Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Rant No. 1
Mother Earth and Those Pretty Faces
I was watching those Miss Earth promotional TV ads wherein the contestants say their stuff about the conservation of nature. I couldn't help but ask skeptical questions about those pretty faces.
Have they tried picking trash on Manila Bay?
Have they tried getting dirty on the banks of Pasig River?
Have they planted at least a single tree on their lifetime?
Did they join the pageant to campaign for Mother Earth or to just strut their pretty faces?
Do they really, really know what on EARTH they are talking about?
------------------------
Oh... i remember also that time when ABS-CBN hosted a benefit concert for the Save La Mesa Dam drive. I got really, really annoyed with the hosts. I can't help myself when i uttered some curse: Tang-**a din ano? Mineral water din naman tinutungga nyo eh.
Not surprisingly, i decided not to buy that baller-id for that Save La Mesa drive. Nor did I affix my signature on their signature campaign. Comeon, of course I know the value of clean water. But the Save La Mesa Dam project does not solve the problem. There were people who were legally promised land on that portion of La Mesa. Given the legal contract, no matter how faulty it was conceived, these people have the right to build their homes there too. The Save La Mesa Dam drive should have campaigned not only for clean water but for legal compromises with these people who were promised with land.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
"Look! He's still alive!"
Will get back to blogging sometime soon, folks. As soon as my laptop gets back from the repair shop, that is.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Film Review No. 4
300 - Wrestlemania two and a half millenia before Hulk Hogan
Director: Zack Snyder, based on the graphic novel of the same title by Frank Miller
The military commanders of the Persian empire are idiots. There are a number of ways of defeating 300 Spartans however 'elite' their combat skills may be:
1. Archers. Why they never thought of using flaming arrows is puzzling. Their archers using normal arrows can blot out the sun but the Spartans can just block them with their shields. But imagine if these are fire-tipped arrows. The wasted arrows hitting the ground will keep burning due to the thousands of arrows they rained down on the Spartans. They can even use their 'sorcerers' to first rain down oil or gunpowder on the Spartans' narrow pass before shooting the flaming arrows.
2. Shock Cavalry. Engaging the Spartans will spear-wielding heavy cavalry will be effective. Match the Spartans' shorter spears (historically correct since phalanx warfare with longer spears was used at a much later date by the Macedonians) with cavalry troops using longer spears. The rest of the momentum will be taken care of by the excellent horses of the Persians.
3. Siege weapons. What can those greek shields do with catapult volleys? Or giant spears hurled by ballistae? Okay, if the persians around 400BC were too dumb to develop military engineering, maybe they should consider #4.
4. Sappers. Have sappers dig an alternate access point behind the pass to pin the Spartans eventually. If the mountainous area is too thick for sappers then see #5.
5. Find a totally different route. Why waste your men on 300 Spartans when you can go around the mountains? The persians have travelled a long way from their country and it wouldn't hurt to walk a little distance around that mountain to avoid the 300 Spartans. Or, heck, just go over that damn mountain. Hannibal did that on the Alps.
Leonidas is a dictator. It's enough kicking the Persian messenger's ass for hurling insults but start a war without the council's consultation? The Spartan king's undemocratic war against terror (ahem, ahem) just wasted the lives of brainwashed idealistic warriors.
But of course I was talking about the movie and graphic novel flowery account. Herodotus' written history of the battle tells a different tale. First, the major city-states of ancient Greece have already formed alliances prior to the Battle of Thermopylae. Guarding the pass was a strategic move to trap the Persians while the Greek Navy eradicates the Persian Navy in the Aegean. The plan was to defeat the Persian Navy and control the sea so that the entire land troops of the Persian Empire starves to death while trapped between the sea and the mountains with no supplies. Secondly, Leonidas had thousands of Greek allies with them guarding the pass of Thermopylae. The Persians managed to surround the army through a secret passage used by goat herds, thanks to a Greek traitor, and the Greeks decided to abandon the pass. Not to mention, the sea battle became a stalemate. It is at this point that the Spartans vowed to sacrifice their lives in order for the other Greeks to leave the battle and fight another day. Sure there were 300 Spartans as Herodotus tells us but they were joined by some Greeks who also decided to stay and fight to the death. It was said that the Spartans' decision to stay was further fueled by the Oracle's word that a decendant of Heracles has to die in order for Sparta not to fall to foreign rulers. The kings of Sparta claimed to be descendants of Heracles.
So the bottomline of the written history is that Sparta was never alone in the war and the defenders of Thermopylae count more than 300 whether you consider the headcount before or after the Greek retreat.
