My Advice to the Graduating Class pt. 4

Then the second part of the advice goes like this, “…and do not do anything that will end your life.”
This advice covers the part that one should avoid things like suicide, drinking and driving and again doing drugs. This could include life threatening situations where you entangle yourself with some serious problems that would involve deaths and killings.

Though the advice covers these kinds of life situations, I also would like to emphasize more on the suicide side. This is because, time will come in life that problems will get the best of us. Our plans might no longer be possible that we just want to end it all, surrender to all the things that are negative. This can happen to anyone, even to the best of us.

So when I say that ,”… do not do anything that will end your life”… in a way I also mean that my students should not give up on their plans and dreams in life. Suicide is ending your life, ending your plans.
I do not want my students to give up. I do not want them to surrender or lose hope. I want them to keep on fighting.

I want them to always find new creative strategies to solve their problems so they can reach their dreams. I want them to know that problems always have solutions, it just being creative enough to look for new ways to solve it.

So that is it, that is my advice to our high school graduating students. For me, it is a good advice because it covers a lot of things and it deals with what they may encounter in their lives in the future. This advice may not even be heard, may not even be read. But I still feel that it is worth my time to write about it.

So again, to the fourth year graduating students, I say, ““Do not do anything that will ruin the plans of your life and do not do anything that will end your life.”

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My Advice to the Graduating Class pt. 3

So what is my advice then to the graduating class?

After all the ideas I had, after thinking about it a lot, I would choose this one. “Do not do anything that will ruin the plans of your life and do not do anything that will end your life.”

I chose this advice because it covers a lot of things, first of all, it tells the students that he or she should have a plan, a goal, a dream that he or she should follow. Having a plan in life is very important. People should focus on his/ her plans, stick with it and stop procrastinating or making excuses in fullfilling it. You can change your plans along the way or strategies but the fact is, having a plan is important.

This also means that anything that may destroy her or his plans, he/she should avoid it. This includes getting someone pregnant, getting pregnant or delving into drugs and many other disastrous things.

Such an advice is real because I have seen a lot of people’s dreams crumble because they got themselves pregnant or got someone pregnant. It becomes difficult for those people who are tackling those problems to continue with their dreams and plans of life because they will now have to prioritize their time and money in rearing a child and supporting a young family.

The advice though does not mean that one should not have sex or that one should get an abortion. That is another topic all together.

Delving into drugs is also a dream destroyer because what if you become addicted to it. Now that would mean everything in your life will then be going nowhere. You could go to rehabilitation for it, you could kill someone and get imprisoned, or whatever dangerous effects related to it. So drugs and pregnancy are a no-no.

A person, a fourth year student can have new and different experiences in college or in life but the caution here is that one should avoid the things that are hard to solve or hard to escape from. Stealing, drugs, getting someone pregnant are things that curtail responsibility and big consequences. It will not be an easy problem to just get away from.

If you want to try new experiences, there are a lot of things one can do. Travelling, learning a new talent, making a band, starting a new business, trying out fun but safe activities such as go-carting or going to zip-lines are just a few new things to try.

Small new problems that curtail no heavy consequences could mean failing an exam, failing a class, breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend or even shifting to another course.

So first part of the advice, “Do not do anything that will ruin the plans of your life…”

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My Advice to the Graduating Class pt. 2

Now, when it comes to the fourth year high school students, which has a different situation to college, I would offer a different advice. Again, I would like to remind the reader that all of this stuff is just in the realm of imagination; I am really not giving any speeches. I am no highly successful individual I am just an ordinary man.

When I was thinking about this, a lot of things came to mind which also means a lot of advices came to mind as well. One was that I could tell my students that they learn to appreciate art and support the local art and music scene. In a way, this was important but when it comes to talking about life, this was truly not a good advice. It was only applicable to art and not applicable to the many things they would encounter during college and after college.

Next was that, I also could tell them that they should live a creative life. But again, this could be misinterpreted because much of them will not be taking any art related course. Yes, I know creativity as we have said is not related to art but it could be misinterpreted and the advice could also be limited. I think if I would give this advice, I would make it sound this way, “Always be creative in solving your problems.”

But again, the same problem to the previous advices may arise because such an advice can be misinterpreted. This is because they might in a way try to solve their problems by creatively escaping it because I do believe problems are supposed to be faced head on and you just look for new strategies to solve it and not escape it.

Solving problems does not mean escaping it, blaming someone for it or not solving it and wait for it to go away which usually does not happen.

So in the end, I scrapped the idea of giving that advice.

So what is my advice then to the graduating class?

Due to the constraints of time and space, I will tell you all about it tomorrow.

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My Advice to the Graduating Class pt. 1

In a way, the possibility of me giving advice to fourth year high school students or any graduating class is nearly impossible. Usually such speeches are given to the High School Principal, the Adviser, the Dean or to any highly successful individual. But it was nice to think about it, I felt that I had something to say about it. So even if such a chance will never happen to me, I just wanted to write it down. It clears the mind anyway.
First of all, if this advice was for the graduating class of the fine arts students of U.P. Cebu, this would be the advice I would give which in a way was the advice we understood were given to us by our teachers when my batch graduated from college. It went like this.

No matter where you go, no matter what you do, continue to become an artist.

Such an advice meant that there will come a time that will not continue painting art and having exhibits. Especially in these trying times, the situation will come that we will no longer be visual artists. But it does not mean that we should stop being an artist. This is because we can still be artists, but have different mediums. We can still be graphic artists, be fashion designers, writers or musicians. It is a different medium but we are still out there creating and expressing ourselves.

Second, the advice also means that we continue to live a life of passion and always be creative. Passion and creativity are things not only limited to art. It can be related to business, teaching, sports, leadership and even living a life of advocacy. No matter where we would go, the advice meant that we should live a passionate and creative life.

So again, to the graduates of the Fine arts course of U.P. Cebu, I say ,“ no matter where you go, no matter what you do, continue to become an artist.”

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You Give Drawing a Bad Name

One of the things that I was very excited about to teach in high school was teaching kids about drawing. This was because I really believed that every high school kid wanted to learn how to draw. As I found out then and found out in a hard way, a lot of kids do not like to learn how to draw. I was wrong about it and a lot of them were scared to learn because of how grown-ups, adults or parents saw drawing.

The thing is, a lot of adults think learning how to draw is very difficult. They think that the skill of drawing is acquired through genetics. So if the parent thinks that he or she is bad at drawing, he or she concludes that her or his child will also be bad at it.

They also think that drawing is something magical. That only few can handle it. Artists or people who are skilled at drawing are something rare. For them learning how to play the guitar is more difficult than drawing. They place too much value; they place drawing on such a high pedestal or an ivory tower that when it comes to teaching it, these parents are not at all helpful; they give drawing a bad name.

The thing is, these old misconceptions about drawing have already been debunked long time ago due to the efforts of Betty Edwards and her theories about drawing from the right side of the brain. In this book, Betty Edwards shares that drawing is not about genetics or magic at all. Drawing can be learned by seeing things with the right side of the brain. Drawing like any skill can be learned and like everything else, anyone can be good at it with hard work and consistent practice. With such a breakthrough understanding of drawing, Betty Edwards revolutionized how we see drawing.

The lesson here is that any person, young or old can learn how to draw. He or she just needs to have the correct lessons and works hard for it.

The lesson here is that we must stop spreading such misconceptions that drawing is difficult to learn because it discourages kids to learn and be open to new ideas.

The lesson here is that if you do not know anything about drawing and share old opinions about it, you should shut up because clearly you are ignorant of the topic; you lack research which only means you have no right to share your opinions about drawing.

Stop giving it a bad name, will ya?

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25 + 1 Creativity Tips

Right now, I am teaching my fourth year high school students about creativity. Mostly I teach them about my personal experiences about creativity that is why I share it to them very spontaneously. Sometimes I get books to help me teach creativity to them. This is why from one book, from one source I got some tips in how to heighten your creativity.

This book shared its tips about being creative. Some examples of the 26 tips cover visiting inspirational places, practice “what-if-ing”, listening to classical music and doing things spontaneously. Other tips are admiring someone that is creative, being self confident, not watching television all the time and writing songs/poems.

I shared to my students 25 tips but originally in the book, there are 26 tips. And because the 26th tip for me, might be misunderstood I did not share it to my class.

The 26th tip was about having a rebellious streak.

Creativity for me is a very important lesson to teach but it is also very dangerous especially for young kids to get. This is because in order to have the consistent supply of being creative and having new ideas and concepts, it also means that one should always have new experiences and new experiences can mean different things to different people. It can be harmless such as trying out a new ice cream flavour as well as it can be scary as it can be meant that one should try out drugs.

It is double edged sword teaching about creativity and as a teacher I do not want my students to misinterpret me.

That is why, I could not share them the 26th tip, “having a rebellious streak” because, they could accept it as going against authority such as their parents and teachers. That is a very terrifying thought. And such an idea should not be planted in their minds for now.

But if I were to tell them about what it does mean to have a rebellious streak without making it dangerous, it could mean that instead of girls always sporting long hair why not try having a boy cut or with the boys, always wearing the guy colours like blue or green, why not try pink on for a change.

So again, as a teacher you always want the students to understood you properly and not get the wrong lessons. I just hope that in teaching them creativity I achieved that with them.

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Pacquaio vs. Donaire

I stated in my previous article that I did not want to see two great Filipino boxers slugging it out in the ring just to see who is better than them. That is why to see Pacquaio and Donaire fight is not a good idea for me.
But will I be forever closed to such a scenario in the future of two Filipino fighters trying to knock each other out? My answer is no, I am open to such a possibility but only and only if my conditions do happen in the future.

I am open to such an idea only and only if in the future, Filipino fighters are dominating the world boxing scene. This means that we would have a lot of Filipino champions and having champions would already seem normal to us.

The other countries would offer no competition against our home-grown fighters. It would be just like Mexico or America with their boxers before, we already expect our Pinoy boxers to win so as great that may seem it would no longer be news to us if a Pinoy boxer wins.

So if that does happen, if our boxers do dominate the boxing scene, it would mean that we need to know who will be the best boxer of their time. That would be the time that I would be open to seeing Filipinos fight against each other. This is because we have no choice, all the greats our coming from our country and for the sport to continue to go on and get its attention, we need to pit great fighters against each other; even if it means that the said fighters come from the same country—our country.

And if the great fighters come from our country then so be it. We have no choice. At that point, it would not even divide us. It would make us proud that we consistently develop great boxers. It would truly be great for us.

Will such a boxing future ever happen? Yes, it can. As long as there are young poor Filipino boxers out there who are inspired to be like their boxing idols right now. Then it is possible.

When will this happen? That I cannot answer. To consistently develop great boxers from our country year after year means that we need a time-proven system and funding, which also means that we expect our government system to do something about it, and when we talk about government action in the Philippines context, that usually translates to: hopeless.

Anyway, at least we can count on our country’s poverty to continue to breed and motivate young boxers to become great one day. And that my friends, is one positive way to look at poverty.

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Donaire vs. Pacquaio

If in the future, Manny Pacquaio remains at number 1 in the rankings for the boxing pound for pound and Nonito Donaire becomes number 2, would it be great to see these two fight against each other in the ring to determine who truly is the greatest among them?

As much as that scenario is very tempting to all boxing fans, as a Filipino I would not want it. For the simple reason that it is bad for the country to have two Filipinos battle it out. The reason might be corny but the bigger picture is we as Filipinos do not need it.

Yes, we all know, as of now that Pacquaio is the better fighter. Manny has the punch, the speed, the experience and the belts to prove that to us. But Manny is also getting older and may retire one day.
Donaire is good and can even be better. Donaire is still young and has enormous potential to be the best. But if he loses his focus, potential can just be easily wasted one day.

If in the future, these two fighters do meet, Donaire would be at his peak while Manny would be at his twilight. That fight would be unfair to Manny. So it should not happen.

If Donaire wants to be better than Manny Pacquiao, if Donaire in the future will be haunted by that question if who is better than the two, then he can beat Pacquaio by not beating him in the ring. He can do that in another way. He can do this by beating Manny’s record of having eight title belts in different divisions.

Yes, that is the only way he can prove to us that he is better than Manny. Donaire has the speed, the height at 5’7”, the power punch and the motivation to do that. If he gets eight to nine titles, then he proves to us that he is better than Manny.

If he does do that in the future, then it will be good for the morale of our country. It will unite us again just like Manny is doing now.

Seeing two Filipino fighters fight in one ring, it might sound good but to see it actually happen, but I don’t think it is a good idea. We should by all means avoid that.

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Nonito Donaire was Impressive

I almost forgot when this fight would happen. Good that I woke up early and turned on my television on that Sunday morning. I was supposed to be watching the NBA all stars but it was not on television. Good that I did not turn it off and just continued to channel surf and arrived on Channel 3, ABS-CBN.

This was an important fight for Nonito Donaire. He needed to prove to all his doubters that he was the heir-apparent to Manny Pacquiao. Donaire needed a big fight. Donaire needed this. And by knocking down Fernando Montiel, he proved to us that he is our next great champion and could even be better than Manny Pacquaio.

It was a great fight and it ended fast. I did not even expect it to end that fast. Nonito knocks down Montiel in the second round. Montiel, after being knocked down, had involuntary spasms that reminds me of a helpless baby crying. It was weird, but that is what happened. It was a really impressive punch from Donaire, a left hand punch that knocked down a then-undefeated Montiel and silenced all of Donaire’s doubters.

The question right now is no longer who the next Manny Pacquiao is because Doanire has already answered that for us. The question right now is, who is the next Nonito Donaire?

As of now, Donaire is ranked number 5 on the boxing pound for pound list. If he beats another fighter later this year, he could be ranked 2 while Manny Pacquiao, if he beats Mosley, would remain to be number 1. That would be great for our country, two Philippine Champions both at the top.

Donaire has a lot of potential and could be better than Pacquaio because he will continue to go up in weight and has the chance to beat Manny’s record. Donaire is still 28 years old; if he retires at 35 he still has seven years of great fighting. He now has three titles on him so he still can get six to seven more.

But even if he does not do that, having to witness two Filipino fighters continuing to be great right now is awesome. It is a great time to be a boxing fan and a great time to be a Filipino.

