there's always a first time :)

Okay, for my final creative output in class; my original plan was to make an audiobook (yeah my self esteem was so high to think that I can pull that off pffff haha), but unfortunately, I lacked inspiration (?), so I kept on thinking what to do, and here it is!


Decided to do Poetry instead (it's my first time lol). First is Glass of Water, Second, The Day and last is SciFi Experience...


Enjoy!

I need to go out Ma'am

The Philippines is considered to be one of the 3rd world countries to day, which means we are still thriving to reach the economic success other countries today are enjoying. In my other classes, like in communication values and ethics, sociology and economics, we keep on discussing how communication is important in stabilizing an economy and how other factors and agencies in the country tend to have a domino effect if ever one factor is not serving it's purpose.


Like in the problem (photo) stated, there's a cycle when one problem arises, another one will surely follow.. I would like to concentrate on one problem in the cycle - Poor Education.


For me, this triggers the cycle, for someone to have a poor foundation is being stupor in life, this may cause a high birth rate and so the cycle goes. In the Philippines, one of the major problems is poor education, before, the country used to produce students who were well-rounded and ready for the challenges of the real world. Today, for every 10 children who start their primary education, only 6 go on to continue with their secondary education, and 4 will manage to enter college. What happened? I think no one knows why.


The government has been trying to solve this issue for years now and up until now it is still not resolved.They say that it's because of the low salary public teachers receive, others point their fingers on the high tuition fees, and others say that there's a "mismatch" where the things being taught in schools aren't really what's happening in the "real world". But with these problems being brought up and discussed, there's still the problem of low and poor educational rate in our country, what did really happen? it's kinda sad that other countries used to send their students to the Philippines to learn, now they've overtaken us and are the experts. 


Like what I said, our country is still on it's knees trying to find it's way to stand up, of course we are here to just support and put our trust in our leaders *gee I can't believe I said that* and hopefully we will be finally one of those countries who has a stable economy and really globally competitive.

is it weak or good?

The Memory of the World


GOOD. Not to be biased and all, but for me it really is a good science fiction story; it depicts the idea of preserving the memory of the world which today is pretty much possible. What made the story unique for me is that it's not the usual story that only has one theme, it has different themes - language, importance of information, research and personal issues like love, lies etc. 


Now another reason why it is a good science fiction story for me, is that it is plausible and with the technology we have right now, it is not impossible to store large amounts of information into a small device (like a memory card for example). Also we can't deny the fact that others are already preparing for the post apocalyptic life and preserving the most important things and resources they're gonna be needing. 


Bottom line, it's good. by how Italo viewed the future and relatively what's happening and the technology today.

The Memory of the World - Group Blog

So our group reported and discussed Italo Calvino's "The Memory of the World" with the theme, Post Apocalyptic. 

Group Members:

Neoben Rivera

Junico Potestad

Jasmine Arceo

Paul Jan Rodelas

Catherine Abdon

The text was indeed different from the stories we had been discussing in class; first, the way it was told - first person point of view, second, that it has a couple of themes that we can choose from.


The Memory of the World - The story goes of how this organization is trying to collect information from people and preserving them incase the end of the world comes. It discussed the importance of information and technology, the existence of another life form in other galaxies and planets, and also it tackles on the possibility of the end of the world. The story has a bit of twist in the end which made it more of a personal type of story.


For the movies, we chose "The 6th Day" and "The Book of Eli"; summaries of the movie can be found here:

The 6th Day Summary Book of Eli Summary

The Book of Eli - a post apocalyptic film which helped us illustrate how to gather the memory of the world - how they were able to collect information (books, resources, and everything about human life) and being able to preserve them after the said apocalypse.


The 6th Day - a scifi film about cloning and it shows how they collect a person's memory and storing them in a small disc (which is one of the goals of the organization in the text - memory of the world)


Presentation used in class can be found and downloaded here:HERE

Article: 7 shelters to save you if 2012 calls doom

I wanna be a boy, Blue Fairy!

If I were to have a robot specifically designed for my needs, I'd say a robot that would be my personal trainer, chef and driver - I know the idea is a bit self centered. I started to step up and have a more active lifestyle, and sometimes, or should I say most of the times I get too lazy to workout, and if given this privilege of having a robot one, I really wanted to have my personal trainer (coz it's too expensive to have one in real life) who'll really help me in doing my workouts and be there to push myself to the limits and keep me on track. This robot knows all the right workouts and is fitness guru.