On to my verdict!
Script - 8/10 for the down-to-earth script. The lines are not mushy and the characters use proverbs reminiscent of ancient Greece. The script has to be excused as fiction though.
Cinematography - 8/10. Majority of the scenes are shot in studio blue screens. Had they shot the film in the same quality as LOTR i would have given then a 10/10. The superb effects and faithful adaptation of the graphic novel strips compensate for this though.
Acting - 5/10. You don't need actors on this film. You need guys with non-existent beer bellies.
Music - 6/10. The music was okay in the beginning. They even showed a Spartan soldier on the march playing the Aulos (a double-barelled wind instrument that sounds like an oboe). Then suddenly in the fight scenes you hear heavy guitar distortions. I feel like seeing Triple H, Sean Michaels, Rey Mysterio and Batista amidst the Spartans. The period movie feel was utterly destroyed by the use of WWE-inspired entrance music.
Direction - 7/10. Direction was good from the overall design of effects to the details of the fight scenes. The acting direction can be excused but the choice of music is unforgivable.
300 is one action movie I wanna keep in my shelves. Sure, the script is historically skewed and character development in the script is negligible. Majority of action movies are like this anyway. But the visual effects and fight choreography redefine what action movies should look like.
Director: Zack Snyder, based on the graphic novel of the same title by Frank Miller
The military commanders of the Persian empire are idiots. There are a number of ways of defeating 300 Spartans however 'elite' their combat skills may be:
1. Archers. Why they never thought of using flaming arrows is puzzling. Their archers using normal arrows can blot out the sun but the Spartans can just block them with their shields. But imagine if these are fire-tipped arrows. The wasted arrows hitting the ground will keep burning due to the thousands of arrows they rained down on the Spartans. They can even use their 'sorcerers' to first rain down oil or gunpowder on the Spartans' narrow pass before shooting the flaming arrows.
2. Shock Cavalry. Engaging the Spartans will spear-wielding heavy cavalry will be effective. Match the Spartans' shorter spears (historically correct since phalanx warfare with longer spears was used at a much later date by the Macedonians) with cavalry troops using longer spears. The rest of the momentum will be taken care of by the excellent horses of the Persians.
3. Siege weapons. What can those greek shields do with catapult volleys? Or giant spears hurled by ballistae? Okay, if the persians around 400BC were too dumb to develop military engineering, maybe they should consider #4.
4. Sappers. Have sappers dig an alternate access point behind the pass to pin the Spartans eventually. If the mountainous area is too thick for sappers then see #5.
5. Find a totally different route. Why waste your men on 300 Spartans when you can go around the mountains? The persians have travelled a long way from their country and it wouldn't hurt to walk a little distance around that mountain to avoid the 300 Spartans. Or, heck, just go over that damn mountain. Hannibal did that on the Alps.
Leonidas is a dictator. It's enough kicking the Persian messenger's ass for hurling insults but start a war without the council's consultation? The Spartan king's undemocratic war against terror (ahem, ahem) just wasted the lives of brainwashed idealistic warriors.
But of course I was talking about the movie and graphic novel flowery account. Herodotus' written history of the battle tells a different tale. First, the major city-states of ancient Greece have already formed alliances prior to the Battle of Thermopylae. Guarding the pass was a strategic move to trap the Persians while the Greek Navy eradicates the Persian Navy in the Aegean. The plan was to defeat the Persian Navy and control the sea so that the entire land troops of the Persian Empire starves to death while trapped between the sea and the mountains with no supplies. Secondly, Leonidas had thousands of Greek allies with them guarding the pass of Thermopylae. The Persians managed to surround the army through a secret passage used by goat herds, thanks to a Greek traitor, and the Greeks decided to abandon the pass. Not to mention, the sea battle became a stalemate. It is at this point that the Spartans vowed to sacrifice their lives in order for the other Greeks to leave the battle and fight another day. Sure there were 300 Spartans as Herodotus tells us but they were joined by some Greeks who also decided to stay and fight to the death. It was said that the Spartans' decision to stay was further fueled by the Oracle's word that a decendant of Heracles has to die in order for Sparta not to fall to foreign rulers. The kings of Sparta claimed to be descendants of Heracles.
So the bottomline of the written history is that Sparta was never alone in the war and the defenders of Thermopylae count more than 300 whether you consider the headcount before or after the Greek retreat.
On to my verdict!
