Deliver Us From Evil

My job has been pretty much my life lately. And it has been like that since I can’t remember when. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, taking into account what’s going on elsewhere. The Philippines has experienced some growth this year whereas it has been a gloomy year for the countries that I plan to visit someday. Enter Sendong.

If you take a look at the bigger picture, I am supposed to be lucky. I am lucky I get to keep my job after revolutions and recessions left millions of people jobless. I am lucky to have survived the typhoon without having to experience all the natural evils it brought along. That said, I don’t feel lucky.

A few weeks before Sendong left ruins in its wake, I’d read an article alleging that my beloved Philippines was one of the most ill-prepared countries for natural disasters on the planet. I took it to heart, because it was the truth. And the truth is supposed to hurt, right? Fast forward and you see rotting corpses, uprooted trees and other things that make that truth even truer.

It appears to me that we Filipinos forgot about what happened in 1991 and 2006, hence the reminder. I keep telling myself that Sendong was an act of nature. Even the authorities say it was beyond our control. But deep down I don’t feel that way. If I have to put into words what I really feel, it’s self-pity. I know that I am part of the evil that my country has become. And I pity myself because I don’t have the power to right the wrongs we all have done.

Allow me to shed some light on what happened in case I lost you there: Sendong was an act of nature—the flash flood that followed was not! You say this is no time for blame. I beg to differ with your half-hearted rhetoric. (I am pointing my finger at you clowns at the helm of the government and … me a full-time citizen who can’t make things right.)

I don’t blame the Filipinos who have left their homeland. Why would anyone want to stay in a country so mired in corruption in the first place? I witnessed corruption with my own eyes at a very, very tender age. It was in the form of vote-buying. And I knew it was wrong. I was eleven. I turned twenty five this year.

Phew! Sadly, this is the way it’s turning out. The people left to lead the country are those people who do not know how to run a country, perhaps people who did not do well in school, people who never learn their lessons. But then again, what can we expect from a banana republic?

I hate to end the year on such a negative note, but I have to let it all out. And just for once let me ask a question to those people leading the country: WHAT THE FUCK HAS THE GOVERNMENT BEEN DOING ALL THESE YEARS?!

One Moment More

I spent the last hour chatting with my ex. Nothing has changed. We were civil, amicable, friendly—and apparently it was my fault we broke up. She did not state that it was my fault, but she did say I didn’t have enough time for her. Which puzzles me, because we were living together. If I recall it right, we slept next to each other until the day she left. No hard feelings, but now she tells me I am not ready for a relationship. Right.

I’m not gonna lie. I have my shortcomings. There are things to sort out. Rent. Food. So, to set the record straight, I do not want to have a baby at this point. And since I plan on going back to college, sacrifices have to be made. There’s no getting around it.

She says, if you think she’s the one, don’t let her go. Ok. I wish it was that easy.

So … on a different note, eurozone is in another crisis. Well, what can I say? All is not well in the land of human rights. Is euro dead? Chancellor Merkel says it’s going to be a process. Hmmm.

With America not going gaga over social security and Turkey shifting east, I think I’m gonna start learning Mandarin. For some reason, I feel like the rest of the world is not sold on the whole idea of human rights … yet. Is the middle kingdom going to break the trend? I hope not. I am being optimistic—but at the same time I am re-conditioning myself to learn to tough it out. I have a feeling the 21st century is going to be a test of survival on many levels.

Which brings me back to sacrifices.

The Algorithm of (a Cheerful Infidel’s) Life

Through the ages people of all faiths have developed rules and beliefs to live by. These rules are complex algorithms taught in centers of faith now known as temples, churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. In contrast, infidels, people who do not have religious affiliations as well as atheists and agnostics, have failed to congregate in significant numbers. Modern historians have noted that while there are historical records that describe activities of infidels across the centuries, not a single group has left any written bylaws.