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Masteral of Fine Arts pt. 2

Another requirement in order to get in to the Masteral of Fine Arts is that you will be asked to propose a Master of Fine arts degree program of study in the UPCFA graduate program. Here, you will state in 500 words the objectives and outlines of your major field of study and the details of your program.

This means before you enter the masters, you already have a plan of action what you are going to do when you graduate because you are going to make a curriculum.

These three requirements alone are going to be tough. And as what my friend Intoy Corpin III remarked, “Di lang basta-basta” (This is not something easy or one should take lightly).

The thing is, the Masteral of Fine Arts is something serious. And the program wants the best of the best to enrol on their course. That is why it should be hard and tough to get in.

And it even becomes tougher because they are planning to increase tuition from 500 pesos per unit to 1,500 pesos per unit. Not counting your stay in Manila if you come from Cebu or from the other regions, you would need P100,000 to finish the course in two to three years. We are not even counting your expenses of your thesis, art materials and all.

So if you truly want to get into the Masters program, you better start early, start planning about it. Start being serious about your art by painting, joining art exhibits and art groups this early.

The good thing about it is that as I read the application form, they do not ask about your age which means they are open to both the young and old. They do not care how old you are; just as long as you pass the other requirements and you are set to go.

By the way, the answer on why there is no Masters program for the Fine Arts in Cebu is that a Masters program would need three graduates of the Masters to be able to teach here in Cebu. As of now, I think we just have one.

That’s it .Good luck.

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Masteral of Fine Arts pt. 1

Taking the Masteral of Fine Arts in Diliman was one of the goals we had when we were in college. We wanted to learn more about art, we wanted to be great artists one day and being a graduate of the Masteral of Fine Arts in U. P .Diliman was one way to reach those goals. Sadly, most of my batch mates did not take this course. It was too expensive for us to go to Diliman and take that course. So that is why, not just from my batch most of us did not pursue the masteral course and went each other’s ways.

These days, the one person I get to talk about the having plans to take the Masteral of Fine Arts is my good friend and band drummer, Intoy Corpin III. And because the both of us have few details about the course, it was one of my plans when I went to Manila to go to U.P. Diliman College of Fine Arts and inquire about the course.

So if you are right now taking the fine arts course and want to take the course in the future, keep on reading because I have some details to share about the Masteral of Fine Arts that might just help you in the long run.

First thing I have discovered about the course is it is not advisable that you take the course right after graduating from college. This is because you need to have two years of experience as a professional artist to get into the course.

Being a professional artist does not mean that you be an art teacher or graphic artist, though that would be an added plus, but as major requirement this does not necessarily count. So being a professional artist would mean that you need to have art exhibits, (solo or group exhibits) being active in art groups and also selling artworks. An added plus would be to win art competitions and be in a high ranking position in some art organization.

But again for the basics, having art exhibits and being in active in art groups is already fine.

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Pinoy Azkals as a Fad pt. 3

So as I end my three parts article, I hope that those who support the game right now especially to those who just discovered the game right now will learn more about the game.

Learn more about the rules and the history of the game, more specifically to learn more about the history, the problems and personalities about Philippine football.

Football is great game, a game that Filipinos can excel in. Height is not a requirement to play the game. Height is not an advantage to play the game. Only hard work, passion and skill are needed. Every old football fan or football players know this.

In Asia, football is becoming stronger and stable. Asia is even being predicted to be stronger than Africa in the future. We as Filipinos could be all part of this, if we do the right thing. Japan, China and South Korea are the powerhouses when it comes to Asian football. We could be one of those powerhouses if we do the right thing.

Doing the right thing for football will take time, it will need a stronger foundation. It might not even happen as quick as now. We have to start thinking, that if we truly want football to rise it wll take an attitude of getting married to it. That when it comes to football, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health we will still support it.

To support football is not like a fling, like a flavour of the month that when we get bored we will no longer support it. Again, we need to think about it as marriage. We need to get married to Philippine football so that in the future it will bear children, young players and young supporters, who will continue to love the game and bring it to the next level.

In richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, we need to say “ I do” and love Philippine football forever.

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Pinoy Azkals as a Fad pt. 2

Third proof for me that the Pinoy Azkals right now will no longer be a fad is when the corruption in the Philippine football organizations shall no longer exist.

This is very important because even if how much money the government or the private sector will give to football, if the money will go to corruption, it will be useless. Corruption will just devour all those sponsored money and no development will happen.

So if you want Philippine football to stay, corruption within its organization must be meted out. And we all know, when it comes to meting out corruption, it takes time and it is difficult.

The last proof for me that Philippine football is not a fad, is when the time comes that there will be a Philippine football professional league.

As a football player, I am very cautious about what is happening to the game. Yes I love what is happening right now, but as a football player I do not want a fad, I want stability for the game. And all my points, all my reasoning right now lead to that.

Having a professional football league is the highest a game can reach. Having a professional football league is the ultimate signal that a game like football is now stable and here to stay.

This point is very important, because this is what is being done to basketball. Football players in order to continue playing must be convinced that they can financially survive if they still continue to play football. They must be convinced that when they play, they only think about the game and not be worried about where to get their means of survival tomorrow or what if they get injured, will someone take care of them.
Philippine football players, if they are to give their best, must be focused and having a professional league will solve their future and survival worries.

This point is very important because I know a lot of great football players in high school that because we all knew back then that you cannot get money from football, or there is no future in football chose a different course in college or in life. They stopped playing and started just to be realistic and get regular jobs.
This point is very important. In order to encourage the young to play, in order to give hope to the game, in order to make the game stable. Football players must be convinced that in the future they will get paid to play the game. That their skills will convert to money in the long run.

In high school and college, young Pinoy football players play for the passion of playing the game. But passion alone does not make you survive after college. It cannot support a family or buy you the needs of life. That is why, if we truly want to support Philippine football players, we need to erect a Philippine professional football league.

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Pinoy Azkals as a Fad pt. 1

In my first article about the Pinoy Azkals, someone commented about that we can no longer treat the Azkal’s rise to fame now as a fad. I had my reply on this one and I would like to write that one down again and add more ideas to the topic.

As I said on my comment, I still cannot say that the rise of the Pinoy Azkals and Philippine football is no longer a fad, this is because it is too early to say that. This is because fads usually take time to fade away just like Bisrock or some top 1 pop hit song. Sometimes fads get more or less 1 to 2 years of fame then they lose our attention.

And for Philippine football, this could all be a fad right now, a flavour of the month thing.

The thing is there are requirements I need to see before I believe or be convinced that what is happening right now to Philippine football is not a fad.

One, is that people, will still continue to support the game after five to ten years. That means, it has surpassed the time limit for it being fad. Even if it is no longer cool to support football, a lot of people will still support it then that would be a good sign.

Second proof that is not a fad is the situation that what if, the Pinoy Azkals will lose and continue to lose, will we as a nation still support them? We all know this, Filipinos love winners. Manny Pacquiao, Efren “Bata” Reyes got their attention when they won but when they lose will we still support them?

A lot of us do this. Rey “Boom-boom” Bautista was very highly regarded as a future boxing champ when he continued to knock his opponents out and remain undefeated. But when the time came that he lost, we shifted our attention to someone else or supported the boxer that we knew that would sure to win, that is Manny Pacquiao.

So this could happen to the Pinoy Azkals now. Think about it. Ask yourself this question. Will you still support the Azkals if they lose? Will you support them if they continue to lose and lose again?

Winning is cool, losing sucks. When the time comes when it will no longer be cool to support the Pinoy Azkals, when the time comes that the Pinoy Azkals suck, will you still support them?

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U.P. Diliman

One of the things I was looking forward for my Manila trip was going to U.P. Diliman. As a UPian, I think it is imperative for me to go there in order to pay my respects to the university that started it all. Going there is like a collegiate pilgrimage of some sort and U. P. Diliman is the Mecca for UPians. Also, visiting U.P. Diliman was some of the things I missed out in college.

A lot of my college friends back then even took summer classes at U.P. Diliman so they could have a one month experience on what it is like to be in U.P. Diliman. I missed out on that one.

Although I have already visited Diliman before during semestral breaks and other vacations, I did not get to visit the place during school days where I would get the chance to see U.P. students and their art museums. I also did not get to visit it back then with a camera.

So this time, with my wife and a camera I made sure the visit would truly be worthwhile. So I made sure that we visit the Vargas Museum and the College of Fine Arts, as well as the the U.P. Oblation and the Sunken garden. We also bought some U.P .souvenirs along the way.

I even wanted to stay longer so I could see some football players practicing at the Sunken garden but because of fear of the Manila traffic I cancelled that plan.

Another reason why I wanted to visit U.P. Diliman is because one of my paintings from my first exhibit is hanging on the walls of the office of the U.P. Student Regent. I gave that painting to a friend of mine, Hannah Serrana, who became a U. P. Student Regent and brought it from Cebu to Diliman.

The painting is still there and it was a nice feeling to have my picture taken with it and also for my wife to be able to see one of my paintings in the flesh.

The painting for me was very memorable for it was my first artwork for my exhibit, it was my first artwork coming out from an artist’s block during college, so it was nice to see it again.

So as I end, my trip to U.P. Diliman rekindled a lot of things for me, especially about pursuing a life of a professional artist.

I just hope that I do not waste the experiences from this U.P. Diliman trip and start making Art again.

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My Sister is now A Sister

As I mentioned, my trip to Manila was not just a vacation, it was about my sister taking her vows to become a nun. For if it was just a vacation, I would not have made the trip and miss out on our schools sports fest, especially not missing out on the exhibition football game where teachers battle it out against the students varsity.

But because it was for a special reason, I had to leave that all behind for my sister’s special day.

Though I know what it is like to be living a religious life (even in a little way), in a way, I don’t agree that much on the decision why my sister wanted to be a sister.

Yes, I know she had a calling and all to be God’s servant. She needs to live in poverty, celibacy and obedience. But my sister had promise to become a high ranking nurse in the hospital she used to work for. Money and respect would have come with that. But yeah, material things are not enough to make us live. And maybe that was what it was about, so I understand and respect that.

Seeing my sister doing her vows, always smiling while the other sisters were not even smiling made me feel that my sister was very happy now. She was even the one who made the “Thank You” speech which kind of makes it look like she was the Valedictorian of her batch, and that made me feel proud.

Such a situation with my sister made me remind of a friend of mine who was hooked on drugs in his high school life and when he went to rehabilitation became a born again Christian pastor – something which is different to a lot of us.

The thing is, there are a lot of things that I do not truly agree on about my friends and relatives and how they live their lives. But as long as they are happy about it, as long as they were not forced to do something against their will and it gives them a reason and purpose to live, then I am up for it.

I think that is what family and friends are for, we support and accept each other even if we sometimes do not agree with how they live their lives.

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Metro Manila vs. Cebu City

My trip to Manila was in a way different because it is not just that it has been a long time since I was in Manila, it was also the first time I went there with my wife and that made the experience special.

I love going back to Manila, this is because they have a lot of things to visit there. They have their art galleries and cultural structures that can really inspire passion and make you value history. They also have their music bars that feature a lot of Pinoy rock bands that remind you that most of the great artists now are not seen on television or heard on the radio.

It is a good thing to know that bands like The Jerks and Razorback are still rocking out in ones of these bars in Manila. It kind of says to you, that as long as there are fans and a venue, no one is too old to rock and roll.

I love Manila because of the schools as well. U.P. Diliman is there as well as Ateneo, La Salle and UST. I also love Manila for their trains and buildings. It is just a different skyline out there in Manila.

But the most I love about Manila because it reminds me of Cebu. The way these two cities are so different. Manila, is just so big while Cebu is just small. Manila is just so cold with all its buildings. There aren’t that many trees and plants out there in Manila. With Cebu, it just feels homey. Yes, we have our buildings but we also have our trees beside our buildings. And add the nearby beaches, then that just makes it great.

Then when you come to Manila there is also that creeping feeling that Cebu might in the future be another Manila. That would mean, Cebu City would inherit the smog, the sewer problems and the traffic. That future might even be closer now than before with all the condominiums rising now which means more people with cars living in the city. That future might even be much closer now especially the little Ondoy-esque floods at Mandaue and A.S. Fortuna giving us a little taste of what is to come.

So as I come back to Cebu, I hope our Mayors do solve the sewer problems for real. I do hope that with the rise of the condominiums they also anticipate the traffic problem that will come with it.

And especially for us artists, I also hope that one day Cebu City will have a lot of art galleries and a stable art scene. I also hope that rock bars will sprung up and help stabilize the music scene and not just be a boom and fade away music scene because there is a new fad coming out.

I love Manila because it reminds me of Cebu. I love Cebu because the city is some kind of an underdog. There are a lot of great people here who do not get the recognition they truly deserve.

Bottom line, Manila is a great city where as Cebuanos, we can learn their mistakes and avoid it especially when it comes to urban planning. Bottom line is, Manila is a great place to visit, but a true blue Cebuano would not want to live there.

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Fr. Rey Garcia and the Seminary Life

I went to Manila last week to attend my sister’s vows for sisterhood, which I found to be an inspiring moment for me: being in a convent reminded of my days on the seminary.

Convents and seminaries are all similar in a way. They have their schedules, their rules, their discipline and their camaraderie. And the camaraderie with my fellow seminarians back then was one of the things I really miss most.

I sometimes even tell myself that I did not have a high school life, I had a seminary life.

It was a formative time of my life. I learned a lot of basics in sports such as soccer, volleyball and basketball as well as learning about music like playing the guitar and the keyboards. I too learned a lot of values, self discipline and organization. These were strong values that truly prepared me during my college life and after.

It was a formative time in my life and it was made easier because of my fellow aspirants such as Ondo Villordon, Butch Reyes, Arnel Salacao, Jojo Villacorta, Jv Lee, Omar Socias, Richard Entera, Mark Mesina, Lawrence Lozada, Ryan Navarro, Raymund Garcia, Nandi Vicoy, Ian Cabellon and many other guys that helped during those times. And of course, the seminary experience would never be the same to the priest who comes close to a father figure for me, Fr. Rey Garcia.