Script - 8/10 for the down-to-earth script. The lines are not mushy and the characters use proverbs reminiscent of ancient Greece. The script has to be excused as fiction though.
Cinematography - 8/10. Majority of the scenes are shot in studio blue screens. Had they shot the film in the same quality as LOTR i would have given then a 10/10. The superb effects and faithful adaptation of the graphic novel strips compensate for this though.
Acting - 5/10. You don't need actors on this film. You need guys with non-existent beer bellies.
Music - 6/10. The music was okay in the beginning. They even showed a Spartan soldier on the march playing the Aulos (a double-barelled wind instrument that sounds like an oboe). Then suddenly in the fight scenes you hear heavy guitar distortions. I feel like seeing Triple H, Sean Michaels, Rey Mysterio and Batista amidst the Spartans. The period movie feel was utterly destroyed by the use of WWE-inspired entrance music.
Direction - 7/10. Direction was good from the overall design of effects to the details of the fight scenes. The acting direction can be excused but the choice of music is unforgivable.
300 is one action movie I wanna keep in my shelves. Sure, the script is historically skewed and character development in the script is negligible. Majority of action movies are like this anyway. But the visual effects and fight choreography redefine what action movies should look like.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The End of the Beginning
If you noticed, you'll see that I haven't posted in a while now. Preparing for finals week.
I'll get back to you quickly as soon as finals are over; so for the meantime, expect slower updates. Unless Juphel or Kafka's girl does something to fix that.
In the meantime, why don't you try some of the links over to your right?
I'll get back to you quickly as soon as finals are over; so for the meantime, expect slower updates. Unless Juphel or Kafka's girl does something to fix that.
In the meantime, why don't you try some of the links over to your right?
Friday, March 9, 2007
What are bears?
Your response to that question would perhaps be "What a stupid question," or something to that effect. The thing, however, is that the term "bear" has been given a somewhat risqué redefining.
I'm not going to directly post potentially incriminating stuff here (except for the teaser pic below). Find out for yourself the answer to my stupid question via these links:
Wikipedia entry on "Bears"
Wikiality entry on "Bears"
"The creature in the foreground is 'human,' not Gimli son of Gloin, a popular misconception." (Pic and caption pilfered from above Wikiality article)
I'm not going to directly post potentially incriminating stuff here (except for the teaser pic below). Find out for yourself the answer to my stupid question via these links:
Wikipedia entry on "Bears"
Wikiality entry on "Bears"
"The creature in the foreground is 'human,' not Gimli son of Gloin, a popular misconception." (Pic and caption pilfered from above Wikiality article)
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Oh, Sweet Serendipity! The "Children Love Great Dictators" series (incomplete)
Surfing for a new header pic to be featured on this blog soon (watch for it!) led me to a site called Wikiality, a Wikipedia parody built around Stephen Colbert's brand of humor. Check it out if you have the time.
What caught my eye in particular was the "Children Love..." series, a collection of alphabetical flash cards that featured dictators and other infamous figureheads instead of the usual assortment of everyday stuff. Truth be told, Wikiality isn't what you'd exactly call "work-safe," so for those of you fearful of offensive or obscene content, here are the pictures for you. So far, I've managed to get hold of only four:
Adolf Hitler
Vladimir Lenin
Chairman Mao
Joseph Stalin
Please let me know if you find the other letters of the great dictator alphabet. Thanks!
What caught my eye in particular was the "Children Love..." series, a collection of alphabetical flash cards that featured dictators and other infamous figureheads instead of the usual assortment of everyday stuff. Truth be told, Wikiality isn't what you'd exactly call "work-safe," so for those of you fearful of offensive or obscene content, here are the pictures for you. So far, I've managed to get hold of only four:
Adolf Hitler
Vladimir Lenin
Chairman Mao
Joseph Stalin
Please let me know if you find the other letters of the great dictator alphabet. Thanks!
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
What type of Christian are you?
| What type of Christian are you? | |
  Catholic You are a true Roman Catholic. You love your religion. You go by the Catechism, verbatum. You pray to God and the Saints. You believe in prayer for the dead and you believe Jesus is always present to you in the Holy Eucharist. You follow your beloved Pope and you try to do the best you can on your pilgrimage on this earth! | |
| Take The Quiz Now! | Quizzes by myYearbook.com |
Film Review No. 3
Apocalypto
Direction: Mel Gibson
My verdic:
Script - 1/10. Yes! One out of Ten! Aside from the superlinear plot, Mel Gibson (or his co-writer) commited a screenwriting blunder that history buffs will readily recognize.
