Bongbong downplays allegations of rights violations during father's rule - Eleksyon 2010 - GMANews.TV

Link

Noynoy has double-digit lead in new SWS election survey - Eleksyon 2010 - GMANews.TV

Link

Manny Villar’s Tondo roots were ‘definitely middle class’ - Eleksyon 2010 - GMANews.TV

Link

From "The Island" (2005)

Lincoln Six-Echo: What's sex?

Tom Lincoln: Wait ? you're a virgin? You've been kicking around with *her* and you're a... a v-v-virgin? Well, I won't spoil the surprise. Boy, are you in for a treat.

Later...

Lincoln Six-Echo: [Lincoln and Jordan are making out] How come we never did this before?

Jordan Two-Delta: Shut up.

[they kiss]

Lincoln Six-Echo: That tongue thing is amazing!

Martial Law Babies

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Comics & Graphic Novels
Author:	Arnold Arre

I have read two of Arnold Arre's graphic novels but this is the first time that I ever bought one. I love his works for they excite me just as komiks (yes, that is the tagalog for comics) excited me when I was a young boy, but Filipino graphic novels are quite expensive. Boredom brought about by the summer break forced me into shelling out around 500 pesos for this one.

In the end, what can I say about Martial Law Babies? Let us just say that given extra money and time to waste, I will start collecting Arre's other works. Anyway, I have Zsa Zsa Zaturnah and Trese by other Filipino creators, why not Mythology Class, and the others.

Arnold Arre has a cartoony almost disney-like style of drawing his characters; a style that reminds of the '70s-80's komiks óf my childhood. What is unique to him is the atmosphere with which he imbues his pages. It might be the black and white medium which he, so far, employs in his work and how he plays around with this style. He can make a panel mysterious, funny, depressing, hopeful, and in the case of Martial Law Babies, nostalgic.

Or maybe it is just me. I can identify with his characters, particularly his protagonist, Allan and his conflicts. Among other things, like Allan, I am a Martial Law Baby. Having been born in 1973, I am a member of the so-called Generation X, a generation which grappled and, as the book premises, continues to grapple with identity crisis.

The World War II experiences of our parents and grandparents were mere stories to us. We were too young when the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Elvis Presley and the whole Flower People were at the peak of their power. We were but a part of the tail-end of the street protests and even armed struggle against facism of the generation before us.

This truth or reality had me questioning, in the same way that the characters in the novel were asking themselves: Where to now, Martial Law Babies? And it is but a timely question. I have three of my grade school batch mates as candidates this coming elections. I have recently told my students that my generation are the up and coming leaders of our society. Our time has come, in a sense. Are we up to the task?

The novel inspired me to search for my classmates and friends. And thanks to Generation Y or Z's facebook and other tools, I have found them. I just want to keep in touch and know what, and most especially, how they are doing. Based on their profile pictures, their posts, and photos, it seems that they are happy. I am glad, for I am too.

Reading Ed Comprehensive Exams

Start:	May 12, '10 08:00a
End:	May 16, '10
Location:	Ateneo Educ Department

The final academic hurdle before the thesis.

signing off.

Kick-Ass

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

As a moviegoer, I am not hard to please. Give me a film which truthfulness by way of its storytelling I do not question and I will be a happy and feel that I have spent my money wisely.

Kick-Ass is a gem for anyone who goes to the movies to have a good time. You get a charismatic lead actor, a child prodigy for support, a balding has been in the head hair department but certainly not in acting, and a set of actors for villains who are able to solicit the perfect balance of fear and loathing from you.

The movie is not a typical super-hero film. Yeah, it has the colorful costumes, the exciting soundtrack, the breath-taking fight scenes, and the geek-turned-super hero plot. If only for these, I would recommend the film but it also offers quite a lot of things.

It has insight--a commentary on the nature of heroism visávis today's individualistic society. How right it is that the movie is set in New York. The characters are individually unforgettable, too. Kick-Ass, Red Mist, Big Daddy, and Hit-Girl. I would predict, they'll be part of geeky conversations for a long time. Lastly, I would say that Kick-Ass has a perfect blending of the various cinematic elements of sound, cinematography, and editting. I have to thank director Matthew Vaughn for this. I have forgiven him for the waste that was "Stardust" because of this.