Also this robot is a personal chef of mine, that will prepare healthy and scrumptious meals that is right for my diet (since I get a hard time with getting and eating the right food; the healthy food.), and knows all the great recipes from different counties and cuisines.

And lastly, my driver. Nowadays I get too lazy to even drive, and I really want to have a personal driver - to just be there whenever I need him, and he has an awesome kick-ass driving skills! Oh another reason is so that I can get really drunk at parties and not worrying of driving home drunk (hahaha I just had to say that). So guess that's it.  that's all I can think of right now, 'cause basically those are the things I am concerned of these days, oh and lastly, this robot should be my friend, and we should get along easily, since I will be with him (yes, him) most of the time.

With all of these said, I still personally believe that we humans are designed to learn; there's is nothing in this world we cannot do or rather learn to do. The idea of having a personalized robot is good, but I still prefer not to have one :)



Now with all these advancements, we should know where the limit is. Like what is discussed and shown in class, there are humanoid robots that replaces people's job, like the teacher; that I think is where the limit should be - when these robots replace people when it comes to doing their job, it's not that I don't like robots, it's the mind set of being lazy by making a robot do a person's job. The idea is kinda disturbing, I mean having a robot teach children? c'mon. hahaha It's nice to work hand-in-hand with robots it makes the job faster, but we still mustn't forget that these machines have limitations and we still must be the ones to lead and finish the job.

 To sum it all up, I think the line should be put where human jobs are given to robots - every human job.

no! please no!

The thought that the world will end scares me; well I think all of us do. It’s a “fact” that we must all know and I think, also admit. Honestly, I don’t wanna give my own version of ending the world, but for the sake of giving an example, I’d like the end of the world to be something caused by water, I don’t like explosions, fires, earthquake and falling buildings. I want the end of the world to be calm (as if that’s possible). Maybe just like in Noah’s Arc, where it rained 40days and 40nights; so it’ll put the entire city underwater. I know my example is kinda lame; I just don’t like the idea of ending the world, I get too stressed just by thinking about it. I hope I got my answer right for the first question.

Movies today sort of depict reality, but they tend to over do it that’s why people say what happens in movies stays in the movies, but what really movies are made up of, are just reflections of what’s happening around us now. I think Technology will be one of big causes of the end of the world. We keep on complaining that God hates us ‘cause of the weather and catastrophes, but we humans and the technology we brought to this world are the primary cause of it. For example, Global Warming (if worsen, I do believe that this may also cause the end of the world), today we keep on experiencing this weird sudden change of climate and extreme heat, if our ozone layers’ state worsen by the intense emission of CFCs, then maybe sunlight will be our greatest fear, ‘cause there’ll be nothing protecting us from the harmful rays; the earth will lose it’s shield from foreign objects from outer space. Our technology harms the environment, which leads to global warming, if we start now and innovate on things that will help and fix the situation right now, we might actually prevent the end of the world (I think haha).

So my blog is a bit short. I’m just not comfortable with the topic, I don’t want the world to end. Let’s all save mother earth J

we are all normal

I found this article about these human mutations - Cyclopia, Tree Man, Mermaid Syndrome, Werewolf Syndrome, Gigantism and Dwarfism.


FIND THE ARTICLE HERE


So the first one is Cylopia - a birth defect of having only one eye, because during pregnancy, doesn’t allow the orbits of the eyes to separate into two cavities. According to the article chances of survival for the infant is little. This is the first time I heard about this "mutation" maybe because not many survived when born :(


Next is Tree Man. Okay now I heard about this one and saw it on Ripley's believe it or not I think. It's a rare case of this man growing huge warts and his hands and feet looks like tree branches. The said cause of this disease is HPV virus that can either cause cancer or grow warts on skin. I feel bad for the guy, 'cause I'm sure he didn't get to have a normal life because of this "mutation"


Third, Mermaid and Werewolf Syndrome, like the Tree Man, I've also heard about this one, where the feet is under-developed and wasn't able to separate at infancy, which makes the legs looks like a mermaid's tail. Now a days for someone to have this "mutation", doctors are now able to operate and separate the legs, but the patient has to go under therapy to somehow have a normale life :) The Werewolf Syndrome I also saw this in Ripley's, when someone grows a substantial amount of hair all over the body which eventually resembles a werewolf. This is also caused by a birth defect.


