scarecrow

Ó hArailt.

The universe tends to unfold as it should.

Twice in March, once in April. Once in May.

Lets be frank about it; most of our people have never had it so good.
Heroic leader.
The feeling that comes over a man when he gets exactly what he desires.
Constant short tweets via the airwave.

Sometimes one succeeds, sometimes one fails.

Arroyo.
I mean, if a thing works, if a thing is right, respect that, acknowledge it, respect it and hold to it.
Quite nice, somewhat sweet, not street-thugged.
Dude, we're so high right now!

And the purple crayon.

One man's wage increase is another man's price increase.

So you guys maybe should just suck it up and go to White Castle.

Wilson.

Performance is your reality. Forget everything else.

.… is like drinking salted water: you drink and your thirst increases.
Good on curves! Shall I take you home?
A form of longform improv.
You sure have a way with people.
If you're going to be alive and on this planet, you have to, like, suck the marrow out of every day and get the most out of it.
To be alive at all involves some risk.

Getting friendlier.

Scarecrow.

Best so far.

Lo! where the Giant on the mountain stands,
His blood-red tresses deep'ning in the sun,
With death-shot glowing in his fiery hands,
And eye that scorcheth all it glares upon;
Restless it rolls, now fixed, and now anon
Flashing a far,—and at his iron feet
Destruction cowers to mark what deeds are done.
For on this morn three potent nations meet,
To shed before his shrine the blood he deems most sweet.

rambulan

ano ba namang mga uri ng balita ito? bugbugan sa makati. rambulan sa naia. binugbog diumano si albie casino ng mga barkada’t kaibigan ni andi eigenmann, habang kinuyog naman ng grupo ng mag-asawang si raymart santiago at claudine barretto ang kolumnistang si mon tulfo. tiyak na hedlayn sa lahat ng panggabing balita ang mga ito, lalo na nga’t nangyari ang mga ito noong sabado’t lingo. ang nakatatawa pa, na-capture sa video ang rambulang raymart/claudine at mon tulfo.

di na ako interesadong malaman kung sino talaga ang maysala sa nangyari. maaaring na-provoke talaga si raymart ng pagkuha-kuha ng litrato’t pagngisi-ngisi ni tulfo at sinuntok niya ang nakatatandang kolumnista. o di kaya naman ay si tulfo talaga ang unang nanapak at nanadyak gaya ng istorya ni claudine at raymart. wala raw na cctv footage na mailalabas ang NAIA, kaya’t labanan ito uli ng sabi niya at sabi nila.

parehong publikong personalidad ang magkabilang panig. dapat na pinairal nina claudine at raymart ang mahabang pisi sa mga ganitong pagkakataon dahil nasa pampublikong lugar sila. kahit sino ay maaaring makakuha ng litrato o bidyo ng kanilang pag-aalburuto sa cebu pacific at kung paano diumano minura-mura ni claudine ang empleyado nito. ngunit di rin dapat gamiting lisensya ni mon tulfo ang kanyang pagiging mamamahayag upang umastang mayabang at basta na lang magkukukuha ng walang anu-ano. sigurado akong kung sa kanya ginawa ang parehong bagay, rambulang umaatikabo rin ang magaganap. di pa kasi tanggap ng lipunan sa ‘pinas ang mala-paparazzing paghabol sa mga personalidad. wala pa tayo sa antas na katanggap-tanggap na ang mga ginagawa halimbawa ng tmz.

sa huli, ang insidente sa pagitan ni raymart/claudine at mon tulfo ay patunay ulit ng mga problema’t kakulangan sa ating paliparan. saan ka ba naman nakakita ng pandaigdig na paliparang walang gumaganang cctv? di rin sapat ang kapulisan at seguridad. bukod dito, tila di rin supisyente ang kaalaman ng mga ito kung paano imani-obra ang mga insidenteng ganito. at dahil sa dagsa ang mga mananakay dala ng tag-init, di rin kinaya ang dagsa ng mga bagahe kaya abut-abot ang ngitngit ng mga gaya ni claudine. hay naku.

marilyn monroe

while she may be the most intriguing star the whole world has seen, i don’t really know much about marilyn monroe’s filmography and career. all i know is that she was (and still is) a major sex symbol who got involved with the kennedys and is the central figure in one famed urban legend – that the kennedy brothers got something to do with her untimely death and the alleged cover up thereafter. which is why i enjoyed watching my week with marilyn. this movie, largely based on colin clark’s two books, the prince, the showgirl and me and my week with marilyn, tackled the brief relationship between colin clark, played by eddie redmayne and marilyn monroe, played by michelle williams. 