In 1922 a duo of Italian archaeologists from Università di Stronza e Merda, one of the oldest universities still in operation today, discovered historical remains believed to belong to the ancient Roman civilization in the Maghreb region of Northern Africa. Lead researcher Girolamo Gosia and his lifelong friend, the late chancellor of said university Silvestro Della Casa (who passed away earlier this year) set out on an expedition across the French Algeria shortly after the First World War. Two years into their adventure, the two decided to head back to Italy by way of Spain to visit a physician friend when Mr. Gosia caught a really bad cold. As they traversed the Middle Atlas on their way to Ceuta, they came upon what they initially thought was a postwar rubble on the banks of Moulouya River. Refusing to acknowledge that their expedition had come to naught, the team, now including the Spanish doctor, returned to the site and made a discovery that would become the most significant breakthrough in archaeology in the 20th century: the postwar rubble was once the ancient city of Gilipollas.

After almost a century of excavation and study, scholars are in complete agreement that the site, which is located south of the present-day town of Guercif, Morocco, was indeed the center of the secular society in the ancient world as Mazdayasna, also known as Zoroastrianism, thrived on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Whereas religious activities were not prohibited outright in this fabled city, construction of temples was discouraged by authorities, who were infidels themselves. Interestingly, there is evidence that a large group of first class citizens consisting of affluent merchants, city officials, and the nobility participated in an assembly that deliberated matters of nonreligious piety, such as the promotion of well-being among infidels. Hundreds of artifacts unearthed from the site are scrolls that contain historical texts reminiscent of the inscriptions left behind by the Numidian Berbers in addition to tablets, sculptures, and other art works of great antiquity. These archaeological findings created a commotion in the academic world in the first half of the 20th century that soon ballooned to a full-blown revolution in the social sciences. Years of anticipation and hard work have confirmed the researchers’ decades-old assertion that Northwest Africa was the perfect haven for infidels at the time, far from the religious tendencies of the bustling Nile.

When Dr. Gosia died in the 1950s, Dr. Della Casa took up the reins at the place they once called their “Serendippo”. Fulfilling the promise he made to his colleague and friend, he devoted the rest of his life to the study of Gilipollas and effectively fast-tracked the excavations in what clearly used to be an urban sprawl in ancient times. As an academician of unparalleled influence, he was able to summon workers and researchers from all four corners of the world. However, the great expanse of clay and marble with which the ancient infidels adorned their majestic metropolis proved to be quite a feat even with the huge manpower and generous funding at his disposal. It was only until recently that the most respected linguists came to a consensus that the writing system appearing on many of the scrolls rivals the Cuneiform script of Sumer, indicating that Gilipollas itself may have been the sanctuary of a much older civilization. There is no better reward for a lifetime of devotion to the Gilipollan cause than to uncover the secrets of the Gilipollan scrolls. Months prior to his demise, Dr. Della Casa directly supervised the team responsible for decoding the ancient texts. The first of the scrolls deciphered and translated by his men is believed to be penned by a yet-to-be-named infidel and now referred to as “The Algorithm of Life” by the researchers. Whether those writings had had a profound influence on nonreligious schools of thought that had flourished in the pre-Roman Mediterranean is the subject of much debate. What is certain is that two Italian scholars paved the way for a better understanding of the ancient world.

Millions of People Need Your Help: Food Crisis in Africa

A friend of mine told me the other day that I should blog about the famine going on in East Africa.

I refused. Because something has to be done apart from just saying something about a very serious issue. Besides, I am not really sure I am capable of helping out the Somalis, Ethiopians, and Kenyans (sounds like quite a feat if you put it that way). And I don’t think kind words are what they need. I was thinking, “How is a guy from a ‘developing economy’ like me supposed to help another guy from the same category?”

It turns out the answer is simple. In fact, I found the answer in less than 5 minutes and I might as well tell you.

Whoever you are reading this post right now, if you wanna make a difference in the next 5 minutes of your life, check out these links:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/07/20/iyw.howtohelp.somalia.famine/index.html

http://www.economist.com/node/21524864

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol16no4/164food1.htm

Take action now! Here are some organizations that can help you help people:

Action Against Hunger
https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/donate/humanitarian-catastrophe-the-horn-africa?s_src=hp_button

International Rescue Committee
https://www.rescue.org/donate/drought_africa

Save the Children
http://www.causes.com/causes/749

Mercy Corps
http://www.mercycorps.org/

ShelterBox
https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/ShelterBoxUSAInc/OnlineGiving.html

Spread the word and you’d be surprised at how much you can help with the food crisis in the Horn of Africa.

