the latebloomer

the following article is one that i wrote for a foreign christian communication group. i feel like its not gonna be published because its barely an academic paper, just a short feature. so im posting it here:

Continuing
the Vicious Cycle

The death of a 12 year-old girl in

Davao

City

,

Southern Philippines

hogged headlines in recent weeks. Mariannet
Amper was found by her family with a nylon cord tied around her neck. Suicide
was made the apparent reason though the police have yet to release the results
of its investigation. (1)

A diary was found under her pillow, which
revealed Mariannet’s laments about her failure to go to school because of her
family’s extreme poverty. (2)

The local media was quick to pick up on
this angle and issued headlines about Mariannet’s suicide because of poverty.
The news indeed was startling since suicides, especially among children and
young people are rare among Filipinos touted as one of the world’s happiest.
And for poverty as reason is even more intriguing.

The news prompted the Arroyo government to
issue an apology, taking immediate responsibility for the incident and urging
its line agencies to improve delivery of services to poor, far-flung
communities. Pres. Arroyo ordered the education department to mobilize its
alternative distance-learning program that would allow a child to study and
finish school without having to go to a formal school. (2)

Now one can say that all these immediate
responses should have been provided in the first place for many Mariannets in
the

Philippines

.
Poverty is real and felt by about eight out of ten Filipinos. The fact that
3,000 Filipinos leave their families behind everyday to work abroad is already
an attestment to this.

And Mariannet’s story shows a lot about how
poverty – its concept, roots and implications – are treated in a country
struggling to even claim its “developing” status.

Missing the Point

The coverage of Mariannet’s death and the
circumstances surrounding it was another case of how sensationalism pervades
Philippine media. Local media watchdog groups dubbed the treatment as a
“double-rape” of the 12 year-old girl. (3)

While poverty may have been a factor in the
girl’s demise, the focus on the suicide angle buried other possible causes of
death. Medico-legal findings showed Mariannet was raped or had gone through
sexual abuse, while the angle of foul play was yet to be ruled out.

And with the sensational coverage of her
death, Mariannet is again raped by the local media scarred by increasing
competition and the never-ending search for scoops. They went beyond reporting
and reduced the girl’s life to a commodity for people to consume, robbing the
victim and her family’s dignity. (3)

More importantly, sensationalism got in the
way of making sense of Mariannet’s death. It missed the point that children,
along with women, are among the most vulnerable sectors in the country. Hunger
and poverty are potent weapons that intensify exploitation and abuse of women
and children. In a situation where a family does not have a secure access to
resources and basic services are not provided effectively to disadvantaged
communities, women and children are further disempowered.

Thousands of Filipino families continue to
face death from hunger and illness caused by poverty and maldevelopment. IBON
estimates that eight out of 10 Filipinos struggle to survive on less than P96
or a little over $2 (US$1=P43) a day, while 46 million Filipinos experience
hunger daily. (4)

Poverty statistics are reported regularly
by local media. But like sex and violence, the issue of poverty has been
commodified, sensationalized and glorified by a free-wheeling press that only
in the last few years has pulled enough guts to report the continuing
extrajudicial killings of journalists along with activists and church people.

But to present poverty as a common
experience rooted on society’s structural defects and adherence to policies
incompatible with the country’s situation has never reached the media’s agenda.
Reporting about poverty and hunger has been a black-and-white thing, a
phenomenon linked with misconceptions of indolence and lack of drive of people
in lower income brackets and assumptions that poverty can be easily solved with
the parents finding a job – even if it is only for a short-term, contractual
basis, unmindful of the reality that even children are made to quit school and
eke a living because of exploitative and backward conditions in the country.
Poverty as a commodity has been made to make sense of a TV network or a
national daily’s “social responsibility” by showing pictures of Filipino
families living in shanties along dead rivers or railroad tracks, with the hope
still in the horizon through “make-a-wish” programs and game shows.

This however does not preclude the power of
local media to present social issues, especially those of poor and marginalized
sectors, and offer alternative solutions through documentaries and news
features. Some progressive media groups are taking these efforts further by
incorporating them to issue-based campaigns, though most of these initiatives
are found in the Net, where the commercial limitations of mainstream media are
played less. News sites such as bulatlat.com
and pinoypress.net provide netizens
with alternative sources of information on relevant social issues. The
limitation of course is the inability for this information to reach the
grassroots, or the sectors in need of awareness and empowerment. This situation
thus requires more effort for traditional media to be more judicious, active
and responsible in highlighting issues that matter to people most, especially
issues that are multifaceted like poverty.