the movie started a bit slow but as soon as williams’ marilyn entered the frame, she literally captured what they called the “monroe magic”. to me, this one is one of the best films of 2011. it was an intimate look at monroe as one of the biggest contradictions of all time – one of the most famous actresses of all time, if not the most famous, yet confined to her own dreary plight as unloved, underappreciated and ultra insecure of her capabilities. due to her insecurities, monroe was always late in shootings, required round-the-clock guardianship, to which colin clark was assigned by olivier. when her husband at that time, arthur miller, left for the US, clark soon found himself completely bewitched by marilyn. they spent a whole day together, touring the windsor castle, eton college and skinny dipping in river thames. finally, marilyn returns to complete the film, with olivier praising her. at the end of the film, i thought that colin realized that whatever brief love affair he had with marilyn was just needed to get the film done and it will not bring about deeper relationship.

marilyn monroe: people always see marilyn monroe. as soon as they realize i'm not her, they run.

colin clark: here's what i remember most: her embrace. her belief in me. and the joy she gave. that was her gift. when i think of her now, i think of that time when a dream came true. and my only talent was not to close my eyes.

dame sybil thorndike: first love is such sweet despair, colin.

sir laurence olivier: it's like teaching urdu to a badger.

michelle williams did not put a caricature out of monroe but essayed the dysfunctional star in her most vulnerable days. how she needed to be reminded that “she was great” by her acting coach paula strasberg in order to get a scene done or how she froze in fear of such more established actors as laurence olivier (played superbly by kenneth branagh) and sybil thorndike (played by the always exceptional judi dench) were all portrayed very well. williams utterly deserved her oscar nomination and would be worthy winner of the statuette had meryl streep was not included in the mix. eddie redmayne was also effective in his portrayal of a young, wide-eyed guy who got entangled in monroe’s grand little games but was able to snap out of it and return to the real world. the movie may be a minor film for some critics, but to me it was an authentic and charming depiction of what have transpired during that week. it was captivating and left me wanting to see more of what could haves and what ifs.

getaway

Life in a big city can drive you to distraction.

Spending just a few minutes on a crowded street impairs memory and self-control, as your brain processes all the stimuli.

So plan a weekend getaway: getting in touch with nature helps the brain to recover.

- science journalist Jonah Lehrer

window



view from my office window.



Philippians 4

Walk Away From Worry

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. —Philippians 4:6

 

A few years ago, our Bible-study leader challenged us to memorize a chapter of the Bible and recite it to the group. Internally, I began to protest and groan. An entire chapter, in front of everyone? Memorization had never been my ...thing; I cringed as I imagined long silences while everyone watched me, waiting for the next words.

A few days later, I reluctantly leafed through my Bible, looking for a set of verses to learn by heart. Nothing seemed right until I landed in Philippians 4.

I read this verse in silence, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (v.6). That’s when I knew which chapter to memorize, and how to walk away from my anxiety about the assignment.

God does not want us to agonize over future events, because worry paralyzes our prayer life. The apostle Paul reminds us that instead of fretting, we should ask God for help. When we continually take this approach to anxiety, God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds (v.7).

Someone once said tongue-in-cheek, “Why pray when you can worry?” The point is clear: Worry gets us nowhere, but prayer gets us in touch with the One who can handle all of our concerns.

— Jennifer Benson Schuldt

 

It’s impossible to wring our hands when they are folded before God in prayer.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Baguio City

four years ago, we went to baguio for nice's U.P. Baguio enlistment. now, we were back to witness her graduation. how time flies! for this trip, i traveled alone and met them in calla lily transient house. we then moved to nice's apartment. we went to the usual baguio tourist spots. but this trip afforded me my firsts in baguio city cathedral, U.P. baguio and lourdes grotto! till next time.



view from nice's apartment

Baguio City Cathedral

Grotto

lechon!