Fr. Rey was a great mentor; he truly thought us a lot and really cared for us. He was very strict, but he was strict for the right reasons. I miss the guy and hope someday I would have the chance to see and talk to him again.

That is why when I was looking at my sister and she was very happy with her life always smiling and all, it was the camaraderie and the lessons I learned and felt back then that I truly remembered when I saw my sister.

A surreal thought even passed me by that I could one day go back to the seminary and pursue priesthood. But I told myself that would be impossible because first of all I am already married and second, even though I would love to go back because of the companionship and all, the priesthood and seminary life is not just that. There are religious beliefs and principles involved that as of know I am not fully ready to commit and believe any longer.

So everything is on the past now. We move on and we live our lives but if I had to do it all over again, I would still want to be a high school seminarian. I would not be the man I am now without it.

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College Sweethearts

The topic here is most likely a continuation of my last week’s Friday article.

So, if I say that the standards change, does this mean that all students now especially in college who have special relationships will break up? Not necessarily.

As all relationships, those who survive are the ones that have a strong foundation of why they got together. Of course, stuff like I got a crush on him because he was a star player, the president of the organization or in a band are okay. These kinds of reasons maybe superficial but they are the characteristics that get our attention.

But, such characteristics are temporary, they change so this means that students who are in a relationship must make their relationship much deeper by focusing on the foundation of making a strong relationship. These can be like: do the both of you mesh together or communicate well, or do your negatives attitudes outweigh the positive attitudes and so on and so forth.

Again, superficial characteristics, though not strong reasons to be in a relationship, are still important because they are the ones that get attention but you still need to work on building a stronger foundation for your relationship.

Another way in order to stay as sweethearts after college is to talk about your future. This can be done by planning your future realistically and when he or she has a very unrealistic plan that may be a signal that you won’t last long after college. This is especially true when the plan has no plan B.

Then also talk about the reality that the standards, the basis of you liking someone changes. Because when you start talking about it, you start facing reality and realizing that being in love is not forever. And you can also realize that your basis of your liking each other is very temporary, it changes. If one can fall in love, one can also fall out of love.

So to students who really want to be in a relationship now, especially kids in college, think of where your relationship is going and if you like what you see, then start working on building a strong relationship.

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Odom and Emma: High School Sweet Hearts?

As usual, when it comes to high school there will always be puppy love going around. And this is normal, kids always want to grow up fast and one thing to show that they have grown up is to have relationships with the other sex. Little do they know that such things do not normally last. As far as I know, it is mostly impossible to sustain a relationship from high school to college and after it.

Things just do not last because along the way people and the standards change. For example, when in high school you got a crush on someone because he or she was the star player on the high school varsity team. But when he/she goes to college, he/she may no longer be the star player…will you still love him? Or her? Same goes with college, what if he or she was the president of your organization, that was the basis why you liked her but then after college, his or her leadership skills cannot produce a high paying job, will you still love him or her?

If you still have a hard time understanding this concept, try watching the Wedding Singer, where Adam Sandler’s (character) girlfriend liked him because he was the singer of the band but when it comes to a job after college, he was only a wedding singer. Dreams of rock and roll stardom died, so Adam Sandler and his girlfriend changed. And this could happen to all high school and college students too.

But of course, because high school and college sweethearts usually are in their love bubbles, they don’t listen to you when you start warning them about this. They might even hate you for it or accuse you of meddling with their lives or what. So they just go on, and continue to be inside their love bubbles.

With such concepts in mind, this does not mean that when I hear a high school student liking someone I will not support him or her. In a way, yes, if that high school student truly does have feelings for someone even if they don’t truly understand those feelings then go on, court your crush. As long as you don’t disobey your parents or it lowers your grades, fine.

But if it were up to me, especially when I see two students that are compatible meaning that in a very small standard, like they just look cute together, I would not advise that they be in a special relationship. It is because again, when their relationships pass high school, college and after, it may not be able to survive. So they will just break up in the end.

The good thing would be to just be friends for now, get to college and stay as friends, meet other people then maybe around the last school year they could be in a special relationship.

But because these kids are still in high school, they won’t even plan that far, for that long ahead. So again, even if will I say I told you so in the future , they are still going to go for it. That is just part of growing up. Kids.

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The Return of Glam Metal?

 

N.M. Cabangbang

 

I was scared of this.

You see, the band The Darkness came to the scene and shock a lot of us all. It was a shocker because they were a band that considered themselves as a Glam metal band, a 1980s genre that had its better days a long time ago. A genre, that most of rock historians and fans disliked because of its emphasis on image rather than the music. The genre had its greats, such as Def Leppard and Bon Jovi. But because a lot of the bands under the genre were crap, the negatives outweighed the positives.

So, that was then and this is now. The Darkness shocked the music scene claiming to be Glam metal, now what? Fortunately, things were okay and the paranoia we all felt subsided. The Darkness turned out to be a respectable Glam metal band. They were more of the Queen and not like Motley Crue. The vocals, the guitars and their songs reminded us of the best days of Glam and not the other way around. So it was fine. Every rock historian’s paranoia about Glam metal coming back subsided. Everything was fine.

But something hidden lurked along the sidelines. Something was up. You could just smell it, if you had the nose for it. Glam metal bands such as Poison and Motley Crue started to resurrect their careers by releasing new albums. Bon Jovi and Def Leppard also continued to make new albums as well. On top of that, former Guns n’ Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan formed the supergroup Velvet Revolver, a band that sounded like Gun’s n Roses but without the drama of Axl Rose. Then just when you thought Velvet Revolver could not be topped, Guns n’ Roses, where the only original member on board is Axl Rose, also released a new album, Chinese Democracy.

But thank God, even with every newly released Glam metal albums coming out, Glam metal’s better days as a music genre are truly over. The Darkness disbanded, Velvet Revolver’s original vocalist walked out of the band or was fired and Axl Rose’ Guns n’ Roses’ new album, Chinese Democracy bombed. Only Bon Jovi continues to get recognition as a rock band.

Right now, Glam Metal is just really a music genre that is part of the past and not the present. Yes, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard may continue to perform and release albums, but no more of the million dollar sales and top ten hits. Steel Panther, a newly formed band from Los Angeles, California that parodies Glam metal is just that, a reminder of the worst and funny side of Glam. It can never be taken seriously or it will never get the attention it has now. Steel Panther is like Weird Al Yankovich, we all like them for the comedy they bring. But if they start taking their music seriously then they would not be different from every body else.

So rock historians can all breathe a sigh of relief now. Glam metal is not returning. And for the die hard fans of the genre, listening to old albums of Poison, Guns n’ Roses or Skid Row is just enough to remind us of the glory days of Glam. No new Glam metal band can ever replace that.

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Worried About Nonito

N.M. Cabangbang

Last  Friday was Bubble Gang’s anniversary special. I had a fun time watching the show. Part of the show was interviewing celebrities to congratulate the show for their success, one of the celebrities who were interviewed was Nonito Donaire Jr. Aside from congratulating Bubble Gang, Nonito  also begged on air that he wanted to  become a guest for the gag show one day so that people will find out how funny the guy is. That is so good news to us all Filipinos, another Filipino boxer who wants to turn comedian.

Well, we all know that Nonito Donaire, Jr.  is very popular now and he could very well be a guest for Bubble gang  one day. But there is a need to be cautious about this. First of all, right now Donaire is already part of another GMA-7 show, “Celebrity Duets” where the man is displaying to us all his singing talent.  Then I think aside from that, he also has guestings  on other GMA-7 shows. So the man is busy alright but not busy about boxing, and these worries a lot of boxing fans.

First of all, we have to remember that Donaire got into the limelight because he is a boxing champion and not as a singer or a comedian. The guy is a good boxer and his height of 5 ft 7 could make him another Pacquiao where he could go up in weight and win multiple champions in different divisions. Right now the guy is better than Pacquio on two counts. First of all he speaks way better the English language compared to Pacquiao. This is because he  grew up in the U.S.  Then second of all, the man has got a more  good looking wife compared to Pacquiao.  We all have seen Jinkee Pacquiao right? Now have you seen Rachel Marcial, Donaire’s wife? That woman is hot, she is even an FHM babe. And the possibility of Jinkee Pacquiao being on FHM is like the possibility of Manny Pacquiao fighting for the boxing heavyweight title. So on those  two counts, Donaire has the advantage over Pacquiao. But such an advantage is really nothing if he does not win like Pacquiao.

And Donaire if he loses focus because of all the diversions from the tempting lights of showbiz, then he will not be able to win like Pacquiao.  Just like Donaire, Pacquaio has a lot of diversions. Diversions such as gambling, women, acting and politics that could ruin his boxing career. Personally, I don’t like Pacqiuao’s diversions but as boxing fan I don’t care as long as he wins. And time and time again, Pacquiao has won. Pacquiao knows that it is boxing that has made him big. And if he starts losing, sponsorships, celebrities and fans will forget him and start looking for another boxing champ. Nobody loves a loser, everybody loves a winner.
Pacquiao knows this, that is why when it is game time, Pacquiao starts putting that game face on. No more diversions, it is time to train, it is time to win.

Donaire should learn this from Pacquio, that it is boxing that makes him popular and not his other talents or gigs. His talents are just a consolation prize to him. His other talents are what gives him more dimensions to make him more interesting but fans love him for the boxing first, other talents second. So I hope he does not lose focus. We need another Filipino boxing champ, not another  boxer  turning into a comedian. The Filipinos need another Manny Pacquiao, not another Onyok Velasco.

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Rooting for the Underdog

N.M. Cabangbang

The 2009-2010 NBA season is going to start soon. I have already been reading a lot of predictions of who is going to win it, and a lot of analysts say it is going to be Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers again. I just hope not.

I do not care what the world says, I have never been a fan of Kobe Bryant. I am just tired of the fact that a lot people hype him up or compare him to Michael Jordan. I am so tired of that, there will never be a next Michael Jordan and Kobe will never be like Mike.

Kobe won his first three champions with the help of Shaquille O’neal. Then he won his new championship because the Orlando Magic was too young and nervous during the NBA finals. The guy is really not that great. The only thing great about him is the hype. He is a great player alright but when people start comparing him to Jordan, that is another thing. People should just get over it. He will never be Michael, he can only be Kobe.

Another thing I dislike about Kobe is that, he is right now the NBA’s symbol of a superstar. And when that happens, a lot of young kids think that superstars can win basketball games on their own. Basketball, like a lot of sports is about teamwork, not about superstars. And if Kobe Bryant continues to win, a lot of young kids will continue to believe that you do not need teamwork to win, you only need to be a superstar. So this NBA culture about NBA superstars is a bad influence to young kids.

So if I am not rooting for the Lakers, whom am I rooting for? Right now, I really like the Orlando Magic to win because I want Vince Carter and coach Van Gundy to finally win a championship. I just want this team to win because Vince Carter and Van Gundy have never won it. It would also be great for the city of Orlando. But a lot of analysts say that the Orlando Magic has no chance this coming season. So for the fear of Kobe winning again, I also have to root for the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs for insurance. (In fact, I would even welcome any team to win just as long it is not the Lakers.) Both the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs play good defense and teamwork, these two teams are good examples to kids. That is why I hope they win.

Yeah, I know winning championships is not about being a good example or about sympathy votes, it is not about the good teams nor the good players. It is about the great teams and the great players. And that has always been true along the way but it has never stopped me from hoping that maybe unselfish players such as Steve Nash, Yao Ming, and Grant Hill will someday hoist the Larry O’ Brien trophy. That is why when the Chicago Bulls played against the Utah Jazz, I wanted Karl Malone and John Stockton to win. That is why when Los Angeles Lakers was up against the Indiana Pacers, I wanted Reggie Miller and company to win. That is why when Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat)and Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics) finally won an NBA championship, it lifted my spirits up.

I always have been rooting for the underdog to win. I want everybody to win because a lot of people are happy when they win. Winning is such a great feeling. Maybe watching too much Rocky films has made me into this. Maybe being a Filipino in a country such as ours made me into this. Maybe it’s because a lot of us are underdogs. We all love those “rags to riches” or FPJ movie storylines. We all want to see those inspiring movies come to life. And sometimes these stories do come true. It happened when The Detroit Pistons won against the Los Angeles Lakers with no superstars, just role players. It happened with teamwork and defense of the Celtics’ in 2008.

So I hope it happens this NBA season, we all need the inspiration. Go Orlando! Go Spurs! Go Boston!

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NU107 Cebu is Back!

N.M. Cabangbang

To all of you who still do not know this great rock and roll news, let me be the one to tell you about it. NU107 Cebu is back. Back as in, it is in Cebu with Cebuano DJs and all. So it is not NU Manila airing the show to Cebu, it is purely Cebuanos with Cebuano people handling the station on its second stint in the queen city of the south. Now that is truly good news.

Because of such good news, I have been looking at Internet forums about this so to know people’s reaction about it. One of the major Internet forum right now in Cebu is Istorya.net. As I was lurking through the forum, I happened to read a person’s suggestion on how to manage NU107 Cebu especially in regards radio station’s playlists. This guy on the forum suggested that NU107 Cebu should play more foreign genres. Now this guy was blurting a lot of foreign music genres that were unknown to me. And NU107 Cebu could even be open to play such music. I have forgotten what genres he was talking about, but all I remember this was the first time I have heard about it.

The playing of unknown foreign genres as long as they are rock music may find its way to the playlists of NU107 Cebu, because this is what the station is most about. It does not cater to pop music. It caters to rock music and all of its sub genres. People may even find it cool that NU107 Cebu is doing this. But, there has to be limits and there also has to be priorities.

You see, the way I see it, NU107 Cebu becomes different from other NU107′s of other regions when they prioritize to play Cebu’s rock music. Cebu’s rock music is not necessarily “Bisrock” because Cebu has a lot to offer other than that genre. Right now, other Cebu music genre’s that are alive and well are the punk, metal, reggae, protest music and others. A lot of these genres never get the airplay they deserve and if NU107 could prioritize their music then that will truly give the Cebu music scene a boost. It will truly make NU107 Cebu different from the other radio stations in Cebu and in the whole country itself.

And I am not just talking here about featuring one Cebuano band a week. It has to be more than that. If possible, the radio station could play Cebu’s rock music every thirty minutes or every hour. Then the songs they feature could be music from three bands and not just one.