This challenge is required even more so of
the government.

State Responsibility

The Arroyo government was indeed right in
responding immediately to Mariannet’s story and owing responsibility for her
death. The actual situation of people on the ground after all is the most
effective yardstick of any government’s development plan. But to “owe up” and
follow this with pronouncements of band-aid solutions would not overhaul the
people’s situation and prevent children like Mariannet from falling in the same
cycle of hunger, poverty and violence.

Given the circumstances surrounding the
Arroyo regime, such pronouncement may be seen as another attempt to shore up
the president’s image which has been battered anew by allegations of corruption
and bribery.

The government’s response to Mariannet’s story
is almost similar to the way it responded to the trashslide that occurred in
Payatas,

Manila

’s
largest dumpsite in 2000 that buried hundreds of urban poor families living
nearby. Three boys who survived the tragedy were made famous by Pres. Gloria
Arroyo when she presented them in her first State of the Nation Address in
2001. One of the boys, Jason Vann Banogon, lost his entire family to the
tragedy. He along with Erwin Dolera and Jomer Pabalan said to have floated
letters turned into paper boats along the

Pasig

River

,
appealing for help from the president. And help reportedly did come. After
being presented almost like tokens during the 2001 SONA, the three Payatas boys
were made the first GMA scholars. Three people’s organizations composed of
families that used to live beside the dumpsite were also promised housing and
livelihood assistance, and educational assistance for children of victims. (5)
The promises however took longer as the usual bureaucratic inefficiencies
caused delays in the release of funds for the families of the landslide victims
and other Payatas residents. A year after the promises were made, the Payatas
beneficiaries continue to struggle finding more stable sources of income, as
the yearly stipend of P10,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) was released in four tranches that usually came late. In a
press conference, Jomer said the president failed to provide justice to the
landslide victims. (6) But seven years after the tragedy, the website of the
DSWD reported that the GMA scholars from Payatas are now finishing their studies
in private high schools. Jomer interestingly was not mentioned.

As for Mariannet’s case, the government’s
responses remain short-sighted and reflective of the way it understands and
handles poverty. Pres. Arroyo’s orders of expanding the alternative school
program in rural communities may take care of the transportation fare and other
school expenses of poor children like Mariannet. But a lot needs to be seen
like the actual funds going for this program, its feasibility for rural,
far-flung communities, and the quality of learning materials to be provided and
whether they can be affordable for poor families.

More importantly, it is hard to imagine how
education officials can implement this when the country’s education sector
remains mired in decades-old problems of lack of school facilities such as
classrooms and books. Such situation is rooted in the continuing state policy
of prioritizing debt over social services in the yearly budget allocation. From
1995 to 2006, the share of debt servicing in the budget of the Philippine
government has risen from 18% to 37%, while the budget for education has
dropped from 17% to 14 percent. In 2006, almost 87% of the state’s revenues
went for debt payments.

The country’s debt-dependent economy can
hardly deliver enough funds for the effective delivery of vital services to the
people, especially the marginalized sectors.

Worse, government agencies have been
“redefining” many of its economic indicators in an attempt to maintain the
country’s image and “competitiveness” to foreign investors. The daily per
capita poverty threshold, for example, has been set at P233 ($5) at the
national level early this year. This pales in comparison to IBON computation of
the cost of living or the amount needed by a family of six to live decently in
a day, which amounts to P560 ($13). The lowering of poverty figures was meant
to support the government’s argument that a wage hike is not warranted since
Filipinos can still afford to provide for their families’ basic needs everyday.
For many Filipinos of course this is almost far from reality. It also provides
substance to recent government pronouncements that they are winning the war
against poverty and that economic growth in the past months have been
“trickling down to the poor”.

Apparently, families like those of
Mariannet and Jomer are not feeling any trickle of blessing from the supposed
economic growth. In a country where the richest 20% of the population still
controls about 53% of the national wealth, and where hunger is a reality for two
out of three Filipinos, government press releases of GDP growth hardly matter.

In one angle of Mariannet’s story, her
father told authorities that the girl might have got upset when he couldn’t
give P100 needed for a school project. Whether the father’s statement was true
or not is beside the point. Behind skyscrapers or ritzy hotels are thousands of
poor Filipino communities who scrape every kind of livelihood possible to avoid
going hungry and homeless. For many Filipinos, having P100 in their pockets is
a big deal. Not having a single peso can mean hunger and death. And they don’t
even have to tie a nylon cord around their necks.