---SPOILER WARNING---
The movie was set in the Mayan civilization. this is apparent from the usual prayer of the characters to Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god of the Maya. The blunder came in the end of the movie where the natives came across with the spaniards. Oops! It was the Aztecs who met with the Spaniards. not the Mayans. The Maya civilization collapsed around 900AD or more than 500 years before Hernan Cortes and his lackeys drank their first tequila.
---END OF SPOILER---
Substitute Kukulkan with Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec equivalent for the same feathered serpent god and the script should have been fixed. BUT even so, i can give it a generous 5/10 for the not-so-film-worthy script. Using a weird language throughout the film is not an excuse to get any higher score for a flimsy plot. I'll watch a Discovery Channel feature instead.
Cinematography - 9/10. There were scenes in the human sacrifice where the camera is shot through the eyes of the person who's about to die. Add this to the faceless nobles and priests and the fanatic crowd demanding blood for their god amidst the awesome re-creation of the meso-American stepped pyramids.
Acting - 8/10. I dunno who the actors are. But the actor portraying the protagonist Jaguar Paw did a good job portraying fearlessness when facing hopeless odds.
Music - 10/10. Horay for James Horner! I used to think he's just one of those usual hollywood film composers who'd use run-of-the-mill orchestras for the film music. The bagpipe solos in Braveheart were not actually 'tsamba'. The haunting native sounds in Apocalypto confirms his versatility as a composer.
Direction - 7/10. This is not Mel Gibson's best movie. But if you're just for the blood and the gore then this may be your film.
Direction: Mel Gibson
My verdic:
Script - 1/10. Yes! One out of Ten! Aside from the superlinear plot, Mel Gibson (or his co-writer) commited a screenwriting blunder that history buffs will readily recognize.
---SPOILER WARNING---
The movie was set in the Mayan civilization. this is apparent from the usual prayer of the characters to Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god of the Maya. The blunder came in the end of the movie where the natives came across with the spaniards. Oops! It was the Aztecs who met with the Spaniards. not the Mayans. The Maya civilization collapsed around 900AD or more than 500 years before Hernan Cortes and his lackeys drank their first tequila.
---END OF SPOILER---
Substitute Kukulkan with Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec equivalent for the same feathered serpent god and the script should have been fixed. BUT even so, i can give it a generous 5/10 for the not-so-film-worthy script. Using a weird language throughout the film is not an excuse to get any higher score for a flimsy plot. I'll watch a Discovery Channel feature instead.
Cinematography - 9/10. There were scenes in the human sacrifice where the camera is shot through the eyes of the person who's about to die. Add this to the faceless nobles and priests and the fanatic crowd demanding blood for their god amidst the awesome re-creation of the meso-American stepped pyramids.
Acting - 8/10. I dunno who the actors are. But the actor portraying the protagonist Jaguar Paw did a good job portraying fearlessness when facing hopeless odds.
Music - 10/10. Horay for James Horner! I used to think he's just one of those usual hollywood film composers who'd use run-of-the-mill orchestras for the film music. The bagpipe solos in Braveheart were not actually 'tsamba'. The haunting native sounds in Apocalypto confirms his versatility as a composer.
Direction - 7/10. This is not Mel Gibson's best movie. But if you're just for the blood and the gore then this may be your film.
Film Review No. 2
Flags of Our Fathers
Direction: Clint Eastwood
My verdic:
Script - 6/10. A mediocre work for Paul Haggis. The script did not reach half the artistry of Crash. The only consolation it that a simple linear plot was made non-linear ala Paul Haggis style.
Cinematography - 9/10. The only good thing about the movie. You can see a whole mountain getting pounded by the entire US Pacific fleet. The lighting is good especially that scene inside a cave-camp where u see scattered Japanese intestines everywhere.
Acting - 5/10. Spielberg and Eastwood tried to save production money on pathetic actors.
Music - 1/10. There's a recurring musical motive in the whole movie. The same style Eastwood used in Million Dollar Baby. And (tadaaaa) Eastwood composed it. As if he can claim he's a damn fine composer. The first four measures were copied from an Antonio Salieri march (refer to the movie Amadeus and note the piano piece played by Emperor Joseph of Austria when Mozart first introduced himself to the emperor's court). The music in Flags of our Fathers is a big joke. Im not even sure if Eastwood was aware he 'accidentally' copied an old tune.
Direction - 5/10. The movie is ten thousand times more boring than Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby combined. Why create a two-hour movie on a simple plot that could fit a one-hour Maalaala Mo Kaya episode?