Gigantism and Dwarfism. By the name itself we already know what time of mutation are these. First is Gigantism, where someone grows EXTREMELY in height, oh yeah! talk about reaching for the skies haha.  Last is Dwarfism, where can be described as person that is less than 4 feet 10 inches tall. Oh a Filipino holds the record for the shortest man alive lol I just have to share that :)


Despite these abnormalities, differences we are all normal in the eyes of God, there's a reason and purpose why these things are happening, it's just up to us to find out and understand and not to judge someone by the cover.

teacher teacher you need to re-charge

Robot teachers.. hmmm well I’ve always imagined life with robots - how would life be if robots exists amongst us. Come to think of it, it’s actually happening right now, with all the advancements and the technology that keeps on innovating, it’s sometimes hard to keep track with all the “futuristic” gadgets, so to speak, right now. But what I’m afraid of, is that when human touch will be gone and these robots will take over our jobs. 

In Korea, there’s this Robot Teachers where they teach children english through telepresence - teachers from the philippines and linked to this machine to where they can see and talk to the students live (you can read the article here: http://singularityhub.com/2011/01/03/south-korea%E2%80%99s-robot-teachers-to-test-telepresence-tools-in-the-new-year/ ).

My reaction? well it’s good to hear and see the advancements now a days, I’m happy that there are innovations that can help lessen the “burden” on humans when it comes to teaching, BUT the difference of having robots/telepresenced over actual human teachers, is that it’ll lack human touch and participation, I mean the actual conversation, etc. though there are teachers present in the classroom, but just to look over the kids and not to teach.

The concept, technology wise and all is good, it helps also the filipino teachers to earn extra income, help teachers etc. so basically it’s good. but my only concern is that the kids might lose the human contact, touch and most of all the emotion of what education really is. 

MAN

So in the excerpt, it classified 3 categories of man and how, I’m not quite sure If I understood it correctly, but here it goes... So I’ll give three types of man - a Soldier, a Politician and an Artist. 

These three are different from one another, they’re all different from one another and they serve a different purpose in society. 

First is the Soldier, from the three, they’re the most valuable and yet they’re just taken for granted. “...they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones” no matter how these people work and risk their lives for the country or for those they’re fighting for, what these people get in return is still not enough and sometimes they die in vain. Just like here in the Philippines, many soldiers die in battle and yet they’re not given praise or any recognition from what they’ve done for the country. With the current state of the country’s soldiers, right benefits are not given - small salary etc. 

Next, the Politician - these people  are perceived as untouchables, with all their fancy things, extravagant offices and obviously over flowing money, but little do we know that these “politicians” barely don’t know a thing they’re doing. Yeah, they pass bills, make laws, do projects for the poor etc. but these are just minimal things; those who say that they’ll help the country rise from poverty, no corruption and all that... But what really is happening, is that the people are blinded from the truth, that these “politicians” steal more money from the people instead of helping them. Well this is evident here in our country, no doubt. As one politician said “I did not invent corruption, I walked into it” (forgot the name though sorry hoohooo). They tend to have no fear from no one, even God. 

Last is the Artist - these people are the minorities - basically, everyone. These type are those who aren’t listened to, the ones who remain silent from all the wrongness of the country, well there are those who speak their minds and express what they feel and what they think is wrong, and sometimes they use different mediums of art, but sometimes they’re left unheard. Well I guess I’m able to say this because it is happening in our country, I am one of those minority who’s afraid to speak his mind, but hoping to gain courage to be able to stand up :)

Science Fiction ain't Fantasy bro :)

So at first I thought Fantasy was under Science Fiction, or is it the other way around? anywaaay, with the discussion in class, I got a different understanding of the two, I managed to determine how a text is considered as a fantasy or a science fiction. Though they may have different meanings, they still work under the same umbrella. When we were asked what genre Jurassic Park is - is it Fantasy or Science Fiction, that’s when I understood the difference of the two; got to explain and answered that Jurassic park is a Science Fiction, it’s a movie based on facts, life and the what could’ve been, I mean the existence of dinosaurs and how they sort of “created” these animals which are extinct million years ago. Though the movie doesn’t have that cool space ranger kind of feel, I defined Science Fiction by comparing JP to Star Wars, which people seems to tag as a Science Fiction film, but I see it as a Fantasy Film, the story’s good and all - it’s realistic, but the idea and the movie itself is just make believe, something we want to happen or wondered of happening, in other words, Fantasy. So by that, I believe that Science Fiction is something we base on facts, what we have now and had, something we can all relate to, something believable and yet, it’s out of this world. I hope I am making sense here but yeah, this is how I understood the two from the discussion last time.