They could also play Cebu’s rock music that are spoken on different languages. This is where “Bisrock” comes in. It is okay to play “Bisrock” as long as it represents the best from the genre and not like a novelty song. Missing Filemon stands as one of the best of “Bisrock.” Then a Cebuano rock music that is sang in Tagalog has to be accepted too. Bands such as Kadangyan and Sugbuwanun which represent the Neo-tribal genre of Cebu are sung in Tagalog. Protest music from bands such as Class Struggle and Paltik also sing their songs in Tagalog. So NU107 Cebu has to play such genres too in order to show the world that Cebu is just not about Bisrock and Emo. NU107 Cebu has to give the different genres a chance, it has to cater to all of Cebu’s rock bands interest, and that is to get airplay.

The only rule to be followed here is quality. This means the music coming from the different genres that has to be the best representative from the specific genre and the music should be at a quality that is ready for radio station airplay.

The thing here is that it would really be great for NU107 to open us up to different foreign genres. But the more important mission here is to give Cebu bands a chance to play their own material. We may complain that there are many lousy Cebuano bands and lousy Cebuano music out there. That is why, it is important that quality is the first rule. Implementing this quality rule is the job of the radio station.

Let the best bands of Cebu regardless of genre and connection bloom, and let the lousy bands of Cebu regardless of genre and connection wither out and die. Rock and roll!

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How Will TV5 Counter?

N.M. Cabangbang

As I have said before, TV5 is slowly joining the network wars with its new shows and comedy format. One of their top rated show is “Talentadong Pinoy.” And because of this, GMA and ABS-CBN has countered with new shows that follow or innovate the “Talentadong Pinoy” format. GMA has “Extreme Pinoy Talent” and “Bitoy’s Showwwtime.” Then ABS-CBN has “Showtime” and the up and coming “Pinoy’s Got Talent.” Now, we all have seen GMA and ABS-CBN moves to counter the rise of TV5. Now the question is, how will TV5 react to such counter actions from these two huge stations?

Now TV5’s next move seems difficult, because we all know that these huge TV stations act like they are the only stations in the country. They do not even mention the names of other stations, and only call them as “ang kabila”. And by doing this, they will act like they are the only talent show in the country that has such a format and will absorb the audiences and contestants of TV5. And we all know these have stations have the capacity to do this.

But we also need to know what the capacity of TV5 is. The copying of show formats is nothing new to this country. ABS-CBN once copied the TV5’s “Shall We Dance ” format with “U can Dance” that had Iya Villania and Derek Ramsay as host. “U Can Dance” was cancelled, and ” Shall We Dance” continues to be strong today. Another example to this was ABS-CBN’s copying of “Nuts Entertainment”, this was “Yes, Yes Show!”. This endeavor was also another failure for ABS-CBN because this show got cancelled too.

Then ABS-CBN is not the only guilty party here, GMA does this too. The most present move for  GMA is to be seen with their new show  “BandaOke: Rock N’ Roll to Millions” which is a format that is followed from ABS-CBN’s  ”The Singing Bee.” Though “The Singing Bee’s”  format was a copy or an innovation to  ”All-Star K” The 1 Million Videoke Challenge”. Then “Wow Mali’s” format has also been copied before too with GMA’s “Bitoy’s Funniest Videos” but still “Wow Mali continues to get its deserved ratings.

So all of these proves that TV5 with its top rating shows can survive against its station rivals. The question just remains for how long can it do this and what new shows will it come up next to gain closer to the high ratings of GMA and ABS-CBN.

By the way, I would just like to point out that Talentadong Pinoy’s format is a copy of “Britain’s Got Talent” and “Wow Mali” is a copy to a lot of foreign gag shows. So which only means that all of our television stations and the whole film industry are guilty of copying other show formats or simply innovating them. That is just the way it is.

This copying of foreign shows and making them Filipino will also give us clues to what can TV5 can do next. They may start looking for foreign shows past or present, that has still not been introduced to the Philippine audience and then convert it into a show that will suit the Filipino taste. Or they can also make a truly original show, which I doubt they will do. So if you are knowledgeable of such foreign shows then you may be able to know how TV5 will counter. Good luck to TV5 then.

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Pop Stars should be Banned too

N.M. Cabangbang

I was on a meeting with a bunch of college friends for our plans to rebuild the U.P. FASO United team when the joke was introduced. My friend, Tianos Makabenta started talking about the student massacres of America where the t-shirts that were worn by the culprits had the bands Rammstein and Marilyn Manson printed on them. It was Jethro Estimo who then said that it would have been different if the student-killers would have worn Taylor Swift shirts. Then Tianos butted in and asked if the same reaction would be garnered hd the culprits chosen to wear Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus shirts. We all then started exchanging jokes and laughed about it. If such a concept would have been true, it would have really been different. Even to the point of banning pop singers and all. That would have been fun. No more radio airplay and music videos for these pop clowns. Now, indie musicians would truly reap the benefits if we ban all our pop stars.

But if you really come to think of it, pop stars such as Miley Cyrus, Paris Hilton, or Lindsay Lohan are a negative influence kids these to days. Their influence is just considered to be not that shocking, compared to the cultural “shock standard” we have these days. But the harrowing truth is that these pubescent starlets DO influence the young in terms of sex and drugs. How? We’ll get deeper into that matter in the succeeding paragraphs. My point? The joke about banning pop stars have clout and is truly possible.

Pop stars influence a lot of kids on what to wear, what to think about different issues, how to act and all. Just for example Miley Cyrus, she was 14 years old and she has already posed topless for Vanity Fair magazine. Now what message could that possibly tell the young kids of today, that it is alright to pose nude? What if some young kid wants to take it to the next level and post such pictures on the Internet (which I think is already happening). What if these kids would say, they were influenced by Miley Cyrus? Would radio, Hollywood, MTV ban Miley Cyrus and risk losing all the millions of dollars she rakes in?

Now another thing about these pop stars is seen with the songs they make. Just take a closer look about the themes of the songs these young pop stars make. They all talk about sex, they all talk about love (or the confusion of both), they all talk about fashion and parties. Are these all what they want our young kids to think about? What about issues such as climate change, government corruption, and America’s irresponsible war on terror? Do these issues do not matter to young kids today?

We look around and blame a lot of things why there are many cases of unplanned pregnancy, of abortion, and of rape. But we never point out how these pop stars with their pop songs influence us. The influence of pop music may not be that shocking as students killing each other but pop is very subtle and influences more kids in ways that rock and rap music can only dream about.

I am not saying that rock or rap music is right to sing about violence and sex because all irresponsible musicians irregardless of form or image should share the blame too. But if you want to blame and ban rock or rap music for their songs then let us also lose the double standard. We should also blame and ban pop music for its role too.

Now are we ready to do this? Again, at the risk of losing millions? No way.

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Imperial Manila will Never Allow It pt. 1

N.M. Cabangbang

The truth about the matter is, ABS-CBN and GMA are both number 1 when it comes to the television ratings. Yes, this is true. Because, in the Luzon and Metro Manila area, GMA receives the highest ratings while ABS-CBN has the higher ratings when it comes to the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

This is why, GMA in order to change it ratings in the south, started to spend more money to change the southern viewers’ taste. This is very clear here in Cebu. When the telenovela Rosalinda began to air on primetime, its stars visited Cebu. This is also what happened with their other shows, the stars of specific shows also visited our shores. They also have hosted a contest that the Manila viewers are not apart of. Billboard advertisements about GMA shows are also placed in strategic spots. All of these moves and many more are created just to entice the Cebuano’s to change their channels.

But of course, ABS-CBN does not want to release its hold in Cebu and the rest of the south. And one way on how they are succesful in doing this is by financing well their local Cebuano shows such as “Winner Ka, Kapamilya” and “TV Patrol Visayas”.

When it comes to Cebuano shows, ABS-CBN has all the advantage. “Winner Ka, Kapamilya” host Roy Empleo, just has the right charms to entertain us compared to GMA’s “Eat Na Ta’s” Papa Joe. Then when it comes to the local news, ABS-CBN’s “TV Patrol World’s” Leo Lastimosa is more credible than GMA’s “Balitang Bisdak’s” Bobby Nalzaro. Bobby Nalzaro just does not have the aura of being one of us. He seems so distant to the news which can be translated as being distant to the masses. He just does not connect to the Cebuano audience compared to the way Leo Lastimosa does.

Not to mention, TV Patrol World does not only have Leo Lastimosa, they also have their charming celebrity patroller Kara Mae Noveda.

So if this is the way ABS-CBN plays it in network wars in Cebu by having credible and charming TV personalities, then how is GMA going to counter?

Though somewhat outrageous, I have always thought that GMA ought to counter by bringing in some credible and charming celebrities of their own. But because they do not have any of those now in their current roster and it is going to take a long time to develop people. However, why not bring some Manila celebrities to permanently stay and work here in Cebu? Cebuanos such as Manilyn Reynes and Pekto could come back to Cebu and host shows. If that is not possible then have those young stars or some of those old stars of them to do it. By making such a move, they could really challenge the hold of ABS-CBN’s TV personalities over Cebu.

I believe that this move could work because Manila celebrities that come and visit just spend too little time with their Cebuano fans that it is not enough to challenge the charms of ABS-CBN’s local TV personalities. It is the local TV personalities that GMA needs to topple because this local personalities is one way of connecting Cebu audience to Manila. Roy Empleo connects us to Edu Manzano or Willie Revillame. Leo Lastimosa to Ted Failon or maybe Julius Babao.

(to be continued on our next issue)

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Imperial Manila will Never Allow It pt. 2

N.M. Cabangbang

Note: In the first part of this article, I suggested that in order for GMA to challenge ABS-CBN’ s supremacy of the television ratings in the south, they should start bringing some Manila celebrities to permanently stay and work here in Cebu to host or to headline their local shows. Here is why I believe that the concept will never be a reality.

But you see, I do not see this thing happening that is why I have said beforehand that this concept is outrageous. Outrageous because such a move would threaten the Manila film industry if it develops into something big. Why? Because if one TV station started sending famous celebrities to provinces permanently, then another TV station could counter by also sending other celebrities. Once the time comes that a lot of celebrities are already in Cebu, it would then lead to these celebrities and these TV stations to make more shows, films, and concerts outside of Metro Manila.

Once that happens, Cebu would start making their own films and TV shows. Cebu could make their own films, telenovelas, and game shows that would vie for the ratings of Manila shows. All in all, it would then revive Cebu’s film industry thus challenging Manila’s supremacy. That would be scary because history has shown that Cebu could do it. (For your information, Cebu used to have a Cebuano film industry, it just died down when Manila started to become stronger and hoared all the talents from Cebu.)

So Cebu has the capacity, it has the talent but it just does not have the support and the resources. Imperial Manila will never allow it. Imperial Manila is doing to us what Imperial America is doing to the Philippines, preventing its development.

Like imperial America, Imperial Manila is hoarding all the talent and the resources. It does not share nor does it plan to share. The empires develop, amd the ones colonized continue to be backward. And as long as it is stays that way then the status quo will be a-okay.

So if this idea of mine will never happen, how is GMA going to beat ABS-CBN in the battle of television ratings in the south? Well, they could wait for new Cebuano personalities to develop, which as I said, will take time. They could also spend more and more money on billboards and other advertising paraphernalias, which as of now, usually does not work.

Billboards and advertising paraphernalias just do not work because, human beings need a personal touch to things. That is why, when e-mails started to replace snail mail, e-mail sites started to offer customization applications so as to give people a chance to make things personal. Such customization would include changing the fonts, text, colors and putting of smileys. Human beings need someone to talk and to talk back at them. Someone to touch and someone who touches back; someone to connect. That is why billboard posters and the like don’t work in the long run because they do not talk or touch us back. Only humans like TV celebrities can do that.

So it just might as well be good for GMA to give up on the south and just be contented in being number 2, anyway they are number 1 in Manila. And if you can hold Manila, then you can hold the rest of the Philippines, that is how imperial Manila works anyway.

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Organizing is Like a Heist

If great art is like a crime scene then great organizing is like a
successful heist.

One of the things I have learned along the way is that if you want to become
a great organizer then you better watch some heist films.

Heist films are defined as films that have intricate plots that are woven
around a group of individuals trying to steal something. Films such as this
have a lot of plot twists and focuses in the character’s attempts to
formulate a plan, carry it out and escape with the loot. Some of the best
heist films are “The Italian Job,” “Ocean’s 11,” and “The Thomas Crown
Affair.” The television series from United Kingdom entitled “Hustle” is also
a great heist show.

I know, organizing can’t be learned just by watching movies. To be a great
organizer, one must combine theory and practice. And in watching heist
films, you get a lot of theory and concepts on how to organize. It is all up
to you to apply it in your organizing or not.

For me, there are two lessons an organizer can learn from watching heist
films. One is the planning stage and the other is the risk factor.

These two lessons are interconnected because in a heist, the planning stage
is given much valued time and preparation. All angles are covered. If there
is a plan A, there should always be a plan B. All scenarios must be thought
out. Now, I say that these two are interconnected because criminals in a
heist are afraid to get caught. They know the gravity of their situation.
And if criminals do not plan their heist well, if they become
complacent, then the
percentage of them getting caught will increase. So this is why because of
the risk and consequences involved, they plan their heist well.

Now, in a normal organizing situation some people tend to be
“complacent” or “relaxed.” This is because the risk is less. If
student organizers usually hold an activity and if the
activity fails, the consequences are only shame and maybe the demise of an
organization. Student organizers do not get to be imprisoned and the
highest risk
involved would only be getting expelled from a school. If this happens,
students can just transfer to another school. With such less risk involved,
this is why a lot of student organizers are very relaxed in their organizing.
They have no clear plans and they are too emotional, which only means that
student-organizers especially the dramatic ones are some of the worst
organizers around.

For workers in a union, the risks are taken up a notch. If the union fails,
the highest consequence would be getting a job termination. They may live,
but being unemployed with no money is like being killed slowly. If this
does happen, getting another job would be the next option. Compared to
transferring to another school and looking for another job, the former is
the easier one to achieve.