I recommend everyone to follow two approaches when dealing with the movie. First, buy a million pirated copies of the movie so that Dreamworks wont tap Eastwood's direction ever. Or second, just borrow a pirated copy of the movie. Either way, don't watch the blasted movie. It's a waste of beer money. If you want to sleep, do it on your bed. It's more comfy.
Direction: Clint Eastwood
My verdic:
Script - 6/10. A mediocre work for Paul Haggis. The script did not reach half the artistry of Crash. The only consolation it that a simple linear plot was made non-linear ala Paul Haggis style.
Cinematography - 9/10. The only good thing about the movie. You can see a whole mountain getting pounded by the entire US Pacific fleet. The lighting is good especially that scene inside a cave-camp where u see scattered Japanese intestines everywhere.
Acting - 5/10. Spielberg and Eastwood tried to save production money on pathetic actors.
Music - 1/10. There's a recurring musical motive in the whole movie. The same style Eastwood used in Million Dollar Baby. And (tadaaaa) Eastwood composed it. As if he can claim he's a damn fine composer. The first four measures were copied from an Antonio Salieri march (refer to the movie Amadeus and note the piano piece played by Emperor Joseph of Austria when Mozart first introduced himself to the emperor's court). The music in Flags of our Fathers is a big joke. Im not even sure if Eastwood was aware he 'accidentally' copied an old tune.
Direction - 5/10. The movie is ten thousand times more boring than Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby combined. Why create a two-hour movie on a simple plot that could fit a one-hour Maalaala Mo Kaya episode?
I recommend everyone to follow two approaches when dealing with the movie. First, buy a million pirated copies of the movie so that Dreamworks wont tap Eastwood's direction ever. Or second, just borrow a pirated copy of the movie. Either way, don't watch the blasted movie. It's a waste of beer money. If you want to sleep, do it on your bed. It's more comfy.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Film Review No. 1
THE PRESTIGE - Batman vs Wolverine
Director: Chris Nolan
(slight spoilers. read at your own risk)
It's a period movie set at the turn of the century Victorian England about the rivalry of two magicians. Let's just call them by their monickers - The Great Danton and The Professor.
The screenplay is good. It's the type of story where you cant judge both rival magicians as a protagonist or antagonist. Also, the flow of the story mixes up flashbacks and current-time. If you are the type of person who enters the theater at the middle of the movie, GO HOME.
Special appearance by Nicola Tesla. Yup, Edison's arch-enemy in written history.
The movie will tell you the importance of science and engineering in staging elaborate magic tricks.
If you are a SciFi purist, this may not be the movie for you. There's this thing toward the end of the movie that will raise skeptical eyebrows. But for a well-written dramatic script, you can ignore that and focus on the drama involved between the obsession of two magicians.
My verdic:
Script - 9/10.
Cinematography - 10/10. nice view on Tesla's secret mountain refuge.
Acting - 7/10. Wolverine not as good as Batman in acting.
Music - 5/10. I was expecting more Romantic Period music. I only heard one piano piece (Butterfly Etude by Frederic Chopin).
Direction - 8/10. same dark feeling as Chris Nolan's 'Batman Begins'
It's not a McDo movie. So please do watch. The debatable ending will leave tons of what-ifs for a month.
Director: Chris Nolan
(slight spoilers. read at your own risk)
It's a period movie set at the turn of the century Victorian England about the rivalry of two magicians. Let's just call them by their monickers - The Great Danton and The Professor.
The screenplay is good. It's the type of story where you cant judge both rival magicians as a protagonist or antagonist. Also, the flow of the story mixes up flashbacks and current-time. If you are the type of person who enters the theater at the middle of the movie, GO HOME.
Special appearance by Nicola Tesla. Yup, Edison's arch-enemy in written history.
The movie will tell you the importance of science and engineering in staging elaborate magic tricks.
If you are a SciFi purist, this may not be the movie for you. There's this thing toward the end of the movie that will raise skeptical eyebrows. But for a well-written dramatic script, you can ignore that and focus on the drama involved between the obsession of two magicians.
My verdic:
Script - 9/10.
Cinematography - 10/10. nice view on Tesla's secret mountain refuge.
Acting - 7/10. Wolverine not as good as Batman in acting.
Music - 5/10. I was expecting more Romantic Period music. I only heard one piano piece (Butterfly Etude by Frederic Chopin).
Direction - 8/10. same dark feeling as Chris Nolan's 'Batman Begins'
It's not a McDo movie. So please do watch. The debatable ending will leave tons of what-ifs for a month.