Good Science Fiction

Jurassic Park

I considered as Good SciFi is because they presented and how they explained the re-existence of dinosaurs struck me. For me, the part of the movie where they explained how they got the blood of dinosaurs and how they genetically engineered them wasn’t hard to believe, up until now, I am still fascinated by this movie, and yes I am a super fan not just by the movie but in dinosaurs as well. So this is a bit biased by considering this as a good scifi, cause I am amazed by how they explained in making dinosaurs and (I)thinking and believing that there is a possibility.

The 6th Day

This movie is all about cloning. By now there have been researches about cloning and experiments are made to animals, so I considered this movie a good scifi film. Though this movie pushed a bit outside of the box, like with the laser guns and having the futuristic setting, but the main theme, which is cloning is pretty believable and plausible, just because there is something that will support the idea of cloning, at least.

2012

Okay, I think many people would consider this movie weak and poor, but for me, it’s good. Not that I believe of the “end of the world” thing, but the way they explained of how the world is gonna end, like the earth crust displacement which caused tsunamis, eruptions and earthquakes and not just by saying that there’s this calendar thingy. So yeah, though the idea is pretty unbelievable, I liked how they explained the cause.

Weak Science Fiction

Back to the Future

Time Traveling. Yes, we all wanted to travel back in time or to see the future and go back to the past, but this idea is just unbelievable. The movie was good - the story, the conflict and the characters, no doubt, but there’s no explanation of how the time traveling car was made or by simply explaining how to travel back in time.

Resident Evil

Zombie Apocalypse. Ever since I was a kid and up until now, I can’t still imagine how things like this can happen. Again the plot and the story is amazing (also the sequels) but the way they illustrated how the “disease” spread for me is just unbelievable. There are no studies or even an explanation of this disease so there are no supporting evidences. Plus reflecting to reality, it is unacceptable in science and also in religion for the dead to rise again as a zombie.

Idiocracy

Freezing the body over time. The movie was about a research on freezing the human body and putting them into sleep for years and so they tested it on these two jobless characters. The experiment was a success, but what happened with the people or rather, the world is unbelievable, everyone turned dumb, idiots, mindless and un-rational thinkers, the movie is just insane. I’d recommend this movie for those who wants a good time and just to have a good laugh. This movie us plainly of entertainment, thought here is the idea of freezing the human body, and sort of preserving them, I think nothing can support this idea yet.

filipino massage

So we watched “La Visa Loca” in class, it was good, and how the movie reflects the reality in the philippines - how one would sacrifice and do anything to just get a US Visa in order to work abroad (what’s new eh?). Every movie, it is crucial that artists should be able to uplift the traits of their characters and to present it to the audience effectively, with this movie, of course the character of Robin Padilla “Jess” and his father, “Sancho” Johnny Delgado; both good and respected actors. Jess, I’d say is your typical filipino guy wanting to go abroad to earn more than his salary here in the country, getting rejected by the us embassy a couple of times, did crazy stuff to just get a visa which he got eventually. he is somewhat close to his dad but I can tell there’s a little gap between them, I just can’t tell why, but eventually by the end of the movie Jess didn’t went to america, yet he stayed with his dad. Sancho, like his son, they both have this love for the country, that’s why he doesn’t want Jess to leave for the us. Sancho’s character was steady at the beginning but managed to stand out after. his longing a partner, love and attention rose, especially when Jess was about to leave for the states.

For me, the movie is a portrayal of how life is in the philippines, a reflection of how someone strives to get a us visa and get a job in the states. The movie depicted the culture and the filipino belief in the philippines, in terms of religion, some parts sort of revolved around it - “Kristo” or how people would get crucified in pampanga (like Jess did for the documentary), the part when Jess asked the character of Ruffa Mae Quinto (forgot her name) to go Visita Iglesia. Also, I think with the part where they were looking for different "albularyo" or those who gets "possessed" by the Sto. Nino is trying to tell us that these people aren't true and just plainly fooling other people. It tells us to stop believing in these kinds of people. In the film, there are these group of singers which appears every time a problem arouses int eh story, I think it symbolizes how filipinos express them selves in different mediums, telling people what the character really feels. The story happened around the Holy Week and with this, I think it symbolizes that over all the problems our country goes through, or how many problems each of us deal with everyday, it is important for us to stay connected with our faith in God and trusting Him to help us face the problems. 