For soldiers in the battlefield, the highest consequence is getting killed
if the tactics and strategies are not well thought of. If there is no heaven
and hell, then it looks like death is the last option then.

So you see, in any level of organizing you are involved even if it has less
risk, a well thought of and serious plan must be first made. Now, this can
only happen if all the organizers treat their activities seriously.
Imagining their activities like a heist, a crime or a battle will help
because this will make them very serious in getting the job done. If
you do not agree with a certain tactic then telling your co-organizers
about the big picture of your plans
will let them see that big things come from small beginnings; that the whole
is only greater than the sum of its parts; that organizing involves
teamwork.

If all of these ideas and words seem all mumbo-jumbo to you, then just go
watch a heist film and hope things become clearer. If it still does not work
then that is one sign that you are not fit for organizing work. Ciao!

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Not Everything is Art pt. 2

*In the last article I talked about the importance of form and content in
art. This is the second part of the article which answer the questions about
wannabe artists.*

For wannabe artists, they need to be themselves. When dealing with a topic like
love, they should express themselves honestly and not be someone who knows
everything. However, even if their content is so honest and pure, but their
forms are cliché and all, then the work fails to become art. I think this is
what happens when a lot of young artist experience their first heartbreaks
or rejections. They may have the emotion but when they start expressing
these content to the same old thing such as hearts, cupids, and tears then
it is not art. It is just a drawing or a love letter.

This is because art is not cliché. This is why a lot of apathetic artists
hated the protest art movement during the martial law years. They accused
protest artist of “sloganeering” because every art work had the burning of
the Philippine flag or raised fist on them. Of course sloganeering is wrong
because art is not about cliché. Art is about the same messages that has
been given a new form.

So let me somehow rephrase my first sentences. Not every drawing, not every
dance can be an art. Not every one who knows how to draw, not everyone who
knows how to sing can be an artist. Not every work of an artist can all be
called art. Some draw for therapeutic reasons. Some, sing just for a hobby.
It is just like playing sports, some play it to exercise not needing to win
or reaching new heights for the sport, while players such as Dondon
Hontiveros, on the other hand, play it because he is a professional.
He is there first to win
every time and then carrying the sport to the next level.

So the challenge for an artist is to master technique and be matured. The
content, the ideas, history and form are all there to be discovered and
learned. It is even safe to assume that the truths of this world are already
there. The ones who do no want these truths to be known are just hiding it
or confusing the majority, which mean that artists need to research well to
get to know what is true or not. It is also safe to say in some way that
content is just being recycled and given a new form. Love songs have always
been the topic since early music began and it is still a hot topic in songs
today. The ones that have become great today have incorporated new forms to
give it a new twist to the same messages.

Art, to be effective, needs to combine form and content beautifully. And a
great artist with his knowledge, wisdom and technique can achieve this.

So for art collectors and young artists, be careful out there. There is a
lot of crap going around in the art scene. Art collectors and art
enthusiasts need to differentiate what is great art and what is great hype.
Art collectors and art enthusiasts need to differentiate who are the sincere
artists and who are just salesmen with a gimmick posing as an
artist.

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Not Everything is Art pt. 1

N.M. Cabangbang

Not everything can be called art. Not everyone can be called an artist. And
understanding this fully is our key to differentiating what is art, what is
hype and what is plain mediocre. So what is art?

Art simply put, is a means of communication and expression. Man, at the
beginning was just not contented in expressing himself by talking. Armed
with his creativity, he explored other forms and pushed himself to the limit,
so this is why art was created. This is why poetry, music, dance,
architecture, theater, visual arts and sculpture were born: because of man’s
need to communicate in a different and new way. So that is why every time
you listen to music or look at a painting, the artists or the people behind
it are trying to talk to you, expressing a message that you may appreciate
or abhor. So if art has a message, if art is a means to communicate then it
needs to have two parts to make it work. These two parts are form and
content.

Form and content can simply be understood this way: the alphabet is a form
where people can communicate. Letter A combined with other letters then
pertain to a content that we can understand. This is also what happens with
colors or notes. They are like alphabets that if you combine them together
or just use it as it is, it can convey a message to us. Red can be passion,
violet can be for mystery. A drop D note in music can be heavy metal while a
grind dance move can have sexual overtones.

Form and content is very important in art because these two combine to
express the message more clearly. Think of it this way, what if there was a
fire and you have to tell the others about it. But the problem is you are in
a place maybe like Korea where you do not know their language. You have
something to say but you can’t express it because you don’t know how to
speak the Korean language. No matter how important your message is, but if
you cannot express it in the right form and in the right language, then your
message will be useless. Everyone is going to get burned to crisp.

Then what if you can speak very fluently, you are very charismatic but your
content, your message is empty. The effect will be the same. No one will
listen to you or take you seriously. Politicians experience this all the
time. A womanizer experiences this all the time.

The right form, combined with the right content or message, are two
prerequisites in making one heck of an art. Bob Marley achieved this, Lino
Brocka did it and Pablo Picasso did it too. No matter what their messages
were, it fit right well with the form they used thus influencing us even
today.

Form and content also mean that wannabe artists need to master their form
and need to have something to say. This assures that drawing or dancing
techniques are not forgotten. Though a lot of artworks survived and
influenced its progress with creations that somehow lack technique, it still
would be advantageous for the wannabe artists to master technique. Mastering
technique would be like knowing different kinds of language. So if an
artists wants to fully convey different types of message for different types
of audiences, then he or she needs to master technique.

Then with content, it is always my belief that wannabe artists need to be
mature to talk about a certain topic. Topics such as love, politics,
marriage or any subject need a lot of extensive research and experience to
be able to express them. You can’t sing about heartbreak if you have not
experienced it unless you are singing at a perspective that you are
inexperienced about heartbreaks. You also cannot draw something about
to motherhood
unless you have tried it, unless, again, if you are a father or a son sharing
your perspective. This means, then, that artists need to be a little
older than other
people. It does not mean being old in age, it means maturity. But what about
the wannabes?

(this article will be continued in my next blog article)

The Next Action Hero (American version)

N.M. Cabangbang

Last night I was watching Babylon A.D. Babylon A.D. is one of the films
which starred Vin Diesel. Which after seeing it I would not recommend people
to go watch it. The movie has less action compared to other Vin Diesel films
and it also has a very bad storyline. So do not waste your time watching it.

I watched the film, because you may have guessed it already, I am a Vin Diesel
fan. But I am not really a Vin Diesel fan but an action movie fan in
general. And since Schwarzenegger has been the governor of California and
Stallone has gotten old, action movies are becoming less and less in
numbers these
days. Of course we still have a lot of action films especially now that most
comic characters are becoming movies but the Rambo-Commando-Die Hard action
film types are the ones I am talking about. And such type of a film is
getting less and less made.

So because of Stallone and Schwarzenegger have somehow retired or are fading
away, it always got me thinking who would succeed them. My guess to that was
Dwayne “The Rock ” Johnson would succeed Arnold while Vin Diesel will
succeed Stallone.

I guessed it that way because Dwayne “the Rock Johnson” after starring in
the film, “Scorpion King” looked like he was “Conan the Barbarian,” which is
a film that starred Schwarzenegger. Not just that, the other similarities
between the two is that the movie “Scorpion King” was the first for Dwayne
Johnson and the movie “Conan the Barbarian”, was also the first for
Schwarzenegger. Then both of these action stars took the same path to
stardom, they are both muscle-bound personalities making the transition from
sports—body-building and entertainment wrestling, respectively—to movies.

Then in the movie “The Rundown”, Arnold makes a cameo at the start of the
film. Dwayne Johnson’s character is walking into a nightclub about to
confront a group of professional football players. Schwarzenegger passes by
and says to The Rock, “Have fun.”

Seems like Arnold Schwarzenegger was ready to give the action-hero baton to
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Now when it comes to Vin Diesel being the successor to Stallone, their
similarities also attest to it. Both have franchise films under their belt.
Stallone has “Rocky” and “Rambo” while Diesel has ” Fast & and the Furious”
and “Riddick/Pitch Black.” The two also like to write and direct their
films. But the one thing about them that makes them similar is their slurred
speech, though Vin Diesel is more comprehensible than Stallone.

I am not sure if my arguments are that compelling but that is how I see
it. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is the next Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vin
Diesel is the next Sylvester Stallone. Now I just hope Hollywood would just
make it formal and maybe make a film having “The Rock” and Schwarzenegger
together on one film and Diesel and Stallone on another film. Now, that
would be a treat to all action film fans.

But as we wait to get those films to ever made, there is already good news
for all action film fanatics like us. My main man Stallone is making a new
movie entitled “The Expendables.” What makes this movie a treat is the
movies stars not just Stallone but also Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph
Lundgren, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, Randy Couture and Bruce
Willis. That line-up of action stars alone is one awesome reason to be
excited. The movie will be out next year so remember the title, ” The
Expendables.”

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The Next Action Hero (Filipino version)

N.M. Cabangbang

If you have observed it in the Philippine film industry, there are lesser
action films that are being made compared to before. And because of this,
the Philippines has also less action stars compared to before. In the past,
we had a lot of action actors such as Fernando Poe Jr., Bong Revilla, Rudy
Fernandez and Robin Padilla. We also had a lot of action villains such as
Paquito Diaz, Max Alvarado and John Regala. Right now, we do not have much
of them. In fact we only have one action star right now, he is Richard
Gutierrez.

Yes, Richard Gutierrez is now the this generation’s lone action star in
Cinema today. This is because the piracy problem has forced the film
industry into converting film productions into television. The storylines
that could have been for film has been adapted for television viewing.
Captain Barbell, Darna, Zorro, Zaido,Lupin, Totoy Bato and Mulawin have all
been made for TV now and not for the big screen.

And also because, GMA-7 wanted to challenge ABS-CBN’s hold on primetime,
they started introducing other genres such as fantasy, action and romantic
comedy. And when Richard Gutierrez was ready to enter showbiz, he was the
lucky one to blaze a new trail. He became the new action star of the
Philippine industry. That is why he is our generation’s Captain Barbell, our
Philippine Zorro.

There was indeed a time that Angel Locsin could have been the new type of
action star – a femme fatale. But she transferred to ABS-CBN, and now there
is nothing unique about Angel Locsin.

Yes, there was Zaido with Dennis Trillo, Aquano with Dingdong Dantes and
Palos with Jake Cuenca. These shows and actors all delved into the action
genre. However, these actors discontinued to make action shows and are now
more known for their drama roles.

Yes, Robin Padilla and Bong Revilla continue to make action shows now but
again they all built their action star status long ago. Richard Gutierrez
had a different path, he is the action star borne out of television. He is
the only action star of the new generation that has survived. While his
other counterparts such as Piolo Pascual, John Loyd Cruz or Dingdong Dantes
will be known in history for their dramatic roles, Richard Gutierrez will
stand alone as the new action star. He will have no competition, he is the
only one.

Indeed, it is too early to tell what will go down in history and there are
still a lot of young stars out today that could alter the future of the
action genre. In fact, I even see Gerald Anderson and Jake Cuenca trying to
challenge Richard Gutierrez’s status. This has already been very clear in
“Tayong Dalawa,” a show that was of course in essence a drama, all the
crying and screaming from the cast, including the two male leads is
enough for the teleserye to be considered a full-on drama. However,
because they also wanted to get a bulk of male viewers to watch their
show, “Tayong Dalawa also incorporated action sequences that made
Gerald and Jake more macho. Then as of now, with the Agimat series,
Gerald Anderson and Jake Cuenca continue to make action shows.

But as we all know, Richard Gutierrez is not only famous for his action
shows. He is also famous for being the son of Eddie Gutierrez and Annabelle
Rama which is one of the powerful showbiz families right now. And coming
from a powerful family with all the backing, the connections and the
reputation may be what will set him apart from all these action star
wannabes.

Think of it this way, if Gerald and Jake will continue pursuing their action
star careers, they may be remembered in history as just another Jeric Raval
or a Ronnie Ricketts. When it comes to Richard Gutierrez, he is the next
link to action greats such as Fernando Poe Jr., Robin Padilla and then
Richard Gutierrez. This is how he will be remembered.

Now, for the next great villain of Philippine action movies? Try to look at
Baron Geisler. This guy has the aura of John Regala all over him: a villain
in film and a villain in real life; a bad boy both in the reel and real world.

Every “bida” needs a great “contrabida”, they should put Richard Gutierrez
and Baron Geisler in one show and get the mayhem started.

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Brad Pitt as Thor

N.M. Cabangbang

The movie Thor, another comic character from Marvel comics, is already on
the works and will have a release date on May 20,2011. The movie’s
production team has already chosen an actor to play Thor and it is not brad
Pitt. It is Chris Hemsworth, an actor we barely know.

If you have seen the movie “Troy,” which starred Brad Pitt, we all could
see why a lot of people were hoping that Brad Pitt would play Thor but this
was never going to happen.

Because of Marvel comics’ experience with its past movie adaptations, putting
a big star to play a comic character on the big screen is a bad idea. Proof
to this was “Daredevil.” A lot of film critics did not like Ben Affleck for
the staring role. Some even complained about Colin Farrel being Bullseye.
The film only got a 44% rating from film critics at film pundit site
RottenTomatoes.

Another proof to this is “Ghost Rider.” The film had Nicholas Cage as the
demon vigilante. The film only had a 27% out of 122 critic reviews. Despite
of that, the film is rumored to have a sequel with Nicholas Cage reprising
his role.

Fans and critics alike also complained about Jessica Alba being “The
Invinsible Woman,” Jennifer Garner as “Elektra,” Halle Berry as “Catwoman,”
Thomas Jane as “The Punisher” and Chris Evans as the “Human Torch.”

To a lot of comic fanatics, having a famous actor to play the comic
character is just not right. First of all, the famous actor overshadows the
comic character and this ruins it. It ruins it in the way the audience sees the
famous actor playing a role instead of the other way around. For example, if
Brad Pitt would play Thor then the audience especially those who are new to
the character will watch the film for Brad Pitt playing the character.
Because of this, they will not bother to know the character of Thor. They
just want to see Brad Pitt in another role.