I have read that some viewers are offended by the language, the explicit portrayal of teenage sex, and the excessive violence in this movie. In real life, I have a problem with these. In movies, however, or in any other form of legitimate art, these are not a big issue for me. If a person has enough sense not to imitate everything that one sees then why should profanity, libido, and blood in cinemas be a concern.

http://jejemons.blogspot.com/. for jejemons. by a jejemon. lolz.

ateneo is in the news again: the supposedly psych dept medical report on noynoy aquino

"Amazing! You are almost human... so many character flaws." - Little Green Men to a Robot in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins Movie

"Konsepto sa Kuaderno" ni A Solver Agcaoili

Laging ganito

ang gawain ng makata.

Manghuhuli ng mga salita,
sagrado sa kanilang kalungkutan
sa ibayo ng lahat ng gusto

sa layo man o sa lapit
ng mga isip na naglalakbay
kahit ang katawan ay sa karsel

ng mga alalahaning nakakulong
sa araw-araw. Tulad ng pagsusulat
ng mga pamagat ng tula

sa gitna ng pag-ihi
sa gitna ng pagbahing
sa gitna ng pagpigil ng pag-utot

dahil nakakahiyang sa salita
matutuklasan na ang alagad
ng mga saknong ay

may panghi ang ihi
may kulangot na sumasama sa pagbahing
may pamatay na bomba sa pag-utot.

Kami sa exilo, may kung anong pagpapanggap
ang ibinubunga ng dolyar sa bulsa
o ng ideya na ang dating makatang

singhirap ng daga
ay Ingles na ang dila
at kasabay ang gobernadora 

ng kapos na isip
sa pila ng mga nagpapabuntat
walang pusi-pusisyon, sabi niya,

pantay-pantay pati pag-alipusta
sa kapwa manlilikha ng mga parirala
sa mga nanghahabi ng mahika

mula sa mga panaginip kung ano ang dapat
na tunog ang sa katahimikan ng isip
na nakakaalam kung ang mali ay itinatama

na nakakaalam kung ang tami ay minamali
tulad ng marami sa atin
mga halakhak ang puhunan upang magapi

ang iba, maisahan man lang,
masabi lamang na ang angking galing
sa hungkag na bukanegan ng pagsisinungaling

ay siya ring totoo sa panahon ng pagbaha
ng mga dugo sa papel
at doon ipupunla ang bagong tula
ng mapagkunwaring salita.

UH Manoa, Feb 27/08

Ilocos Norte Holy Week 2010

camera on the pew

My attempt at being artistic. All shots are taken with a point and shoot Sony digital camera and edited with the iPhoto editing tool.

The pictures are taken in four different places: Laoag City Proper, Paoay (one shot only), Dingras, and Baccara, all in Ilocos Norte.

The Ilocos Chronicles 2010: Entry #4

Six down.  One more to go.   Here, I list down the churches that I have, so far, visited in fulfillment of one of my to do’s for this visit to Ilocos.

St. William Cathedral, Laoag City.  One might wrongly dismiss this church as negligible in a visit to Ilocos Norte.  A person may conclude that its importance lays solely in the fact that it is the chief edifice of Roman Catholicism in this province.  At least that was how I regarded it in the past.  It looked as if a three year-old child had designed its disproportionate façade.  It appeared small, even squat and thus pales in comparison to its majestic, albeit sinking, bell tower.   This week, however, I get to visit this church two times in as many days not as a tourist but as a pilgrim.  I went to the place as a worshipper.  And because of this, I saw more than a building.  I saw a magnificent monument of faith. 

St. Nicholas Church, San Nicolas, I.N.  I had neglected this church in the past.  Maybe it was a case of “being so near yet so far“ or of anyone of those expressions that I love to use yet fail to fully understand.   It seemed to me that it is a minor church, even ordinary, compared to the other big churches of Ilocos Norte.  It appeared that way every time I would pass it by on my way to Laoag.   Its pragmatic importance lies on the fact that it is near my destination city and thus serves as a mere landmark.