Monday, March 5, 2007
Election Series # 2: Harvey Keh's Letter
Dear Fellow Filipino,
Good day to all of you! Before I begin my letter... just a disclaimer, for people who know me they know that I love the Philippines very much and I am not really one who rants and complaints to high heavens about what is happening to our country and does nothing about it, in fact, I feel that at my relatively young age of 27, I have done much service to the Philippines by setting up Pathways to Higher Education which has sent more than 500 poor but deserving students to college and AHON Foundation which has already built two public elementary school libraries that have benefitted more than 3,500 students. Yet, after seeing how events in our nation have transpired the past few weeks and talking with some friends, I feel the urge to share with you my own thoughts and feelings.
Over the weekend, we saw the completion of two major political alliances for this coming Senate Elections that has just began here in the Philippines . Now we have two political forces with familiar faces nonetheless on opposite sides of the fences. On one end, you have Tito Sotto and Tessie Aquino-Oreta who were two major stalwarts of the opposition and the FPJ Campaign in 2004 hobnobbing with the woman (Pres. GMA) whom they claimed to have cheated FPJ in the last Presidential Elections.On the other side of the fence, you see Manny Villar, the former house speaker who was actually responsible for impeaching Erap now part of the United Opposition who is led by no less than... Erap himself. Now if you don't see anything wrong with this picture then you must be one of the many Filipinos who have accepted this very sad reality that there is indeed no permanent ideals that our government leaders stand up for but rather they just go where there self-interests can best be served. It is this kind of politics why I no longer wonder why good people like Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City or outstanding Bulacan Governor Josie Dela Cruz will find it hard or worse, never be elected to national positions.
It is with these in mind that I'd like to share with you what are events this coming May elections that will make me consider leaving the Philippines :
1.) If former COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of Hello Garci fame wins in his bid to become Congressman of Bukidnon...seeking to replace a good man no less in incumbent Cong. Neric Acosta... We would really be the laughing stock of the whole world if we allow a man with the reputation of Garci to be one of our so called "Honorable Gentlemen".
2.) If Dancing Queen Tessie Aquino Oreta reclaims her seat at the Senate... I hope that all of us would still remember that dance that she did during the 2001 impeachment hearings after they voted to overrule the decision of then Chief Justice Davide... let us make sure that people like her never make it to the Senate again.
3.) If Richard Gomez becomes a senator... what does he know about making laws? We already have the likes of Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid in the Senate and their performance or lack of it would be reason enough not to elect another actor who has no prior experience in government to the distinguished halls of the Senate.
4.) If Gringo Honasan wins again.... have we not learned our lesson? I cannot believe that just because someone is charismatic then we will just elect him to become one of our senators despite the fact that he has time and again caused so much instability in our country... if we want a military junta similar to that of Thailand ... then lets all vote for this guy....
5.) If Manny Pacquiao becomes Congressman of General Santos City... everybody loves Manny the Boxing Champ but Manny the Lawmaker? Lets be realistic here, Manny is our Hero alright but I think it takes more than just great boxing skills and a desire to serve to be able to make appropriate laws that would help uplift the lives of the many Filipinos who live in Poverty.
6.) If Lito Lapid wins for Mayor of Makati City... I don't like Jojo Binay as well but Lito Lapid as city mayor of the country's finance and business center?!?! And do you really think he is from Makati and has good plans for the city? The Arroyos asking someone like him to run just goes to show you how much love and concern this government has for our country.
7.) If Chavit Singson becomes a Senator, Illegal Gambling = Chavit... enough said.
Now if all of these 7 things happen during this coming elections then don't be surprised if I decide to leave this country that I love dearly. Like I said during the first part of my letter, I feel that I have done much for this country but I think its time that Filipinos become more vigilant and critical in selecting our leaders for the sake of our future and the generations that will go beyond us. So I appeal to every Filipino who asks what can I actually do for my country... Choose and vote for the right people this coming elections, huwag na tayong magpaloko sa mga kandidatong maganda lang ang jingle o gwapo lang sa mga poster. Let us choose leaders who have a good track record for service and who are genuinely committed towards serving our country.
Manindigan naman tayong lahat para sa ating Kinabukasan at para sa Kapakanan ng ating Bayan!
Thank you very much for your time in reading this letter.
Sincerely,
Harvey S. Keh
(Whew! That was ballsy. Thanks, Mr. Keh!)