Also with the issues in society, Like what I said, reality, there’s a good side and a bad side, it is evident that some filipinos would take advantage of others, like in the movie, how the bogus Kristo left and took the money that used to be the payment for him to act as the Kristo in the documentary, and made the american delirious about filipinos’ worship over money. In relation to the that, the supposedly possessed albularyos which I think a problem with our society, like people should stop believing in those kind of stuff, it just proves mind over matter - you believe that you are healed so you don't feel any pain or so. With the reactions of Nigel and his camera man, it shows hoe pathetic these people are, trying to be God and playing that they're being possessed. Another issue is with Jess, and this is where the film basically revolved around, how filipinos would do anything to get a visa and a job in other countries, in this case, a job in america, which getting a visa is pretty tough, for others it may be the solution for the low salary in the country but this is not what the film is trying to tell the audience. With the character of Ruffa Mae, it showed the difficulty of getting a job and raising a child alone, she works in a perya as a mermaid (I mean, how hard can life be to work as a mermaid?) but she manages to do it which filipinos are good at, even though life is hard, we manage to cope with it and still smile at our problems. Another with the issues is how others like the balikbayans mentality over the country, in the last part, where Jess' passenger kept on saying how stupid filipinos are, which she is as well. People shouldn't be that way, well for one, they once lived in this country, they were born here, it's just that other countries cater to their needs - needs that the philippines cannot provide.

The movie was back in early 2000 i think, which is the height of filipinos going abroad to work, the movie seems to suggests working abroad is the key to poverty and to solve monetary problems, but by the end of the film, where Jess decided not to leave the country and stay with his dad and the people he loves, still the movie manages cover it's REAL message, that success is achieved in different ways, there's no need to go to other countries to work and achieve happiness, all we have to do is stop taking the people around us for granted. A little sacrifice is good, for a s long it's for something good in the future not just for ourselves but for the people close around us. 

I personally liked the movie and it’s story, though I think Ruffa Mae Quinto wasn’t suited for the role haha. I came to class a bit late so I wasn’t able to see the very first part which gave me a bit of a hard time to catch up, ‘cause it is where Jess’ character was established. I like the different themes of the story - love, perseverance and family. 

here's the movie :)

trying :)

They say that “first impressions lasts”, well I guess it’s true, but not always, there are times we are mistaken by our first impressions and realize it’s the complete opposite once we get to know someone more. With my experience on this, there’s this guy in school, at first I thought he’d be cool to hang out with and be close with, bottom line, I thought we’d be good friends, but that’s what I thought. Everything was fine at first but when I got to know him, I found out who he really is; like what happened in the story. What I thought him being cool and thinking that he’s be an awesome friend turned out to be the opposite. He’s just so full of himself, thinking that he’s an awesome guy and thinks everyone wants to be like him, well as as a matter of fact people say he’s trying to imitate me and jealous of me, i don’t know why haha So i guess the first impressions lasts thing doesn’t work for everyone :)


With regards to the relationship of the story to reality and the other two stories, I think there’s no difference between them, it’s just that this time, it’s about an old lady trying to find her luck in love, with her age, maybe she hasn’t been in love yet or haven’t felt the “spark”, but like what it turned out, that she was mistaken and sort of got a little “heart broken”. Comparing this story to the first two, it’s kind of similar ‘cause it talks about love and relationship, and it reflects reality :)

point here point there

This is actually the first time I read a story and was discussed afterwards, yet I still don't have a vision or an understanding of how and what the story is about. So yeah, we have these two characters, I assumed that they're close friends, 'cause the story said that there are times that the girl would just go inside the guy's room/dorm and do her paper works. I think where the class had a difficult time was identifying their true relationship is, are they boyfriend-girlfriend or a one way relationship etc. 


Anton said, we tried to dig deep in this story; he's right, I'll just try to analyze the story as simple as I can. The story said that the girl had been going in and out the guy's dorm to do her articles, and the guy gets to read them whether intentional or unintentional, then the guy read the girl's latest work that talked about a girl having a problem of disappearing etc. What I see here is that the story talks about friendship, how to value one's friendship and one another; the two characters might be really close to one another, and maybe they just haven't spent time with each other or bonded lately, so the girl feels like she's disappearing as his best friend, that's why she wrote that "article/blog/letter" 'cause she knows that her friends reads her work so she wanted to let him know what she feels. Both of them have been too busy with personal stuff 'cause there are times that the girl would eneter his dorm, so their schedules doesn't match. 


Basically, what I thought of, is that the girl just wants to open up with her friend, she treasures what they both share, and just spend some time and bond together. What I think is the point of the story, is that it's about valuing friendship... :)

what?