Mines View Park

The Mansion

U.P. Baguio Oblation

Wright Park

wintour

traveling solo. yep, another travel all by myself. but it was all good solo rendezvous again, this time up in thailand's first capital, sukhothai.

sivatel staff were kind enough to help me check the schedule of buses leaving for sukhothai yesterday. the skeds were 12, 12:30 and 1:30 pm. after that, the next bus will leave bangkok's northern terminal at 5 pm. with heavy breakfast, i took to BTS, alighted at mo chit station and took a taxi to the terminal. i looked for windows 52 and 53, the wintour windows, and was lucky to catch one of the few seats available in the 12 noon bus. i bought some sweet mangoes to go with my gourmet sticky rice from siam paragon and headed to the next building to look for platform 44, then hopped on the bus. after just 5 minutes, we were on our way to bangkok's expressway. BTS to mo chit from ploenchit was 40 baht, taxi to northern bus terminal was 67 baht and the wintour bus to sukhothai was 326 baht.

seat 9c was given to me and the bus ride was comfortable. the bus ticket included mineral water and banana muffin. after exactly 6 hours, i reached sukhothai's bus terminal. a 40-baht motorcycle taxi ride brought me to ban thai guesthouse in pravet nakorn road. this was already 7 pm. i quickly freshened up and fixed my things. around 8 pm local time, i headed to sukhothai's night market. not wanting to have another heavy meal, i opted to have some completely unhealthy snack of chicken skin (20 baht) and another serving of sweet thai mangoes (20 baht). i walked around the night market and headed back to ban thai after an hour or so.

i then checked my mails, said goodnight to p' ta dam (the 12-year ban thai veteran) and retired to my aircon bungalow. i needed a good night sleep for the early morning walking tour of the old sukhothai historical park.

sukhothai

jel and nice

di kami mayaman. di nabibilang sa higit na maalwang taas na bahagi ng middle class. may pagkakataon si papa na magkamal ng salapi noong nasa kapangyarihan pa. pero di niya ito ginawa. sa halip, lalo pang nawala ang anumang maliit na naimpok nila ni mama nang maging kapitan ng capri si papa.

sa panahon ngayon, isang malaking atsibment na sa sinumang magulang ang makapagpatapos ng kolehiyo. mataas ang gastusin, ibayong sakripisyo ang kailangan. siyempre, nariyan din ang iba’t ibang balakid at temptasyon sa bawat kabataan. madaling mabulog ang mga kabataan ngayon sa bisyo, kawalan ng direksyon sa buhay at mabuway na moralidad. iba nga nga raw ang panahon, sabi ng matatanda.

kaya ganoon na lamang ang tuwa ko nang makatapos ang aking mga pamangking sina ate nice at ate jel sa kolehiyo. naunang nagmartsa si jel nitong marso, tapos ng IT sa fatima. sumunod naman si nice nitong abril sa baguio, tapos naman ng language and literature sa U.P. baguio. parang kailan lang ay nagdidiskusyon pa kami kung ano ang kukunin nilang kurso sa kolehiyo. ngayon, pagkatapos ng apat na taon, sasabak na rin sila sa mundo ng trabaho, buwis, intriga, pagbibitiw, buwanang sahod, at ang pagkakataong makatulong sa pamilya.

di naging madali para sa dalawang ito ang proseso ng pagtatapos. kinailangan nilang pigilin ang sarili sa anumang walang kapararakang paggastos upang matulungan ang kani-kanilang mga magulang. tumatao pa si jel sa kanilang tindahan araw-araw dahil wala namang ibang aasahan sa kanila. si nice naman ay sumuper ang pagtitipid dahil bukod sa gastos ng twisyon ay kailangan pa siyang iupa ng tirahan. siyempre, dagdag pa rito ang pang-araw-araw na gastos sa pagkain at pamasahe.

lagi kong dalangin ang inyong tagumpay sa larangang inyong papasukin, jel at nice. sa gayon, mailipad natin ang inyong mga ina sa europa!

higit akong masaya para sa aking dalawang ate, ate ne at ate she. wala pa akong anak pero naramdaman ko ang kakaibang galak nila ng dumating ang araw ng pagtatapos ng kani-kanilang mga anak. abut-abot ang sakripisyo nila upang maitawid ang bawat semestre. alam kong may mga gabing di makatulog dahil sa pag-iisip kung aabot ba ang pera upang may maipambayad. tipid dito, impok doon. di kasi kami kagaya ng ibang masuwerte na napamanahan ng hanapbuhay. kailangang magbanat ng buto at mamuhunan ng pawis at dugo. sa tindahan lamang dumepende si ate ne para mapag-aral si jel at gerald. may tulong din na nagmula sa mga lola’t tiyahin ni jel. pero siyempre, ibayong dedikasyon ang ginawa ni ate ne. di biro ang magpatakbo ng tindahan lalo na’t sobra rin ang dami ng kumpetisyon sa kanilang lugar. sa awa ng diyos, higit 2 dekada na ang tindahan nila sa bulacan. simpleng maybahay naman si ate she. pero sa taas ng gastusin upang matustusan si nice baguio ay kakaibang diskarte sa pera ang kinailangan. kailangang pagkasyahin ang kita ni kuya george sa lahat ng kanilang pangangailangan, wala pa rito ang maya’t mayang mga tulong kina papa at tita jo.