Like Mariannet, the Filipino society is
continually being raped by a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation. Overhauling
this cycle may require the victims to stand up, speak and confront the
violators.

i don’t think i’ve told this to any friend of mine, but i keep a list of all of my favorite songs at the present, like a personal countdown of mine.

i first made my list in 1999, and it continued until 2001 during my college days in UP Diliman. by graduation and when i began to work, i lost interest in making my lists
but after a friend of ours died in an accident in early 2005, i resumed this habit realizing that music is one of life’s gifts, and knowing how short our life is, it hit on me that small things that you like doing like listening to your favorite songs matter everytime because they give you the life.

so from March 2005 until present it has been my personal practice. used to be i do this monthly, but starting last year i began to do this weekly.

and now i’m sharing the latest in my list. my top 20 favorite songs for the week of December 5-11.

1. WORLD (Five for Fighting)
2. OVER YOU (Daughtry)
3. BACK INTO YOU (Amber Davis)
4. SOBER (Kelly Clarkson)
5. AWAKENING (Switchfoot)
6. YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL (The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus)
7. ONE MORE CHANCE (Piolo Pascual)
8. BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT (Mat Kearney)
9. BUBBLY (Colbey Caillat)
10. HOW FAR WE’VE COME (Matchbox 20)
11. DIRECTOR’S CUT (Kamikazee)
12. NO ONE (Alicia Keys)
13. MY EYES (Travis)
14. HEY THERE DELILAH (Plain White Ts)
15. IT MEANT NOTHING (Stereophonics)
16. HATE THAT I LOVE YOU (Rihanna feat. Ne-Yo)
17. SO PERFECT (M.Y.M.P.)
18. WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT (Robyn feat. Kleerup)
19. MILE IN THESE SHOES (Jennifer Lopez)
20. EXTRAORDINARY (Mandy Moore)

I so agree with what Inquirer columnist Isagani Cruz said in his Aug.26
column of how idiotic or stupid was the government’s decision to
"massacre" 18 brand-new motor vehicles last Aug. 16.

Our
government reasoned out that the luxury cars were smuggled therefore
should be smashed to teach smugglers a lesson. Our government reasoned
out that the signal effect of their move would outweight the loss in
revenues. Our government reasoned out that allowing the luxury cars to
be auctioned off would enable the smugglers to reclaim the cars through
dummy companies or front individuals.

But the point is, as Cruz
said, why should the cars be punished instead of the smugglers? After
all, where are the smugglers? Have they been apprehended? Or as many
people would think, are the big-time smugglers protected and coddled by
Malacañang itself?

Or that the smashing of the cars is only a
"show" intended to create the impression that the government is "doing"
something to stamp out smuggling in the country?

"The slaughter
of the vehicles was in effect a mindless substitute for the failure of
the customs authorities to strictly enforce the laws against smuggling"
Cruz said. I can’t agree more.

As the government itself
admitted, the country could have earned P30 million in auction proceeds
and P10 million in taxed had the luxury cars been allowed to "live".
Instead, it decided on an idiotic move that is intended only for
"photo-ops" and nothing else. I can already imagine the smugglers
grinning while watching the spectacle on TV, knowing that their illegal
business is still protected, and that deals are still being made and
ongoing transactions are still smoothly operated.

It’s almost as
foolish as the government’s refusal to support our local scientists and
their inventions. It’s all down to how much they will earn from
something.

Cruz mentioned, as with reports, that the more
expensive luxury cars were actually spared but the government was not
transparent of what it will do with these. On one hand, the government
is showing inconsistency and on another hand, it shows its ineptitude
in making sound decisions based on the national interest.

Smuggling,
in both its traditional and technical forms, continues to pervade in
the country because of the combined factors of bureaucratic and
corporate corruption, and trade liberalization that results in relaxed
Customs rules and less government regulation.

A government that
aggressively supports its local producers and implements laws
effectively naturally has no patience for smuggling in its own
backyard. Unfortunately, we do not have this kind of government.

i have decided recently that i am not a fan of Kris Aquino.

they say that you either love her or hate her. for a long time, hindi pa ako decided. on some things, i like her. but on many other things i just wanna smack her face off.

well, like many of us, i don’t like kris for her arrogance and sometimes lack of humility. and also her penchant for judging a person based on what he or she wears, what brand he or she likes, etc.

and of course, her kaartehan and obsession to be the center of attention and remain in the limelight. she is the epitome of the modern TV celebrity, a local pop icon similar to Paris Hilton in terms of her impact on Filipinos who prefer to spend their time more wisely.