1. Until now, the story isn’t that clear to me, I’m kinda lost how the beginning was stitched to the ending, all I can say is that there was conflict between the girl and the boy which was labeled in class as “lovers”. The girl kept on calling his “boyfriend” and uses different names, I think there’s a “trust” issue here, the only reason I can think of, of why the girl does that is to test the loyalty and what her boyfriend does when she’s not around, unless the girl is a bit psycho. With the last part, the “ex” issue was the conflict, it was a sort of open ended of how the girl answered back and did not went with her sorry speech, but yeah they just let it pass... hmmm I think the heart of the problem is about openness and trust, they both should be more open to one another, and must learn to trust one another. I kinda reflects the relationships today, in a way of hoe couples tend to break up because they lack trust with one another, and sometimes a small fight or issue was the cause of the break up.

2. ...The girl asked the guy to meet up after his work to talk about things. Later that day, they met at the restaurant and had dinner, while eating both of them were silent, the girl tried to start a conversation but the guy only gave one-word answers. “sorry...” the girl said, the guy looked at her, they both stared at each other, like waiting for the other one to talk. The guy stood up, went out the restaurant with out any single word. the girl on the other hand was shocked of what the guy did, she doesn’t know what that meant, was he just playing games? did he left her? was it over? The girl just bowed her head, looking at her dinner, until someone placed their hand on her shoulder, she turned around and saw the guy holding a bouquet of flowers, with a smile that says “everything’s alright, I love you”, the girl stood up looking at the guy with tears in her eyes, she embraced him, “I love you” said the girl, “I love you too Maria” he said.

I do

okay, I think I won't be able to answer the first question, since I haven't had any similar experiences yet, but If I were to share about it, I'd say to let me have my own free will; I have the right to choose who I want to marry, who I love and who I want to spend the rest of my life with. 


In case this happens to me (I do wish not), instead of spending my life tied up with the person I don't love and I don't want to be with, then what's the point of marrying him/her in the first place right? So yeah :)


Next, like what I said, It's not possible for me to marry someone I don't love, then the essence of being married is not there. You marry someone because you love him/her, despite the imperfections. If getting married was just for convenience and practicality, then a partner in life is not you're looking for. I wanna get married to a person whom I'm sure of spending the rest of my life with, I want to make her feel special on our wedding day, make her feel that her imperfections are the reasons why she's perfect for me. See, the idea of force marriage is unlikely to happen to me, my parents are very much supportive with who ever girl i choose just as long as she respects them and love me.


this blog is getting a bit cheeesy haha so yeah, I think I answered the questions ;) 

I still love you Amado :p

Dear Amado,

First of all, I’d like to say sorry for not being able to read your letter, I’ve been out of the barrio for quite some time now and it’s just now I read your letter. It saddens me to hear that your mom died, please do accept my sincerest condolences.

 Amado, many things happened since you left, I was left clueless and do not have any idea where to find you, I felt so alone when you left. I don’t know what to do, like there’s no reason for me to live and move on with life. But I guess God was so good to give me strength to overcome the sadness and the depression it brought me.

I keep on wondering when will I see you again,  I miss those times when spent together, but I know I can’t be stuck with the past forever, I need to move on, I need to fix my life, since I now have a child and there’s another one coming. Sorry if that was a bit of a shock.

This letter won’t be long, to answer your question, yes I still love you. I keep on thinking about you, and I rally do wish things went different from what really happened. Well, now you know… I really hope to see you again....

Tinang

infographic - men

*no characters for "summer solstice", wasn't able to read it

gonna make a difference

hmm... the moment Makota mentioned the topic of our blog assignment, he was the first person that popped up in my mind. Michael Jackson.

“The King of Pop” that’s what he was known for.. In an interview done to commemorate his death, Kenny Ortega said that Michael Jackson is not just the king of pop - he’s the king of everything. The world was his playground, at a very young age, he started to travel the world; country by country, heck I don’t even know how and where to start if I talk about his childhood or rather, his life.


But it’s not about about the fortune, the chance to travel the world, or the fame he’s getting (until now) the reason why I chose Michael Jackson, I chose him, because he used his talents to contribute in making this world a better place; He wrote songs the speaks of peace, forgiveness, and love; he loved every human being in this world - even those who threw trash at him. I wanted to be like this guy, I wanna discover what can I do to help change the world and make it a better place, (which I think MJ did), I wanna use my talents in expressing how I feel, and influence others.