Then, comic characters, because of their history and long storyline, also need
great actors to bring them to life. Comic characters are not only about the
muscle and mayhem. They are also characters that have issues and problems.
That is why Tobey Maguire was the perfect Spider-man. He played “the flawed
superhero with everyday problems” all too well. That is why Christian Bale
is perfect as the Batman. He played the “the raging Batman persona; the
shallow playboy façade Bruce uses to ward off suspicion; the vengeful young
man; and the older, angrier Bruce who is discovering his purpose in life.”
all too well too.

Comic characters have depth and great actors are needed to portray them.
That is why the new action heroes are these comic character types: less
muscle and more acting chops.

Lastly, having a popular actor to portray comic character roles would need
bigger spending money to pay the actor. This only means that instead of
the bigger money going to the storyline, the special effects and a visionary
director. All the money is going to the actor. A famous actor is no
guarantee for a great film. Great films need to have an incredible story,
production team and a competent directors in order for it to work.

So now that we know that famous actors and comic characters just do not fit
well. The next time you hear a so-so rumor going about this famous actor to
play a comic character on the big screen,(Matthew McConaughey is rumored to
play Captain America), do not believe it. The comic character with its
specific storyline is the more important factor. Film producers will eventually
search for unknown actors.

Now, I wonder who will really play Captain America, hmmm.

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Dream another dream

N.M. Cabangbang

There is this moment, this situation, this point in time where one pursues dreams. This moment where it feels like a boundary, a border line between giving up or going on. For dreamers, this moment is full of questions and loss of hope. For dreamers, this questions and hopelessness can make someone crazy.

I passed this moment once where I was pursuing a football championship in college. While all of my football colleagues from other batches and courses were winning here and there, I still could not capture that coveted championship feeling.

I had my doubts back then, I had my questions if such a dream was worth pursuing. And at that moment I still did not know if that goal was still worth pursuing. Yes, I did indeed won a championship. After five years of waiting I did won one. Then when I started coaching I won some more. Which makes you think that the five years of waiting was all worth it.

Winning a championship, making a dream into a reality was one of the great things that can happen in life. It was a great feeling having your questions answered. Having your doubts cleared.

Yet as I look back, I was still doubtful at that time if I ever would win a championship. I even stopped playing football for awhile, stopped trying and took my mind of it for awhile. Yet at the moment when I did not take it seriously, everything just came to place. It was strange.

So back to the present, how does one know what to do when such a moment returns? When all the cards come falling down, when all the plans fail and the known strategies have been tried and exhausted. How does one know if a person should still continue to pursue a dream or surrender? What if this is only another challenge needed to overcome or what if this is the end? How in the heck does anyone know the answer to these things?

This moment, this situation, this point in time where one pursues a dream, this moment is a turning point. A turning point where dreamers either tell themselves to dream another dream, because this dream is over or they tell themselves some optimistic quote so they can go on chasing this wild goose chase again and again.

But, my nagging question still remains how does one know which is which?

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The English Lyrics problem

N.M. Cabangbang

As I have mentioned once before, in order to for a band to get radio airplay in most of the radio stations here in Cebu, bands would need to compose music that is not that loud and with lyrics that are written in English. Of course Bisrock might have challenged the status quo for a while but the fact still remains, local songs with English lyrics from local bands still get most of the radio airplay.

Now such a situation poses a problem to bands because the English language is used by a lot of people. The language has already been used by a lot of artist, poets and other great writers that the combination of words to capture a great lyric or quote will be difficult. That such a pursuit will end up for local bands having cliché lyrics. For other local bands in order to avoid this will copy the lyrical style of their foreign idols which if not done properly will come out as a cheap imitation.

To some local artists, to be seen as the local counterpart of some foreign rock act seems okay just to establish familiarity. This is why we have our own “ Elvis Presley of the Philippines” or “Paris Hilton of the Philippines”. This is also the reason why the the band, Eraserheads have time and time again been compared to the Beatles and why Missing Filemon have been compared to the Eraserheads as well. It establishes familiarity and provides an introduction or an instant understanding for the audience. This is well and good, but the downside to it is that it also limits originality.

Such a downside is especially felt when making lyrics. Because again, a lot of artists, poets and other writers used the English language and if local bands are not careful then they will end up with clichés and not original quotes. Which I believe is happening now.

So how does a local band solve this English lyric problem and avoid being a cliché? Well a trick to this is to rely on our Cebuano culture and look at what makes us different from foreign acts. It is like asking what is the difference between American emo and Cebu emo? What makes their life experiences different from our own life experiences?

Another trick to do this is go look for a unknown foreign rock act and try copying his style and sound. Research is the key here. It is also hoped that the foreign rock act you copied will not become famous in the future so your unique style will not be accused as an imitation all along. Such a situation is what is happening with Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga.

One last trick is just to ignore the problem and start making music in the vernacular or whatever. The downside to it is that it only limits your radio airplay.

For mediocre bands not planning to make a mark in the local music scene, these questions do not matter. But for those serious artists and bands out there then these questions need to be taken seriously in order to create unique local music and raise the level of the local music scene. Chow!

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Celebrities secretly won’t support Noynoy

This is what I think: I think that most of Philippine celebrities secretly won’t support Noynoy for the presidency. Why? Because of Kris Aquino. Yes, you read it right. And this is especially true of the celebrities of the GMA and TV5 network.

I reckon celebrities secretly wish Noynoy Aquino would lose because, becoming the president will make his sister, Kris Aquino more megalomaniac than she already is. And why shouldn’t she? Her brother sits in the highest position of the country; that’s power. And we all know what Kris Aquino does when she has power. She is a spoiled brat now, she will be more of a spoiled brat when Noynoy wins.

And celebrities such as Ruffa Guitierrez, Gretchen Baretto (though she is already an ABS-CBN talent), GMA network and TV5 will fear (or be perpetually irked by) a more powerful Kris Aquino. Aside from being a spoiled brat, Kris Aquino is also one of Philippine celebrities that are untouchable, which means a lot of critics are afraid to talk “bad” about her. This is because she is part of the Cojuangco clan; one of the richest and powerful families in the Philippines. Now Noynoy becoming a president will only increase the untouchable level of Kris.

Now critics and rival stations will be afraid to report any bad news, rumors or bad publicity about Kris. Talk show programs such GMA’s Showbiz Central and TV5′s Paparrazi will have the disadvantage while ABS-CBN’s the Buzz will have the upper hand.

Kris becoming more untouchable is also why ABS-CBN wants Noynoy to win. ABS-CBN had a lot of favors going for them when Noli De Castro became Vice president. Now think about what they are going to get when they have a president that is very close to them again.

So if Noynoy does not win, a lot of it can be blamed on Kris Aquino. Even while campaign season is on, Kris has already caused a lot of flak to Noynoy’s campaign. The first one was about her confrontation with her husband’s friend, Mayen Austria. The second would be her riff with Ruffa Guiterrez and the third would be Baby James blurting out Manny Villar’s name (that was just golden!).

And If Noynoy does win, it is quite safe to say that this might then be the last time I (or you) will probably talk bad about Kris Aquino.

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College is way better

I got the chance to witness a high school graduation at B.R.I.G.H.T. Academy this month. The experience was not great but it was nice, which I think is a normal reaction. Graduations are usually more dramatic and memorable to the students graduating. To the spectators, graduations only reminds us of our own graduations; which is what exactly happened to me.

To a lot of these students who were crying and wondering what comes next, here is some good news: College is way better than high school.

Yes, college is the best and this article will prove Sharon Cuneta’s High School life song wrong. Why? Because in college, you apply what you learn in high school. In college, you finally (or hopefully) get to know more of who you are.

If in high school, you were all about potential, then in college you get to bloom and showcase who you really are and what you’ve got. No more hiding in the shadows, it is your time to shine.

It is in college where new experiences and new ideas will slowly mold who into you are. Pivotal questions that tackle the belief in a God or if one would want to shift to a new religion will pop in college. Even deciding what type of friends you will hang out will be part of the new you.

This influx of new ideas, new experiences, and new friends; this new-found confidence or emerging insecurities will also make you a different person. One example is the classic story of the effeminate male classmate in high school who finally “comes out” of the closet in college.

But of course, college will be nothing if you have not learned anything in your high school. Because as I have said, college is the application of what you learned in back then. Having the best college experience depends on your how you experienced your high school.

Every level in life you step on to is a preparation of the next level you are going to take.

This is why, if you did not learn any self discipline in high school, then the looseness of college life will give you a culture shock and will make you the liviing proof of “coed-student-gone-wild.” And being one usually leads to you failing subjects because you did not have the self-discipline to balance things. You are always having a good time that you forget that you need to do the hard work to finish college.

This is why my friend James Siador and I concluded that it is better to stay 4-5 years in college than to fail and get kicked out after 1 semester.

In my experience, I got my preparation at Don Bosco, especially from my seminary days. The training I got there truly prepared me for college which tuned out to be U.P.Cebu. If Don bosco was very strict, U.P. Cebu was liberal. I, too, got the dose of the culture-shock and even failed some minor subjects. But owing to my high school training, I regained my focus, got up and passed (or aced, hehe) the subjects I failed.

It was also in college that I got the chance to showcase my leadership skills, which high school and my seminary training prepared me for.

So if you are confident about what you learned in high school, then it is assured that you will survive college and have fun while at it. But it you doubt your high school days, then would it be a nice suggestion to say that you should return to your high school?

Lastly, if high school is the preparation for college then college is the preparation for working life. So if you did not learn anything in college then would it be a nice suggestion to say that you should stay longer in college? The suggestion does makes sense, right?

So to the present graduates who are confident with their high school life then, you will be changing your mind in no time and start concluding that college is way better that high school.

And to those who are not, then stay in high school. Sharon Cuneta could be right for you, you know.

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How To Be a Great Writer

Just to be clear about it, I do not see myself as a great writer. I did not even envision myself to become a writer someday, but here I am now trying to write. So now that we’ve established that I am no great writer, then how can I possibly know how to become a great writer? Well, my answer is that along the way, I have observed some ways or tips that great writers usually do. So maybe if I could do them too, maybe I could improve my writing skills.

First on my list is the advice I got from my art teacher in college, Mr. JV Villacin. Sir JV told us once in class, that if you want to draw, you look at paintings or pictures, and if you want to write, you go read a book. This is one of the simplest advice I have got and I continue to follow today.

I think writing and reading go hand in hand, that if you don’t like the other one, I don’t think you will also like the other one. So it’s probably going to be weird if I know someone who likes to write but does not read that much. Though it is more natural to know someone who reads a lot but does not write.

So if you want to write, start reading books, magazines, comics and poetry.

The next tip that I think is also good for young writers is to surround oneself with writer friends. Though I did not consciously do this when I was young, it just seem strange that this happened to me. You see, in high school I got a lot of writer friends. There was Arnel Salacao and Butch Reyes. Then in college I became friends with Diko Consunji, Mau-mau Galinato, Timay dela Cerna, and Carla Basa-Martinez. I did not plan all this but it just happened.

Having writer friends will influence you to write. They will also introduce you to a lot of ideas and concepts about writing. Arnel and Butch were the first guys to influence me about writing especially during our RPG (Role-Playing Game) days. Timay, Carla, Diko and Mau-mau were individually pursuing poetry, which also opened me up to that life.

Then lastly, and again I also did not plan this and this could have been pure luck, get a writer girlfriend or marry a writer. My first girlfriend was a writer, the editor-in-chief of her school paper once. Then my wife is also a writer who continues to edit my works and gives me tips on how to improve.

So that’s about it. If you want to write, read. If you want to write, get writer friends. Lastly, if you want to write, fall in love with a writer. Good luck!

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U.P. Coaching Hang Ups

I have never known myself to quit but things change. We all grow up, that there are times we need to know when to quit. So when the time came to quit, I had to quit.

And so it happened when I was coaching the U.P. Women’s football team that after 2 years of coaching them with the work still unfinished, I quit. And this was something new to me.

You see, when it comes to coaching, I usually do not quit. My team that I led then was the U.P. Fine arts team. It took us 5 years to win championships. Though I may have been discouraged, I did not quit on that team. I wanted to end what I started and that was to win championships with this team.

So when it came to the U.P. Women’s team, I also did not want to quit. To develop a team to championship form will take time and 2 years is not enough to do it especially when you are handling a non-varsity team. But things have changed since my fine arts days. When I was part of the fine arts team, I was still in college and still very hopeful about things. Financial problems also did not bother me that time. With the women’s team I was already working, and needed to have a regular and bigger salary.

Personal issues also started bothering me this time. That I have always said, if you are not inspired then you can’t coach.

I did not regret quitting because it was the right thing to do. But I still miss the team, I miss coaching and feel like I am indebted to the team because we did not win a championship.

The scary part about it, I also think that that was my last try at coaching. With my regular job now, to take a coaching stint and fit it to my schedule seems hard. I also think that once those girls graduate and get jobs, it will be much more difficult to reunite the team again. Being a student is always more relaxing compared to being employed because being a student, you know you only have to worry about your grades. Being employed, well you got to worry about your life plans, your family, your financial situation and a lot of other things.

So looks like that was the end for all of us unless something magical happens in the future. This was just a classic case of reality setting in and sometimes you just have to give up your passions in order to survive. Dream another dream.

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The Departure of Aleks Ylanan

It was last year that Aleks Ylanan decided to quit our band, Paltik. His reasons were that he would like to focus more on his studies to be a doctor.

His decision was not much of a surprise to me and Intoy Corpin III. Throughout Paltik’s run with Aleks as our guitarist, both Intoy and I have constantly demanded that he improve on his guitar-playing technique, which was, to be honest quite average. As a group, we three decided that if Aleks could commit to doing this, then he might as well leave the band. And this is exactly what happened now, Aleks has finally decided to between med school and developing his guitar skills. Med school won.

Personally, I am not mad at Aleks. I completely understand the man and his reasons for quitting. Being in a band is not for everybody. First of all, you really REALLY have to love being in one; so much that you would willingly sacrifice time and money to pursue it. Assurance of getting money or being appreciated for your music is a very small percentage. So you not only have to sacrifice, the benefits of being recognized is also very less. Being in a band, indeed is a big risk.