saludo ako sa inyo, ate ne at ate she. magkape na tayo ulit!

baguio cathedral

buwisit

ang ibang tao nga naman. nakapag-abot lang ng ilang daan, mamagkanuhin na ang lahat. nagbigay lang ng relif, pakiramdam ay hulog na ng langit. natakbuhan lang minsan dala ng biglaang pangangailangan ng ilan, may primyum na agad. nagdonasyon lang ng bigas, malakas na ang loob na manghimasok sa buhay ng maybuhay. nagpaabot lang ng isang kilong manok, mataas na ang ihi. nanlibre lang sa pipitsuging kainan, may apog nang umisteytment kung sino ang dapat tumulong kanino.

salamat sa anumang naiabot sa iba. salamat talaga. salamat daw. pero di ito nangangahulugang primyumado ka na at may lisensya ka nang magbitiw ng kung anu-anong mabalasik na mga salita. di dahil nagbigay-tulong, puwede nang yurakan ang pagkatao ng iba. oo nga’t nakatutulong magkaminsan, pero tama ba ‘yung isiksik sa isip ng natulungan na may utang na loob na sila sa iyo? ano ka, pulitiko? sino ka ba sa tingin mo?

kung taal kang intelehente, tulad ng nais mong maging tingin sa iyo ng iba, dapat ay naisip mong anumang magandang gawi ay nabibiyayaan sa ibang paraan. di ito dini-demand. dapat na walang pangungunsensya sa iba na ibalik ang pabor na ibinigay mo. umiinog ang mundo at nakikita ng uniberso ang mabubuting punyagi. di ka ba nagtataka kung bakit di kayo nakukunsidera sa listahan ng mga well-loved o maski well-liked? lahat ito ng panig, maging kamag-anakan, kaibiganan, sa mga kakilala o sa kung saan nakatirik ang pader ninyo.

sobrang masuwerte ka lamang sa buhay dahil naiwanan ng maalwang kabuhayan. kabuhayang di naman ikaw ang nagpunyagi. nagkataon lang na ipinanganak sa isang pamilyang nagkaroon na rin dati pa. tunggak na lamang ang di makapagpapatuloy ng hanapbuhay na tulad niyan. buti sana kung alam mo ang buhay ng isang nagsimula sa wala. pero hindi. isinubo na lang sa iyo ang anumang mayroon kayo ngayon. lahat kayo. ni walang klu sa pinagdaanan ng iba, kung kaya’t walang anumang karapatang umariba at umisteytment. dapat mo itong isaksak sa kukote mo dahil isa ka lang malaking sabit at di totoong bahagi ng higit na malalim na ugnayan.

alam ng marami, maging ng sarili mong lipi at malalapit sa iyo, ang pawis mo’y amoy inggit. numero uno sa inggitan. di naiba sa ibang mga utak-talangkang kamag-anakan. bunga ba ang lahat ng pag-iisteytment mong ito ng di maipaliwanag na inggit? sabagay, masaya kasi sa aming dako. bagamat may kakulangan sa kaperahan, walang pataasan ng ihi o anumang suklamang tulad ng sa inyo. oo nga’t may di pagkakaunawaan, pero ang lahat ng ito’y dumatal lamang nang umeksena ka na. sabi nga nila, nangyayari raw ang lahat ng bagay dahil ang lahat ng ito’y may rason. nangyari ang anumang nangyari upang mabalatan ang tunay mong pagkatao. pagkataong madawag at di katiwa-tiwala. panibugho ang almusal. imbing poot ang tanghalian. pagpiprimyum sa sarili ang merienda. tangerks na persepsyon ng sarili ang hapunan.

ang mga taong di marunong makipagkapwang tulad mo ay higit na nakapandidiri kaysa sa mga taong-kalsadang nanlilimahid. manahimik ka na lang sa lungga mo, buwisit. diyan ka lang nababagay.