better than cure. I am sure it won’t hurt that we observe such swine flu etiquette.

Or just don't touch me. ;-)

Stickies