Compare that risk to being a doctor. There’s the big and obvious difference. So again, I understand Aleks very well. The man needs to pursue what he really likes and also needs to take care of his future now. The road to being a recognized band is a very risky thing, while the road to being a doctor is a sure, safe thing.

Then another thing, people have different passions. Being in a band, creating original music and performing is a passion that is not for everybody. For me and Intoy, this is and continues to be our passion, while this is no longer the passion of Aleks. And that is just fine. People are different; people change and that is how it is.

The good thing about this event, though, is that we all are happy with our decisions. We are all happy about it. To add to that, Aleks also continues to support the band now. He is still willing to give his original riffs and compositions to us and also attend our concerts. So that’s great.

Aleks may not be part of the band now, but he now becomes one of our greatest fans. Now, isn’t that just awesome?!

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If Mayweather will not fight Manny

If Mayweather will not fight Manny then why the hell did he return to boxing when he was already retired? If he can’t suck up the fact that he was no longer the No. 1 fighter when he retired and wants to prove that he is the only No. 1, then why won’t he fight Manny? He returned to the boxing world because of Manny Pacquiao and now he can’t back it up. If he retires again without fighting Manny, then he has not proven anything. He should have not returned to boxing.

Fighting a smaller Marquez will not do it because Marquez was not No. 1. Fighting an older Mosley also won’t do it. You cannot fit a circle into a square peg. Only when Mayweather decides to fight and beats Manny shall his insecurities be gone.

Then is it not weird that Floyd Mayweather used to be called “Pretty Boy” but when he returned, he started calling himself Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr.? Is he purposely doing this to taunt Manny and his mega-money-making appeal? Or does he just want everyone to give him all the attention? Is he trying to prove that he is the only “Money”? This guy is weird. Looks like he’s got serious ego issues.

The fact of the matter is, Mayweather needs this fight more than Manny. Manny Pacquiao has already proven and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest fighters the country, even the world, has ever seen. He has won “Fighter of the Decade” and has conquered seven world titles along the way. If he gets beaten by Mayweather, he still will retain all those achievements.

But when it comes to Mayweather, it is a different story. Floyd’s legacy is to go down in history as an undefeated fighter. So if he fights Manny, he will put his legacy on the line. If he gets beaten, then Mayweather will be just like any other fighter. There will be nothing special about him anymore because he just got beaten. It is his undefeated streak that makes him unique. If he loses, then he goes right back to being “ordinary.”

Mayweather has more to lose if and when he fights Pacquaio. This is why he wants to be sure that he wins. He was sure he would win when he fought a smaller Marquez. He was sure he would win against an older Mosley. Now, he does not have that assurance when it comes to Pacquaio.

But if he does not fight Pacquaio, then his legacy will also be in question because his refusal to be one half of possibly the biggest fight since Frasier and Ali will make Mayweather look like a coward. It makes him look like he is afraid of Manny. And this will haunt his reputation for as long as he is a fixture in boxing.

If he fights Pacquaio, he will be afraid to lose his legacy. If he does not fight Pacquaio then accusation that he is “chicken” will haunt him. So what is he going to do?

What is he going to do? Let’s leave the answering to Mayweather himself.

As for me, if the fight does not happen, it is till okay. Pacquaio, after all, has already achieved a lot and he no longer needs a Mayweather fight. For Mayweather? Chicken or undefeated, that is the question.

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Conflict of interest

Not every conflict can be resolved by talking. That is why there are wars, there are revolutions and there is divorce.

Conflict between two factions that have the same interests or goals can resolve their conflict by talking, peaceful negotiations.

For example, a simple argument or conflict between friends can be resolved by talking but only if they want their friendship to continue. They have the same goals or interests so talking can solve their problems.

Married people can do this too. They can resolve their issues by talking because they still want their relationship to continue, they have the same goals. But if the other faction does not longer want to continue their relationship then the goals or the interest of the two become different so resolving the conflict is much harder. That is why there is divorce.

So when a conflict between two parties arises that have the same different interests or goals then it’s a different ballgame. What if a husband still wants to have relationships with other women and breaks the level of trust with his wife. The wife involved does not want any of this, so the wife wants divorce So there is a conflict of interests. Man wants to stay married but also wants to play around, wife wants a divorce- conflict.

Another example is between land grabbing Landlords and peasants. Landlords want all the land. Peasants also want land but not all of it. So peasants share their land to others. So when a landlord tries to hoard all the land from the peasants, a conflict emerges.

So when peasants want to take back all the lands of the landlord to be shared and divided to peasants, another conflict arises. Conflicts that talk can’t solve alone. Would a landlord freely return the land he stole from peasants? Doing that would cost him his wealth, his lifestyle. Would peasant allow landlords to steal their land? That would cost them their lives, their survival.

Another example about this is sports. You do not see opposing teams talking about it. Instead they grind it out until someone loses. Opposing teams have different interests but they do not talk about who will win. They battle it out.

This also applies to capitalists and their workers. Capitalists want to have higher profit. Workers want higher wages which will lessen the profits of capitalists.

This also applies to war, another country wants the resources of another country and to do that it needs to take over territory of another country. Countries just do not simply surrender their territories, so war comes.

Lastly, this is what revolutions are all about. The old system wants to continue its rule, to stay in power. A new system wants to overthrow the old system, revolutionary change that will replace the old with the new.

So again conflicts between parties that have the same interests or goals can be resolved by talking or debating until they have found a solution that still will continue their goals.

Conflicts that are between two factions that do not have the same goals or interests will need to be solved by a divorce, fights, wars or revolutions.

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Friends as traitors

This article is not to make us paranoid about our friends it is just the truth. Only our friends can betray us.

Only our friends can betray us because betrayal needs to have a foundation of trust. In order to be betrayed you have to trust that person first. Trust then is the first step that leads to betrayal. And we only trust our friends, not our enemies.

It is very weird if we trust our enemies. Though we do trust or expect our enemies to hurt us, to plot evil against us, it is different when it comes to friends. We trust our friends, we are safe when we are around our them.

That is why it is also our friends or the ones we love that can hurt us more than our enemies. When it comes to our enemies, we expect that they will hurt us so there is no surprise factor, no shock when it comes because we will be anticipating it. And expecting pain somehow lessens the blow because we prepared for it.

But with friends we do not expect it. Not expecting, not preparing will make the blow more painful. We expect love, support from our friends not pain. And when that betrayal comes, it hurts so much more because we did not expect it. Betrayal still needs a psychological recovery because it is hurts that much.

This is why the Professor X and Magneto story intrigues us. This is why Jesus Christ, Julius Ceasar shocked us because a friends betrayal however it hurts is a good story. It is good twist.

On my part I have some betrayals here and there but they were not that damaging. While some of my friends have experienced a lot of damaging betrayals and it usually involves relationships with women. That most of the time hurts.

They say keep our friends closer and keep our enemies much closer. Hmmm…..

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Call me old school

If I had a weakness when it comes to music, I would say I am no longer updated about the new music genres right now. I think the emo scene and garage rock were the last genres I had followed. But when I followed these new genres it was not like before when it came to grunge, rap metal and heavy metal where I still would even memorize song titles and names of band members.

But when it comes to these new metal genres I no longer have a clue. Lamb of God, Cradle of Filth, Shadow’s Fall and many other bands are now very foreign to me. That is why I would like to hook up with my metal friend Schuntlester Sotero and get some updates from the guy.

So if new bands with their genres did come, I listen to it but not really that much. I think I am just getting older and not easily get excited about it. But getting called old seems uncool, so just call me old school then.

So along the way which bands excited me still. Most of them were old bands releasing new albums. I was excited when Metallica, Megadeth and Pearl Jam came up with new albums. The new Gun’s n Roses album was a disappointment but still it got my attention. I still have not fully listened to the new Alice in Chains album so I can’t speak much about it.

The Police, Van Halen and Rage Against the Machine reunions were good news. I don’t think they are releasing new albums with new material now. Maybe they fear of ruining their legacy.

Then supergroups got my attention too. I was excited about Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, and Chickenfoot. Most of these bands played heavy rock. Some of their riffs even sounded rock and roll to me. So that was fun.

But Audioslave disbanded which led to the reunion of Rage against the Machine and Soundgarden. Then Velvet Revolver is having problems replacing Scott Weiland. Looks like most supergroups have a shorter band life.

Talking about rock and roll, new bands like The Living Things, The Darkness, Jet and Wolfmother also caught my ear. It was great having new bands playing rock and roll. Jet was great in their first album but they slowed down in their second album.

Wolfmother and The Living Things continues to rock though they really did not get that much mainstream attention that they needed. But still these bands where new rock and rollers and it was good times rocking to their music.

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Writing for Midweek sessions

I had the chance to meet Ian Zafra of Shiela and the Insects fame last time through my good friend Butch Reyes of SBS-Band fame. They wanted to talk and invite me to write for the Midweek Sessions blog.

Butch R., a long-time friend of mine (we go way back to high school), was the one who discovered and read my blog (this blog) and referred me to Mr. Zafra. They both kind of liked my articles about music and in turn, gave me the invite to write for their blog.

Of course, I was flattered to get the invite because there was Butch who finally liked the way I wrote and then of course, there was Ian who liked my ideas. So this was great.

But even with the invite I still have my doubts about, more like jitters about the whole thing. First of all, I am really not THAT knowledgeable about the Cebu music scene, I’m no authority on the topic. Most of my knowledge about my music comes from listening to a lot of western music. So I thought, if I am really going to be good at writing about the local music scene, I need to do more research about it, which means more visits to The Outpost or Handuraw (which is great).

I even think that Tianos Makabenta (a good friend from college) has more ideas about the local music scene than I do. But unfortunately for us, Tianos is not into writing blogs so maybe someone could write his ideas for him. And maybe that someone could be me.

The second doubt I have is that, am I going to always write about praising the Cebu music scene all the time or can I also give criticisms? From my experience, a lot of artists, especially local ones, usually are not comfortable about being criticized especially when it’s coming from someone unknown like me. But it was Ian Z. who said that criticisms are okay, but it depends on how you present it. Criticisms should also not be personal but objective.

So if even an unknown like me writes it, as long as the point is good, then no one can deny it. The criticism will stand.

So after our talk, I did decide to accept the invite to write for the Midweek Sessions blog, and I already have some two or three ideas on what to write about.

Hope I do get my ideas straightened out so even in my little way, I can help the local music scene flourish.

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Musicians, not rock stars

Meeting Ian Zafra was the third time I had the chance to meet some of Cebu’s local rock musicians. The first time was with Insoy Ninal of Missing Filemon, I met Insoy through Clifford Remolador of the Asian Troubadours. Insoy was also my wife’s Cebuano Lit teacher in college.

I had the chance to have a talk long with Insoy about music at Turtle’s Nest and that experience was absolutely fun.

Then the next one was with John Dinopol of Urbandub. John is my good friend Fatima dela Cerna’s boyfriend. Fatima and I go way back in college. I, however, did not have much the time to talk to John because the meet was a reunion between Timay, Carla and me. So the talk was most about our U.P. college days and not about music. But that was still fine.

By the way, if you see John Dinopol, the girl who is with him, the one who looks like Sandra Bullock, that is Timay dela Cerna.

Then the third time I met a local rock musician was that afternoon with meeting with Ian Zafra (who I met through my HS buddy, Butch Reyes), where we had the chance to talk a lot about music and writing blogs.

While I have already met other Cebuano musicians such as Budoy Marabiles, Cocoy of Missing Filemon, Chai Fonacier, Sked Besa, Philip Muana, Gina Pestano, Jay Young and Boobop Nunez, I already knew them before they became famous.

So meeting Insoy N., John D.,and Ian Z. was different because I did not know these guys before and I met them at a time where they were famous.

One thing that I have observed about these 3 guys is that they don’t act like rock stars. I know that they have achieved a lot in the music scene but they did not have the attitude. They were more like musicians, not rock stars. They like to talk a lot about music and did not have any rock star attitudes. They did not hoard all the attention. They also don’t laugh at your questions, no matter how silly they may have sounded, and they also want to hear your ideas. So, on my part it was really good meeting them.

It was Butch Reyes’ explanation also that helped me understand why there is a lack of rock star attitude. Butch R. told me what Ian Z, told him. That on stage it is all a different person you are seeing and then it’s another person off the stage. It is called “stage persona.” This is good.

Though, I won’t lie, I still am waiting to meet some local artist who has some rock star attitude, just for the sake of having an “annoying rock star experience.” However, it is very good to know that even with all the fame, most of our local musicians still are down to earth. It’s refreshing to know that most of these men, who have conquered the stage, still think of themselves more as musicians and not as rock stars.

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Is Charice Pempengco the new Judy Ann?

Everyone already knows that Charice Empengco is famous. Most of us also have heard her hit song, “Pyramid.” So as Filipinos, we all have to be proud of her. She is a great talent.

She is also one of those talents that, at first, did not get appreciated in her own country (she competed in a song contest but only came in second place when it was quite clear that her vocal pipes “pwnd!” her opponent’s). But once she got discovered and hit it big time overseas, she suddenly gets all the attention of our country.

So that’s good for her but bad for our country that a talent like hers needs to go abroad to be appreciated before her own country realizes what awesome talent she has.

But as good as she is, I have some rather “not-good” observations about her.

Well, first of all I do not like her song “Pyramid.” I know a lot of artists are trying to find new ways to express themselves, so new lyrics have to be found and used. I understand this but I don’t think the “pyramid” lyric works. I know what the song is about but the use of the word feels forced. I just don’t see and feel the “smooth” connection of the lyrics throughout the song. So the “pyramid” lyrics just does not work for me.

Next, I have observed the similarity between Charice and Judy Ann Santos, particularly their mothers. You see, Judy Ann Santos’ mother is that typical stage mom who wants her share of her daughter’s fame.

Case in point, when Judy Ann faces controversies, it is her mother who usually gives interviews. Sometimes, it is her mom who starts the controversy, like the time when she complained (quite emotionally) that she did not know about the engagement of her daughter. The news gained the public’s attention, so Judy Ann Santos’ mother got the attention too. She always finds a way to insert herself into her daughter’s fame.