on the other hand, i admire Kris for being taklesa sometimes. for being brave to say things she deem as right, and to put up a brave face amid tauntings and judgments from other people. i always like it when she nonchalantly says that she sleeps with her mouth open and drooling. yes, tulo laway sya matulog like me hehe.

and beside her showbizy remarks her and there, she has a good command of the English language and is intelligent, reads a lot, but does not put any effort to be a "know-it-all".

still, i’ve decided not to be a fan of hers. Kris as a celebrity i mean. she’s just too much. she represents TV’s excesses, and ABS-CBN’s arrogance and curious sense of morality.

besides that, i have no comment on Kris as a person, since i don’t know her personally. i guess the best part of her is when she knows how to shut up and listen, and acts that not everyone will bow down to her, that she is after all a single soul in a myriad of souls on earth, no different from anyone else.

funny…Mattel is showing its "corporate responsibility" by issuing warning to parents and kids about the hazardous materials put on its toys and other gadgets for kids being sold in its markets around the world.

im sure many have heard this news yesterday. i first saw it in TV Patrol then in CNN afterwards. the local news piece somehow tried to make it a balanced story by highlighting its impacts on viewers who might (despite the ongoing economic crisis) still be loyal consumers of Mattel toys. the piece includes an interview with a representative of Toys R’ Us who assures parents that the toys have been recalled. a clip was shown of the warehouse where the toys are presently stored, the local government undecided on what to do with it, since local laws state that they should be brought back to their country of origin, but the US manufacturer has yet to issue any guideline as whether the toys will be destroyed.

i could already imagine myself thinking of how to sneak into the warehouse and steal some of the toys if i were still a seven year-old kid today. never mine the dangers of "lead" content in the colors of Mr.Train or the small magnets that can choke toddlers and young kids to death. but that’s beside the point.

the toys were made in China, no surprise there. both the local news piece and the one done by CNN mention that almost 80% of all manufactured items - toys, clothes, shoes, food-processed stuff, furniture, etc - are made in China, what has been the country of paradise for TNCs salivating for less costs and more profits by subcontracting smaller manufacturing firms that offer the least wage possible for its workers, and the least regulation possible from the host country.

which brings me to my main point. the CNN piece was biased. it offered the usual sides, interviewing Mattel representatives, as well as a representative of US health inspection authorities, aside from a video clip of the Chinese company where the toys were made.

The CNN piece subtly relays the message that Mattel should be lauded for bringing into attention the dangers of its own toys rather than hushing it up, and that the blame largely lies on the Chinese manufacturer, who because of fierce competition had to imagine ways of production at the least possible cost, nevermine the materials used or its effects on consumers.

which is the main point of this issue. its not about China and its reportedly weak implementation of regulations on its own industries. its about the whole economy of TNCs dominating the world market and relying on subcontractors in Third World countries to produce its wares at the least possible costs.

Mattel surely is not the first TNC to experience "production lapses" in its goods. Surely TNCs are expected to know if its products made in countries with weak regulations still follow stringent rules that maintain the high quality and delivers on its promise to protect consumers.

But because of the lack of regulations on TNCs themselves, brought upon by free market economics and neoliberal policies, corporate responsibility continues to be a myth.

How can we expect TNCs to be responsible when these entities allow, condone, support and dictate that workers making its products in China, Philippines, Ecuador, India or any other Third world country remain in inhumane working conditions, with barely decent living wages and zero benefits?

If they can allow such injustice, then surely having hazardous products would not be a big deal. While some sectors can applaud Mattel’s decision to inform authorities and the public of its dangerously made toys, the same decision can also be taken as another sales pitch, using the logo of corporate responsibility and reverse pyschology to ensure its customers to stay with Mattel and ensure the company won’t be seeing red by the end of the year, what with the Christmas shopping season already in the corner. Mattel’s spin doctors have surely worked hard to employ a crafty yet risky strategy.

I mean, everybody knows Made in China products are not always of the best quality, yet here it is CNN reporting the fact as if it was just discovered with Mattel. it also goes to show that whatever economic miracle China is having right now, its not because of Adam Smith and the Washington Consensus, and it remains a shallow growth one that will surely blow up like a pink bubble precisely because of Adam Smith and the Washington Consensus.

China knows how to regulate. It just made the mistake of opening up fully its economy to foreign investors and their TNCs without further developing its economic backbone.