Good day to all of you! Before I begin my letter... just a disclaimer, for people who know me they know that I love the Philippines very much and I am not really one who rants and complaints to high heavens about what is happening to our country and does nothing about it, in fact, I feel that at my relatively young age of 27, I have done much service to the Philippines by setting up Pathways to Higher Education which has sent more than 500 poor but deserving students to college and AHON Foundation which has already built two public elementary school libraries that have benefitted more than 3,500 students. Yet, after seeing how events in our nation have transpired the past few weeks and talking with some friends, I feel the urge to share with you my own thoughts and feelings.
Over the weekend, we saw the completion of two major political alliances for this coming Senate Elections that has just began here in the Philippines . Now we have two political forces with familiar faces nonetheless on opposite sides of the fences. On one end, you have Tito Sotto and Tessie Aquino-Oreta who were two major stalwarts of the opposition and the FPJ Campaign in 2004 hobnobbing with the woman (Pres. GMA) whom they claimed to have cheated FPJ in the last Presidential Elections.On the other side of the fence, you see Manny Villar, the former house speaker who was actually responsible for impeaching Erap now part of the United Opposition who is led by no less than... Erap himself. Now if you don't see anything wrong with this picture then you must be one of the many Filipinos who have accepted this very sad reality that there is indeed no permanent ideals that our government leaders stand up for but rather they just go where there self-interests can best be served. It is this kind of politics why I no longer wonder why good people like Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City or outstanding Bulacan Governor Josie Dela Cruz will find it hard or worse, never be elected to national positions.
It is with these in mind that I'd like to share with you what are events this coming May elections that will make me consider leaving the Philippines :
1.) If former COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of Hello Garci fame wins in his bid to become Congressman of Bukidnon...seeking to replace a good man no less in incumbent Cong. Neric Acosta... We would really be the laughing stock of the whole world if we allow a man with the reputation of Garci to be one of our so called "Honorable Gentlemen".
2.) If Dancing Queen Tessie Aquino Oreta reclaims her seat at the Senate... I hope that all of us would still remember that dance that she did during the 2001 impeachment hearings after they voted to overrule the decision of then Chief Justice Davide... let us make sure that people like her never make it to the Senate again.
3.) If Richard Gomez becomes a senator... what does he know about making laws? We already have the likes of Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid in the Senate and their performance or lack of it would be reason enough not to elect another actor who has no prior experience in government to the distinguished halls of the Senate.
4.) If Gringo Honasan wins again.... have we not learned our lesson? I cannot believe that just because someone is charismatic then we will just elect him to become one of our senators despite the fact that he has time and again caused so much instability in our country... if we want a military junta similar to that of Thailand ... then lets all vote for this guy....
5.) If Manny Pacquiao becomes Congressman of General Santos City... everybody loves Manny the Boxing Champ but Manny the Lawmaker? Lets be realistic here, Manny is our Hero alright but I think it takes more than just great boxing skills and a desire to serve to be able to make appropriate laws that would help uplift the lives of the many Filipinos who live in Poverty.
6.) If Lito Lapid wins for Mayor of Makati City... I don't like Jojo Binay as well but Lito Lapid as city mayor of the country's finance and business center?!?! And do you really think he is from Makati and has good plans for the city? The Arroyos asking someone like him to run just goes to show you how much love and concern this government has for our country.
7.) If Chavit Singson becomes a Senator, Illegal Gambling = Chavit... enough said.
Now if all of these 7 things happen during this coming elections then don't be surprised if I decide to leave this country that I love dearly. Like I said during the first part of my letter, I feel that I have done much for this country but I think its time that Filipinos become more vigilant and critical in selecting our leaders for the sake of our future and the generations that will go beyond us. So I appeal to every Filipino who asks what can I actually do for my country... Choose and vote for the right people this coming elections, huwag na tayong magpaloko sa mga kandidatong maganda lang ang jingle o gwapo lang sa mga poster. Let us choose leaders who have a good track record for service and who are genuinely committed towards serving our country.
Manindigan naman tayong lahat para sa ating Kinabukasan at para sa Kapakanan ng ating Bayan!
Thank you very much for your time in reading this letter.
Sincerely,
Harvey S. Keh
(Whew! That was ballsy. Thanks, Mr. Keh!)
Election Series # 1: Nothing Says "Sellout" Like This Picture
Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you the "Honorable" Alan Peter Cayetano, shown here holding a balut (that's a steamed duck egg with embryo for non-Filipinos) with his name on it. Not because he owns the egg, mind you, but because it's a new campaign strategy of his. Sheesh. The lengths the politicians we have here go to just to get noticed. Whatever happened to achievements? Credentials?