Come Here, Please

Last year I read an article about predetermined choices. It was not philosophy, but neuroscience. I don’t know if I even got it right. Choices, decisions, or free will, as I understand it, is not so “free” after all. (I’d like to add a link to the article, but I can’t seem to find it now. I don’t blame Google, because it is often a passing fancy when I “read” and “follow” things on the internet—it baffles me how everyone on the internet is encouraged to leave a comment, among other things.) Anyway, here goes my two cents: Is that a scientific breakthrough, the next Copernican Revolution maybe? (It is probably too soon to answer that question.)

But for a moment this got me to thinking: what if destiny is “the truth”?

The thing is, every day I try not to be overly concerned about the meaning of life. Many people I know love to chant que sera, sera every time I get a bit too existential. (The song brings back memories of my mom singing it, but that’s about it.) Some of my friends have even asked if I was a nihilist. I often dismiss it with prejudice, knowing that they are Christians or Buddhists or Shintoists or followers of a religion (who I respect and even envy).

It doesn’t help that I am living with a cold (but endearing) sister who worships Stephen Daldry’s The Hours (I doubt if she’s read Mr. Cunningham’s novel) and a brother who makes no secret of his disappointment with me and makes no attempt at false modesty (yes, I’m a horrible person). I certainly hope that’s a good enough excuse because there are times I just can’t help thinking why I choose to survive.

Or do I? Do I really have a say in what I do with my life?

The other night I decided to list down the sci-fi movies that I actually liked in the past 10 years—I had been looking forward with great anticipation to the latest work of Mr. Rupert Wyatt, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (suffice it to say that I enjoyed The Escapist). The films I first recalled were the Kaufman-Gondry-Carrey-Winslet masterpiece, a Soderbergh adaptation of a Polish novel, an eye candy with a heart from Spielberg.

And then Donnie Darko came to mind. (I like the premise. Just a bit critical of its execution. But I consider it a very good movie nonetheless.) The concept of alternative realities is one stuff of science fiction that I instantly took a liking to (I’m a geek like that). So the ideas of the living receiver, manipulated living, manipulated dead, and everything else in the tangent universe kind of ruin it for me. The water-like imagery about decisions resonated with me—I have to say that in this day and age, choice is the ultimate illusion.

Well, that is not something you’d expect from someone who believes in the full gamut of human freedom, but what the hell. What does it mean to be “authentic” if all I care about is surviving?

Yada yada yada. Once again I succumb to the depths of—

It’s way too late
To be this locked inside ourselves
The trouble is
That you’re in love with someone else
It should be me
Oh, it should be me
Sacred parts
You get aways
You come along
On summer days
Tenderly
Tastefully
It’s so me
We make time
Try to find somebody else
This place is mine
Set the day
You know exactly how I feel
I had my doubts, little girl
I’m in love with somethin’ real
It could be me
That’s changin’
It’s so me
We make time
To try and find somebody else
Who has a line
Now season with health
Two lovers walk on lakeside mile
Try pleasin’ with stealth, rodeo
See the stands long
Endin’ fast
Oh, how I love you
And in the evenin’
When we are sleepin’
We are sleepin’
Oh we are sleepin’
And so me
We make time
We try to find somebody else
Who has a line
Now season with health
Two lovers walk on lakeside mile
Try pleasin’ with stealth, rodeo
See what stands long
Or endin’ fast

                                        —Interpol, “C’mere”

Source: C’MERE LYRICS – INTERPOL

Sweet Home Daba-daba

I’m back in my hometown. I’ll be staying here for good I guess (whereas many of my friends have fled the city). Nothing much has changed, except that the guy who used to be the mayor is now the vice mayor—let’s leave it at that.

Being the vagabond that I am, I haven’t really had the chance to spend at least 5 straight years in the place I call my hometown. And I’m not sure if I ever will. That said, I kept romanticizing Davao when I was away. Growing up in the capital where I was often sick, all I did was imagine what it’s like to be in the country (my friends in Davao would resent me calling the city probinsya). When I first got here, I felt healthier and safer. (And yet again I left the city, but that’s another story.)