But the TNC-controlled global economy does not know how to regulate. For TNCs, regulation means less profits, and less profits means failure in an increasingly "competitive" landscape.

and because of this, things like hazardous Mattel toys and even Nokia batteries that overheat are occuring in the market. and surely we all know this is just the tip of the iceberg.

i think the age of the 3.5-inch floppy disk has ended.

its not that people won’t be buying diskettes anytime soon, its just that for office drones like most of us, it has become more convenient to use a flash disk (or have at least one) or exploit yahoo messenger to send files (from word to pagemaker to photos to powerpoint slides, etc), YM being the same yahoo service for office drones seeking small and quick online chat with friends amid toxic surroundings.

i even consider the flashdisk as the greatest invention since the computer and the cellphone. its just so small yet packs a lot. almost like david taking on a thousand of goliaths in documents, office stuff and even personal ones.

the only problem probably is that its slim and sleek, and can easily be lost by a person with no sense of organizing stuff inside his or her bag (like me) or tend to leave things, big or small, anywhere and forgets about it afterwards (like me).

nevertheless, such has been the benefits that we’re no longer captives of floppy disks that suddenly gets corrupted, or what may be called a sudden unnatural death.

of course for the well-off, every office task has been made easy by present technological implements from the all-around cellphone (almost like a computer in the shape of a phone) to the ever-convenient laptop, digital organizers and others.

but for the ordinary netizen, the flashdisk is enough. its almost like having a walk-in closet all at the size of a lighter.

TSK, TSK TSK. . . . .

May pwede bang magpaliwanag sa akin kung paano nangyari yun?

Nagsara na ang 13th Congress nang hindi man lang naipasa ang mahahalagang batas gaya ng Cheaper Medicines Act at Human Rights Compensation Act.

At may gana bang ipagmalaki ni Gloria ang mga kaalyado niya sa Kongreso para sa pagpapaunlad ng ekonomya?

Pinatunayan lang nila na walang kwenta ang Mababang Kapulungan.

Magkita-kita na lang ang lahat sa susunod na buwan para sa SONA. Kapal talaga ng mukha ni Gloria. Punta-punta pa sa Vatican. Malinaw naman ang diskontento ng mamamayan sa kanya, gaya ng resulta ng eleksyon noong Mayo. Wala nang kredibilidad, may gana  pang pumostura at suportahan ang mga tulad ni Pichay.

Isa pang makapal na mukha tong si Pichay. proud pa rin daw siya at pang-16 siya sa sa mga tumakbo para sa Senado. ikinumpara pa niya ang sarili kina Lincoln at Nixon na natalo sa eleksyon sa unang pagtakbo pero nagwagi bilang pangulo. so anong ibig sabihin nun? tatakbo siya ng pangulo sa 2010. as if, mananalo siya?

kadiri talaga mga pinuno natin. kaya tuwa ako na nakapasok si Trillanes, Escudero at Cayetano. at least may pag-asa ba. pero syempre wala pa rin sa kanila ang pagbabago kundi nasa atin.

The elections fever is still on and I was supposed to blog last Sunday to say something about this year’s elections, and about how everyone should exercise their right to vote and vote wisely, meaning vote based on conscience not entirely on popularity, and blah blah blah, but i got busy with other things (sleeping) so i just thought it wouldn’t matter. Most probably everyone in my network who voted last Monday already made up their minds weeks or even months ago about whom they vote.

COMELEC as expected is just beginning to count the votes (on its third day of official canvassing) and I was surprised that John Osmeña is 10th in its initial count (though its still less than 1% of official number of precints). It was still a surprise since Osmeña was nowhere near the winner’s circle in all surveys and exit polls, and only ranked no higher than #17 or #18 in NAMFREL and in the media quick counts.

But more surprising than this, though a pleasant one, is the fact that Trillanes is consistently in the Magic 12, if the NAMFREL and the media quick counts are to be believed. COMELEC tallies the rebel soldier at around 18th place (the same place Osmeña should have been). but i don’t think there had been a switch of votes here since they are both from the opposition and are ardent GMA critics. the difference just is Trillanes is "genuine opposition" while Osmeña is an opportunist who has remained loyal to Erap simply because he grabbed a slot in the G.O. coalition and Sotto and Oreta did not.

Speaking of the two turncoats, i’m so glad they’re nowhere near the winner’s circle, though Sotto might inch closer in the days ahead. but definitely for Oreta her supposed advocacies on early childhood education must be passed on to other senators instead, maybe Pia Cayetano might take that up in the last half of her term.