As a performer myself, I admire MJ by the way he treats the stage as his home. When you see him up on stage, he would perform his heart out, he would dance like nobody’s watching, and sing like there’s no tomorrow and no breath to take. Now-a-days, an artist - to be able to present a good show, he/she needs awesome lighting, great back-up dancers and all those fancy stuff; but Michael Jackson was way different, just give him a spotlight and a mic, and that’s all you need, He is the show, through his actions and steps, he expresses every word of the song, you can feel the message he wants you to feel. As a performer I wanna be able to that as well, it’s not about the money nor the fame and fortune, they just come along the way and just a small token, but just to be able to do what does and be able to do what I really love is enough of me.


Too bad he’s gone. back in high school I was one of the people who hates him and believed in all the rumors about him - harassment case, the gay issue and many more - but after I watched a documentary about him and researched about his life, he turned out to be the most kind hearted person in the world, a man who wanted to experience childhood, to be able to play with friends, have pets, and go to theme parks. he wanted to change how the people views the world, to have a more positive outlook in life, love everyone and be gracious to the Almighty.


There are more reasons why I wanted to this guy, to be Michael Jackson, it’ll be a looooong blog for sure, this is just the introduction lol..

Divided by Two - truth told

The story starts the same...

...
“Don’t you think they should at least have gone to us and said: Look here, you! We are putting up this boundary, see? You keep to your side of these markers and we will keep to ours, understand?” Belle asked.

“Do you really think that?” I asked.

“Yes, I do,” Belle said. “Distinctly, don’t you?”

“I don’t know.” I said. “I haven’t thought about it.”

“Well, then,” Belle said, “think about it. You can start thinking about it now.”

I wondered why now the words kept ringing clear to me. Then I felt and sensed that the piano had been stilled. Suddenly the night was silent, suddenly the air was still.

I rose from the lounging chair. I left my favorite book and went back to the bedroom. “Belle, where’s my favorite book?” I asked.

“It’s in the drawer near our bed” Belle answered.

As i opened each drawer top to bottom, on the second drawer I saw these notes and letters addressed to Belle. I kept quiet as Belle keeps on talking and nagging about the neighbor’s project. I opened the letters and found out that it all came from the mathematician next door.

“what’s all this? why do they have this? sweet words, conversations...” I asked myself. I browsed through all of the letters and notes from the mathematician while Belle was still in the sala “talking to me”. After seeing all the notes, I returned it inside the drawer and got the book on the 3rd drawer, then I went back to the sala and sat back on my lounging chair. I acted like I did not see the letters and continued to calm Belle down. The mood of reading the book was gone and I just placed the book on the small table next to my chair. Belle is still talking.

“They haven’t divided the lawn fairly,” Belle said.

“You mean the halves are not equal? The halves are not halves? I asked.

“What’s the matter with you?” Belle said.

“What’s the matter with him?” I asked. “Isn’t he a doctor of mathematics or something? A fine doctor of mathematics he’s turned out to be if he can’t even divide by two!”

“What’s eating you?” Belle asked.

“Maybe he should have brought a survey team with him and used a transit, a plumbline, and a pole,” I said. “Maybe he could divide by two then. Maybe he could even divide by ten.”

“Don’t tell me,” Belle said, “Tell him. Tell them.”

“For crying out loud.” I said.

“Go ahead,” Belle said. “Go over. Tell them off. Tell them where to get off.”

“Get off, Belle,” I said. “Get off them.”

“If you won’t, I shall,” Belle said.

“Get off me,” I said.

“If you don’t, I shall,” Belle said. “I shall right now.” She started for the door.

“For crying out loud, Belle,” I said. “I don’t know them well enough to speak to them. I shall write them a note.”

“All right,” Belle said.

I took the typewriter was under our bed and started to compose the letter for that mathematician. Belle didn’t know that what I typed was telling the mathematician that I know their (Belle and the mathematician) “affair” and asking if he could come here in the house. I did not date the note, nor signed it. it was a simple note, just like the ones they used to send one another behind my back. Talk about childish style eh?


I sat up erect in my chair and watched him head bob up and down as he walked out to Finchshafen road. When he turned up the road and I knew where he was going, I stood up. I walked up to the screen door and watched him walk up the concrete walk to the porch steps. He stopped at the foot of the stairs. I looked down through the wirescreen at his upturned face.

“goodboy” I said

“you said you wanna talk?” he asked

“yes. come in” I answered

“No,” he said. “I’d much rather talk to you on the street.”

I know this guy is shaking and scared of what I might do to him. But I remained calm and quiet. He was also quiet and didn’t utter a word. There was pure silence. We walked down Finchshafen road. I looked at him. I had never spoken to him before. He considered a long time, long enough for me to be able to look back at the house to see if Belle was at the window watching.