So, this week, I resolved to visit the church. It will be one of the seven churches I will visit this holy week.  And the resolution came to pass last Holy Wednesday.  And what impression do I have of this church now?  Let us just say, “First impressions do last.” The church have been too dolled up.

St. Augustine Church, Paoay, I. N.  Woe it is to anyone who fails to visit this glorious breathtaking testament to Catholic Filipino faith!  I just had to visit it for the nth time.  What is new is that I resolved to relish its beauty.  I will not have companions tugging at my sleeves complaining about the heat of the sun or the many other sites we have yet to visit.  I went to Paoay alone and via public transport.  It’s easy since so many jeepneys are plying the Laoag-Batac-Paoay route. 

This church never fails to amaze me.  It just sits there in the middle of the plain and it appears as if it will do so till eternity ends.  Its interior is a big disappointment though.  It’s ceiling is not that of the Sarrat Church which can be likened to an intricate lattice of giant woods suspended fifty feet from the ground.  Its floor tiles are not as well preserved as that of the Baccarra Church and it does not anymore preserve the sanctity that even the busy St. William has.

St. Roch and St. Gabriel Churches.  In Banna and Nueva Era, respectively.  These churches are not among the major catholic churches in Ilocos Norte.  In other words, they are not tourist sites.  I decided to get out of my way to visit them anyway.  First, I have my planned visit to seven churches; my personal version of the visita iglesia.  I had a mere glance of the Immaculate Concepcion Church in Batac for I was too lazy to get off the jeep.  The Sarratt Church, for its part, I have seen so many times.  So I need two churches to give me the numbers.  Secondly, Banna and Nueva Era are important places to me.  It’s my Uncle Victor who facilitated the completion of the new St. Roch Church when he was yet a young priest.  I spent a summer vacation there when I was in high school and I just have to see how it turned out.  Nueva Era is where the paternal cousins of my mother live.  I have grown up knowing one of them merely by name and that is my Tito Boy.  And they were supposedly six brothers and sisters!  And so I injected into my visit to them a tour of the church.

The two churches are the size of a regular chapel in Central Luzon or Manila.  Seven or eight of them could have fitted easily inside the St. William Cathedral.  Obviously they have not been constructed with an overflow of funds.  Nevertheless, they are beautiful to me.  Like the cathedral, they had people in them. Not tourists, but locals.  Worshipping. To think that I was in Banna on Good Friday night and Nueva Era on Sabado de Gloria afternoon.  People were guarding the Santo Enterio in one and preparing for the Easter Vigil and the Salubong in the other.  They too are testaments of a faith that is pulsing with life.

St. Joseph Church, Dingras, I. N.  This church has made this particular Ilocos visit uniquely special.  It is a newly discovered wonder.

I do not know if I have seen this church in the past but did not pay it too much attention.  Or maybe I have not really seen it though it’s on the road going to Banna given that it is hidden behind gigantic acacia trees.  But what I have seen this week has left me awestruck.  The reason is that the St. Joseph Church is actually a “Rurog.”

My cousin said that it’s Ilocano for “skull”, but, given the church’s context, I surmise that this word can also mean “ruins” for that is how the Dingras Church is and a historical marker from the national government describes it so.  The church has been that way since a 1913 earthquake practically destroyed it save for its walls.  But the people did not give up on the edifice; their dream was and still is to rebuild it.

It is a large church.  Perhaps it is the largest in Northern Luzon and therefore to repair it requires tremendous sacrifice and generosity on the part of the faithful.  The past fifteen years, they have been able to put up a new roof over it, and there were minor repairs performed but there is so much work to be done.  Time seems to be finally catching up on the church since the top of its façade is leaning towards the interior threatening to crumble anytime.  The people of Dingras both here and abroad seem to know this for they are taking action to save the beloved “Rurog.”

My hope and prayer is that they achieve this goal and that other people from other places help them.  For then it shows that this particular church belongs not so much in the past but in the very present; that this structure is not only an expression of their ancestors’ faith but more importantly of theirs.

St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Baccarra, I. N. I hope to visit this church tomorrow, Easter Sunday.