Nevertheless, i’m glad G.O. is leading Team Unity across all tallies. I expect it would be a 6-4-2 in favor of G.O., though i’m hoping it would be a 7-4-1 that would include Trillanes. hopefully Honasan won’t be elected because he has been a political turncoat himself, you cannot be sure about where he stands on issues and he tends to use his charm everytime he is cornered in a situation. definitely not the kind of leader i want.

Recto on the other hand seems to know where he stands, but i don’t want him elected again simply because he’s the author of the VAT law. but i don’t see him losing in this elections.

I think Recto and Zubiri will join Angara and Arroyo on the Senate slate, with Pangilinan and Honasan joining, and Legarda, Escudero, Lacson, Cayetano, Aquino and Villar taking the majority for the opposition. I think Pimentel will finish 13th and Trillanes 14th, with Defensor, Roco, Pichay and Sotto following suit in that order.

just my take. again, im hoping against hope Trillanes gets in. 

The Alangan Mangyans who live around Mt.Halcon in the island province of Mindoro believe that a person has two souls. An "abiyari" or a good soul and a "bukad" or a bad soul. Sort of like yin and yang, this piece of data from the NCIP got me interested.

What if the Mangyans were right? Imagine having Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde emanate from your body once you die, one going towards angels trumpeting the glory of God and the other one going down to the pits of hell, while jealous demons hit you with their forks.

Having two souls seem implausible for one raised in the tenets of the Roman Catholic church. But blame it on pop culture for us to have images of an angel and a devil on each of our shoulders whenever we have to make a decision, or are tempted by something. Though one can say this is a different thing since it refers to conscience, or the absence or presence of one, or the decision of whether to heed the angel’s call or the demon’s taunting, still it implies how everyone is vulnerable to both the good and the dark side.

More than this, i believe in the theory of tabularasa (i forgot the philosopher who said that), wherein basically every person is born with a blank mind and a conscience like a blank sheet of paper. It depends on how the person is raised and what environment he or she has grown up with that decides which way he will go.

No person can be purely and totally good, or purely and totally evil. The female lead character in Gulong ng Palad is simply a figment of imagination, an ideal imposed  on female viewers since no one can be that kind enough to forgive an equally unrealistic wicked person. (Interestingly, Kristine Hermosa fit well in that role in the ABS-CBN adaptation last year, since her mind seems to be a figment of imagination as well)

Going back to the Mangyan belief, it makes some sense to me. The soul is not something fixed you were born with, its something that develops from your actions. Its your essence that grows with you and changes color whenever you change.

So does this mean babies don’t have souls? For me they have souls that don’t die if ever their physical presence on earth is cut short. Babies, aborted, killed or died from illness, goes back to heaven only to be send again by God to another set of parents. I think there’s a Native American belief on that, that there is a place of silence somewhere in heaven where the spirits of babies unborn or persecuted by man or nature lie in the meantime until the next moment when his or her real mother will take him or her back to earth.

and when the person grows up, he or she has the the capacity to do both good and evil. again it depends on his or her upbringing.

and when the person dies, the soul goes to where the person’s actions qualify it for - heaven, hell or purgatory.

But if I were an Alangan Mangyan, then my two souls would be split, one would go to heaven and the other one would go to hell, since i’ve done both good and bad things in my life. I wonder how God would manage that.

wow it’s been a long while since i blogged. blogging for me is a cycle. sometimes im in it, sometimes im out of it.

lately ive realized how time can be the greatest bitch that our God created. before you knew it, you’re past your deadline at work. youve missed sending birthday greetings to your friends. and youve forgotten to send important emails, and to blog.

well the last one really i cant blame time for. youtube has replaced blogging for me.
i still dont have a youtube account, but ive been hooked on it for the past three months.

thanks to youtube, i can watch playback episodes of american idol. (thanks to destiny cable, i can only watch the show on abc-5)

thus, it was just this week that i decided to put videos in my profile page. among the first videos i posted is Jonathan Vardi’s created video for Regina Spektor’s Some Days.

Some Days is a sad song about leaving a relationship because you are not really feeling that moment anymore. Well, that’s the way i see it. Spektor’s lyrics are metaphorical and subject to varying interpretations.

which leads us to Vardi’s video. i think his video essentially captures the essence of a song. i like the somehow moving "paper-like" texture of the video (sorry for lack of better words, im not really a feature writer) and Vardi’s decision to use centaurs as a married couple, where the female centaur decides to leave his faithful but "boring" partner for the chance to be on her own, and decide on where she wants to go.

its a sad video for a sad song. nice to know im not exactly feeling this way at this point, hehehe