When he spoke, his first words were: “Have you and Belle been fighting?” It was not only words, it was also the way he said them: my left cheek was twitching so badly it was almost spastic. He had spoken so softly and in such a low-pitched voice I barely heard him. It was as if he didn’t wish either his house or my house to hear; as if we were conspirators both and we were plotting a conspiracy together.

“Fighting?” I asked. “What about? What for? What are you talking about?” I sought his face for the guilt that could only be the mirror of the guilt in my own.

“the letters...” that’s all what he said.

“yes! I know about what;s going on between you and my wife! I found the letters!” I shouted, not even thinking that the other neighbors might hear what we’re talking about.
“Don’t raise your voice,” he said.

“Why shouldn’t I raise my voice?” I asked.

“Don’t shout at me,” he said.

“I shall shout at you if you please,” I said.

“I want to end it, but your wife won’t let me, that’s why I’m having a wall built. My wife is getting suspicious and I don’t want to lose her, so building and putting up the blocks was the only thing I thought of to prove to my wife that I really really love her” sacred, the mathematician explained.

Belle wasn’t on our porch when I looked; I didn’t hear her go down the porch steps, down the concrete walk, out to and down Finchshafen road. I didn’t feel Belle around until I heard her voice rising shrill and clear and above the snarl of our voices. She was standing beside me and before him and shouting in his face.

“Belle!” the mathematician said

“I know everything about you and this mathematician Belle!” I told Belle.

“No... it’s not...” Belle uttered “NO! you lied to me!” I immediately followed.

“I’m leaving you... If that’s you like, then I’ll leave” I said

I left the two alone and ran inside the house and took some of my stuff, I took the car keys and got in the car with a few clothes inside a black bag. As I drove away, I can still see in the rear mirror Belle and the mathematician. Belle was kneeling down, crying. While the mathematician tried to be strong and just looked down at Belle.

I found myself spending the night in a motel a few miles away from home. I went in my room, placed my black bag near the bed and lied down to think and reflect on what just happened. My phone then rang, it’s Belle calling.

end.

well look at the bright side :)

I’d like to ponder on, “Filipinos are poor but happy”.With the characters in Carlos Bulosan’s story, they were illustrated as people who would laugh their problems out, this brought to the idea that filipinos, although they’re poor, they’re still happy. For me, I wouldn’t use the term “happy”, since there are a lot of classifications and definitions when it comes to being happy, it just depends on the person. Maybe we can rephrase it and say “Filipinos are poor but they can find humor on their problems”.

It is evident that the Philippines is one of those countries who strives for growth in the economy and many filipinos are below poverty line, but despite of that, there’s this unique characteristic that sets filipinos apart from others; it’s how we find the humorous side in our problems, that despite how big our problem is, we can still manage to laugh and be happy. That’s what and how Bulosan presented the filipinos in the story. In the beginning, the poor family would usually look up to the rich family next door and smell the aroma of  bacon, ham and roasted chickens being cooked by the servants.

Throughout the story I noticed that it revolves around the idea of laughter being the best medicine. The unnamed character said that “Laughter was our only wealth” and there was a part in the story that the father spilled oil on the floor and caught fire, after the fire was extinguished they did nothing but to laugh and dance and what happened next and I think one of the exaggerated parts was when the neighbors joined them and laughed. Yes it is a little bit exaggerated but I think Bulosan wanted to pin point through out the story that in times of troubles and problems, Filipinos still look at the bright side of things and have a positive outlook in life.

Today, filipinos are facing different problems with the economy and with the government, I mean there are things lacking in the system that many filipinos are still poor, but still they can manage to stand up and face these problems. Years back, the Philippines had a down fall caused by typhoon ondoy, that didn’t stop the filipinos from fighting and having a positive look on life, what they did was, bit by bit tried to help one another and together face the bright side of things.

Carlos Bulosan’s story was evidently short, in the last part, when they were having the trial in court and the father had no lawyer, that also implied how the poor people can’t have enough of the justice system here in the Philippines, but that’s a different story. The father collected coins and paid the rich man with the “spirit” of the coins, I think it’s another way f putting also how clever filipinos can be when it comes tight and difficult situations, I mean they can come up with solutions (though sometimes the solutions aren’t the right one) and have they’re own strategy in life.

I liked how the story went, and how Carlos Bulosan represented filipinos, also how he wrote the story - understandable, yet complex :) YAY!