For what it’s worth, one should not come to Davao for its malls or nightlife.

In Manila the malls were my refuge. I think that’s one thing that makes a Filipino Filipino—spending a great deal of time in malls (for no obvious reason). So when the family moved back to Davao more than a decade ago, I was a bit sad upon learning that the city didn’t have its “fair share” of SMs and Ayala malls (but things are totally different now). Somehow this all feels familiar.

In my first week in Davao, I couldn’t help noticing its nightlife, or lack thereof. I’m sure you’ll find a number of good pubs scattered around the city, but MTS, short for Matina Town Square, is the only place to be on a Friday night (especially if you’re the type who enjoys beer and “My Sharona” at the same time). Sadly, there is a 2 am citywide curfew on pubs and clubs. And in case you plan on having a house party, take care of your beers and spirits early in the evening as there is a liquor ban from 2 am until 6.

So how does it feel to be finally back home?

It feels—

Great! This must be the same feeling Anton Ego had when he tasted Remy’s ratatouille for the first time. Why? Because I was out in the big world and now I’m back home where there’s good food, the type of food that you actually know what the ingredients are. I’ll never make claims to being a fine-dining chef because I’m not. I can poach eggs and steam broccoli and make a sandwich and I even dared spice things up in the kitchen at one point. Let’s just say I couldn’t stand the heat.

That said, my brother knows how to cook pinakbet. I think he cooks that dish so well that it feels like it’s childhood all over again every time he sets the table. He is one living proof that anyone can cook (and get only one dish right as I witnessed sometime later). And when I get to have a proper dinner with the family, it just feels rightatouille. I guess it doesn’t have to be Paris. Or Manila.

It All Ends, Says a Movie Poster

I was not disappointed when I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on the big screen. (Just what I needed after the unfortunate DC movie, aka The Green Lantern.) But I can say that I enjoyed the first installment better.

Now I’m trying to understand why.

I had a similar experience when I first saw The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King a few years ago. I liked it, though I felt convinced that The Two Towers was more engaging. From my perspective, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are not so different. Both of them are fantasy adaptations. They have the same names for similar creatures (with the obvious exception of elves). They tell of familiar battles of good versus evil against the backdrop of magic and sorcery. And, to no surprise, I seem to think that the best movie in each series is not the last.

I’m a sucker for computer generated imagery, that’s a fact. And I enjoy the CGI in live action fantasies where logic is not really something you think about. I love sci-fi movies, but they are often more convoluted than fun. Maybe that’s the reason why over the years I have sort of followed a rule when I watch movies in which CGI constitutes a major part. When I decide to see a sci-fi movie, I look forward to novel, creative ideas. On the other hand, I expect magic from the likes of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

Come to think of it, more spells are cast in the last Potter movie. There is a much grander battle in The Return of the King than its predecessors. Both films feature more fun creatures to look at, more action scenes, more eye candy so to speak. And certainly more CGI (take it from someone who has little knowledge of CGI). The visual effects in those movies are nothing short of amazing. I mean, there was not a moment that I thought HP7 part 2 or RotK was slightly cheesy.

Why I feel like they are not the best? I don’t know, but I’ve come up with a theory to further understand this … observation.

Theory: Expectations Schmexpectations.

I was thinking that maybe I had had my hopes up really high. So when I went to the movies I was like meh—less CGI than I had expected.

How to refute:

This can’t be right, because Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith captivated me, totally. I know people say that Star Wars is a low-brow piece of art (or entertainment, for that matter). Well, let me give you a fresh perspective—say what you will, I love RotS. I remember having nightmares weeks before it came out in theaters (I was worried that the non-CGI part would ruin the film). But it turned out just fine. In fact, it turned out exceptionally well. I had been a staunch follower of the Jedi order until Mr. McDiarmid challenged my beliefs. RotS is without a doubt the best film of the Star Wars franchise. (Members of Gen X may disagree with me as they are more likely to choose The Empire Strikes Back.)

Ironically though, I think that the last Potter flick is better than any of the Star Wars films.