Sadly, in this country, the majority of the electorate doesn't give a damn about those things.
What'll these politicians think of next? Oh, there's Manny Villar and Miguel Zubiri, the "dancing politicians". More on them later.
(Photo pilfered from the online edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.)
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Captions! # 3
Just one, for today:
"I'LL NEVER LOOK AT AN ANGEL THE SAME WAY AGAIN."
Feel free to leave your own captions in the comments section.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
"Daniel Radcliffe Takes It All Off"
Article here.
Quiet now... Can you hear that? That's the sound of a billion fan-girls -- and "boys" -- screaming with GLEE.
Quiet now... Can you hear that? That's the sound of a billion fan-girls -- and "boys" -- screaming with GLEE.
Captions! # 2
Performance art at the Met Museum # 962: "Bad Hair Day"
"You call this art? Here's what I think about your friggin' 'art'!" (Takes a leak)
"Say... Does this go well with my yellow jacket, pink vest, and blue backpack?"
Introducing... the new ScribbleAfro™!
Captions!
"Raise the roof!"
"See, we told you levitation isn't a hoax!"
New Yoga group dynamics program sends five men soaring.
'N Sync: No Strings Attached, the Indian remake, on tour.
Pilot: Bad Blog! No Biscuit!
Not too long ago, a certain Rychus Cortina complained that I struck him as "dense, yet transparent". When I asked the jerk what exactly he meant by that, he didn't explain. Oh well, I thought, it only goes to show that he was perhaps projecting one side of himself onto me. I didn't know it, but I was horribly mistaken.
After reading my Livejournal account, so brimming with angsty revelations about myself, I realized that perhaps the jerk was right all along. If someone was looking for blackmail material to use against me, all he had to do was read it. Shite. Therefore, I shall be abandoning my LJ - but not for good, though; I still enjoy reading and commenting on some other blogs there. Blogger's where I'm at these days.
However, I take consolation in the fact that when it comes to that kind of blogging- the kind that bares juicy life tidbits for all to see - I'm not alone. In fact, a quick glance at some other blogs I read shows that some people are just dying to be read, even if that means they themselves have to betray the more "interesting" aspects of themselves.
If you have the time, try this little experiment: read a blog belonging to a friend - someone from the opposite sex would be more preferrable - then remember the entry that manages to leave a certain kind of aftertaste (on as to what kind, I'll leave that to you). Bring up what you've read the next time you're in a conversation with aforementioned friend, and try to see if that somehow sets off an alarm in her (a suspicious glance, a wish to change the subject, a trembling voice, etc., etc., etc....). Reaction depends on the nature of the post.
Why should they be suspicious of you, though? If they didn't like being read so much, then they shouldn't blog in the first place. Oh, and by the way, Rychus has a blog somewhere too.
Thank you, Rychus. You're still a jerk to me, but you're the kind I end up kissing sometime in the near future. I love you for what you did. Look at me now! I'm a new man.
After all, with a name like "Rychus", who can go wrong?
After reading my Livejournal account, so brimming with angsty revelations about myself, I realized that perhaps the jerk was right all along. If someone was looking for blackmail material to use against me, all he had to do was read it. Shite. Therefore, I shall be abandoning my LJ - but not for good, though; I still enjoy reading and commenting on some other blogs there. Blogger's where I'm at these days.
However, I take consolation in the fact that when it comes to that kind of blogging- the kind that bares juicy life tidbits for all to see - I'm not alone. In fact, a quick glance at some other blogs I read shows that some people are just dying to be read, even if that means they themselves have to betray the more "interesting" aspects of themselves.
If you have the time, try this little experiment: read a blog belonging to a friend - someone from the opposite sex would be more preferrable - then remember the entry that manages to leave a certain kind of aftertaste (on as to what kind, I'll leave that to you). Bring up what you've read the next time you're in a conversation with aforementioned friend, and try to see if that somehow sets off an alarm in her (a suspicious glance, a wish to change the subject, a trembling voice, etc., etc., etc....). Reaction depends on the nature of the post.
Why should they be suspicious of you, though? If they didn't like being read so much, then they shouldn't blog in the first place. Oh, and by the way, Rychus has a blog somewhere too.
Thank you, Rychus. You're still a jerk to me, but you're the kind I end up kissing sometime in the near future. I love you for what you did. Look at me now! I'm a new man.
After all, with a name like "Rychus", who can go wrong?
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