This is also what is happening now with Charice’s mom, but in a different way. As early as now, Charice’s mother has already inserted herself into her daughter’s fame. Not through controversies, but by recording a song, a duet with her daughter. So Charice and Judy Ann Santos have the same type of mothers: mothers who live the life they wished, but failed to live, through their children.

Another similarity I dare to point out is that, though not a fault of their own (but may be blamed on their moms and their genes) is that I have observed that Charice and Judy Ann Santos both have same big/broad cheeks.

It’s weird, but when I saw Charice in that David Foster concert, she immediately reminded me of the young Judy Ann.

So with such observations, can we conclude that Charice is a new Judy Ann? Not really because they have different career paths. However, if the Judy Ann’s-spotlight-hogging-mom style works for Charice and her mom, then (and I say this with caution) go ahead and keep continuing it. If not, then looks like we are going to have one sad, mad Pempengco mom. (Belated) Happy mothers’ day!

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Who came first, Pokwang or Tessa Prieto?

I am not sure of the answer to this question (yet) because I do not know who exactly came first in spotlight. It also depends on which social class you belong: if you are rich or poor. So this statement, I guess, can go either way. But by researching who came out first, we will now have an answer.

Is Pokwang the poor man’s version of Tessa Prieto or is Tessa Prieto the rich man’s version of Pokwang? Today we will know.

So let’s see. Why are these two compared? The answer is obvious: these two have the same style, the same outrageous outfits. Pokwang does this for comedic effect, especially in her stint in Wowowee, (it is like Crazy Day* everyday at lunch time) while Tessa Prieto does it to be unique.

Pokwang makes the comedic effect of her style work because her morena or dark skin tone adds to the garrish quality of the outfits. The overall effect is akin to a walking, talking Christmas tree.

Tessa Prieto, on the other hand, walks the thin line between dowdy and fashion-forward. But because she is meztisa and rich, we double check ourselves. We think twice before making fun of her.

But let’s go beyond the physical attributes, shall we?

First, Pokwang. With or without the outfits, she has already been known for her comedy. So she can live without the outfits. Her career as a comedienne can stand on its own.

Tessa Prieto, on the other hand, would not last 15 minutes in showbiz without those crazy head-dresses. Without the out-of-this-world outfits I don’t think we could have known Tessa Prieto. She may be a socialite, but she is no celebrity. Furthermore, being a socialite alone will not make Prieto appeal to the masses like Pokwang does. Prieto needs a little more than a posh family name for us to take notice of her. So I guess Tessa needs the outrageous outfits more than Pokwang does.

But again, which of the two came first?

Tessa Prieto came first. She was already “celebrated” in her circles for the weird outfits before Pokwang hit the spotlight. So I guess the correct statement then is that: Pokwang is the poor man’s version of Tessa Prieto. Not the other way around,

At least we got that right.

Now we know.

But now, such a statement got me wondering, does Tessa Prieto know Pokwang looks like her? Is Tessa Prieto okay with that or does she feel she loses her uniqueness by having a similarly outrageously dressed Pokwang? Have these two met? Have they shared outfits?

More questions. Did Pokwang consciously copy Tessa? If she did, did she acknowledge this or not? Is Pokwang mocking Tessa Prieto? Is Pokwang that fearless that she can make fun of Tessa Prieto on national television by making her outrageous outfits more outrageous than Tessa?

Do we really need to bother our lives with questions like these? Nah, let us just go on with our lives. We’ve got more important stuff to think about.

· Crazy Day is an activity of the University of the Philippines Cebu where students can get to wear outrageous outfits or costumes for one whole day in school.

· I also would like to thank my wife for being the first to observe the similarities between Tessa and Pokwang.

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Jokes have an expiration date

There is one rule that amateur comedians need to know when they start cracking jokes. The rule is that jokes, like sliced bread have an expiration date. What do I mean by this?

But before I answer that, I would just like to clarify that I am no professional comedian nor I even a funny person. But because I had a lot of friends growing up in high school and college that were funny, (and I always laughed at their jokes) the experience gave me the time to observe and hone my sense of humor for knowing what is funny and what is not; what the right time to crack jokes is and all that. I even think that sometimes in crowds, (especially in high school) my friends wanted me around so I would be there to laugh at their jokes.

And before I answer that, I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my comedian friends who helped me understand jokes and always made me laugh. In High School, there was Jonix Genson, Ondo Villordon, Arnel Salacao, Butch Reyes and Jojo Villacorta.

In college, there was Dindo Postrero, Bobbit Carin, Per Pobre and Jethro Estimo.

So we return to the topic at hand. What I mean by this rule is that, jokes have a time-line that dictates when they are funny, jokes have a lifespan. This time-line and expiration date depends on the power of the joke.

So basically, jokes are funny when they are fresh, when you get to hear them the first time. But when you get to hear them the second or third time, it loses its luster. It is not THAT funny anymore.

Again, if the joke is downright hilarious, you can still give it a second shot or even a third on the same audience and still get a laugh out of them. But if it is not that funny, then it is going to be boring the second time around.

One proof of this are the funny songs on the radio. An example would be Weird Al Yankovich’s songs, especially the song, “You Don’t Love Me Anymore.” I found this song ‘inspired’ and very funny the first time I heard it on the radio. However, radio airplay will ruin it, so it got corny the more it got air time, its comedic power waned the more we heard it.

So the next time amateur comedians start cracking jokes or writing funny songs, it is important that they be sure that the jokes they start giving are fresh to his or her audience. Because the rule says that jokes have an expiration date. The rule says that if the joke is not fresh, then it is no longer funny.

Kind of like slice bread or fruits or milk or fish…you get the idea.

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So you want to be a detective

Lie to Me is an American television show that features an organization called The Lightman Group. The group, headed by Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), accepts assignments that require them to detect who is lying or is hiding something in a particular situation or case. And the team is quite good at what they do. They get the truth by applying psychology, interpreting micro-expressions, and reading body language.

The Mentalist is also another American show that features a main character who works as an independent consultant to the Los Angeles PD. The main character, Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) has genuine talents in cold reading, hypnotism, and even pickpocketing. He also possesses powerful skills of observation and a deep insight into the human psyche and human behavior. All of which he uses to help his LAPD team solve various crimes.

Criminal Minds is yet another American police procedural drama series. The series follows a team of “criminal profilers” from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in Quantico, Virginia. David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) lead the team of behavioral analysts in capturing criminals. The show differs from many criminal system procedural dramas because it focuses on the criminal rather than the crime itself.

Another American criminal comedy-drama (dramedy) television series is Psych. The show features another young crime consultant for a police department whose exceptional observational skills, good memory and impressive detective instincts that makes him such a good detective to be able to solve crime cases. Psych is like The Mentalist’s kookier, more whimsical, but still equally brilliant younger brother.

If you watch these shows together, if you do it right, you could pick up some useful skills of becoming a good crime detective or just be adept at knowing people by just looking at or observing them.

But if you do use it the wrong way, you can make mistakes at reading at people, you could accuse a lot of people of things that they really are not thinking or doing. You could be paranoid.

Paranoid, because you are always going to think that people are thinking, scheming, or doing evil stuff. And this could be bad for you and your social life.

So to be sure that you are good at it, you really need to know a lot about body language, good memory, human behaviour, and psychology if you are going to do it right.

But if you really want to be a good detective, maybe for starters you just read Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. Then when the time comes that you feel that you are smarter than the Hardy Boys, then go start reading Sherlock Holmes. This is what I did in high school, though I am still no good detective or what.

Piece of advice though, don’t tell people your reading Hardy Boys because this kind of makes you uncool especially if you’re reading it during your 20s, 30s or 40s. But if you start reading Sherlock Holmes, now this is the book you can tell people about.

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They were listening to me

In my high school days, you could say that I was more of a “Noel” than a “Bangbang.” Which means that I was a very silent, shy and a clean cut kid during high school.

I still have my silent and shy person mode these days, though, especially when I am with new people. But when I am in the company of old friends I am comfortable with, I’m a lot noisier than usual.

I was in a shell in high school and I came out of that shell in college.

But when it comes to high school reunions, I still resort to being that silent kid my batch mates have come to know. Sometimes, I even think that because of my long hair and thin frame, they may have thought of me as this drug addict, beer-drinking, chain-smoking type of dude.

So when time comes that I get to sit down and talk with my batch mates during reunions, I am most of the time surprised that they give me a chance to talk while they listen to my ideas.

This surprising experience happened when I was attending batch reunions in 2008 and recently, this month. It still shocks me that these guys would give me a chance to talk. In fact, my observation about reunions which I shared to my batch mates was even attentively listened to.

The thing I told my batch was that, if we did not graduate I would never have had the chance to talk to them. Which was true, because even if we were classmates we had different lives back in high school; these guys were basketball, football varsity players, some of them were top honors, some were already having girlfriends and some just plain noisy in high school while I was silent seminarian kid who kept to himself most of the time.

This was one of my observations about reunions and which I continue to experience every reunion and surprisingly, when I shared this to them, they liked that observation.

So, yeah it is a shock.

They were listening to me.

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Congressman Manny Pacquiao

This topic came to me as a suggestion from Grace Muyot, an elementary batch mate of mine from my USJ-R days. Grace was our class’ consistent First Honor and president of our batch, so it is great that we get to talk about boxing and not class subjects.

The topics Grace asked me about focused on my opinions about Manny Pacquiao fighting after winning as a congressman. She asked, “Bang, now it would be interesting to know your opinion about this: after having won the congressional race, should Manny still continue to fight? What if Mayweather finally decides to face Manny inside the ring?”

If radios have song request, blogs have a “topic request” too, I guess. So this entry, then, is my response to Grace’s request (Thanks, Grace).

Okay let’ take a close look at two separate scenarios.

One, let’s look at Manny Pacquiao as a congressman. First, I would want him to retire from boxing and not fight anymore. With his new role as a public servant, I, as part (in one way or another) of that “public” he serves, would want him to focus on his new job of taking care of his constituents. Getting back to the ring competes for time, effort, commitment, and priority. And this could very well set the stage of making Cong. Manny Pacquiao a bad public servant.

Now, two. Let’s look at Manny solely as a boxing champ. Of course, being a fan, I would still want him to fight Floyd Mayweather. I (and many Filipinos) would want to witness Manny finally shut Mayweather up. I think a lot us Filipinos believe that Manny can do it, especially when Freddie Roach himself believes that Manny can beat Mayweather.

But over all, boxer or congressman, I think, as a Filipino, that I would definitely still want to see Manny fight one last time. Preferrably against Mayweather. In this fight, Manny needs to win and the fight must be a convincing win. This should be his last fight, no more rematches. Manny only needs one more fight and that fight is with Mayweather.

It should be a convincing win because all questions about who’s the real pound-for-pound champ or who’s number one needs to be answered in this fight.

A convincing win will shut the door to a rematch. Rematches must not happen because these will deter Manny from working effectively as a congressman.

Furthermore, Manny can be a congressman all he wants after he retires, but the chance to get a smack at Mayweather comes only once. So he should take this chance, give the Filipino people another chance to be proud and a chance to seal Mayweather’s garbage mouth for good.

Manny beating Mayweather, that will be the day.

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Are we done with President Arroyo?

Now that the elections are over and we have a new president, the question that comes to my mind is that are we over with Arroyo? Is she done, is she never going to bother us again?

The answer could be a simple yes, and for the sake of our political sanity, we all want the answer to be yes. However, reality tells us that it is a no. This is because even if Arroyo is going to step down to give way for the next president we all know that Arroyo will become a congressman which she still can wreak havoc in the congress, which will affect us Filipinos.

And she may not even be just a Congresswoman, she could end up being the Speaker of the House, because right now, her colleagues want her to be the Speaker, the third highest position in the land.

Then what about this new “Koala Bear” issue coming out that tries to derail the results of the election.

Then the havoc of Arroyo is not only limited to what she is going to do in the future because she still has past sins to answer to. The negative images that pop up due to Arroyo will continue to haunt us.

The Morong 43 situation though not that publicized is still an unfinished issue, the victims of her administration’s political and journalist killings are still not given the justice due to them, and her corruption and election cheating still leaves us with many questions.

The only hope that Arroyo’s plans will be stopped is to convict her and send her to prison, which, if you come to think of it, did not stop her predecessor Erap, so I guess it won’t be any difference with Arroyo. So going that direction will not work.

We could also exile Arroyo but she could return like the Marcoses. And look at where are the Marcoses now: they are senators, congressmen and governors. So exile as well as prison are futile alternatives too.

The only very possible solution I can think of is to exile Arroyo and all her relatives and make it permanent. The decision will be final and regardless of who is the president, there will be no pardon or overturning of the decision. But because this country is what it is, that will never happen.

So looks like Arroyo is here to stay.

This is what we get. If we got a country with leaders that have no political will, poor us.

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Ideas for a movie review

Though I am not really good at judging films, there is this idea in my head about making a film review.

The usual normal film review is mostly given a 1 to 5 star ratings, this is how Amazon.com does it. Then there are also film reviews that rate between 0% to 100%, this is the style of the Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic websites.

My idea is just to make it simple and give it a Filipino style type of rating, this is how I plan to do it. If the film is really good like Iron Man 2 and Avatar, I would rate the film like you should watch this at a movie house. This rating would be equivalent to 5 stars. I think most films with great effects, blockbuster sequels and Oscar nominated films would get this rate.

If the movie is good but not that great/epic then I would rate it as “you should watch this movie on a pirated DVD (but the DVD copy of the film)”. Films like these would be action films such as Bounty Hunter or Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood. This rating would be equivalent to 3-4 stars.

Now if the film is really that awful like Steven Segal’s and some of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s films, I think the rating should be, “buy a pirated copy of the film (the shaky, filmed-in-movie-house copy).” The pirated copy is the type where you can still see the shadows of people standing or walking to or from their seats.

These are the type of films one watches when you are bored and have nothing to do and that it’s the only film available in your DVD collection. Again, this is only possible if you are that bored. Situations like this can happen especially during holy week, where there are no television shows and you forgot to prepare beforehand and buy new DVDs.

Though I was thinking that this should be the lowest rating, I was also thinking that not even bothering to see the film should be the lowest rating.

So the ratings could end like this, top rating would be –watch this at a movie house-, then second top rate would be- watch the film on pirated, DVD copy- then, watch the movie on pirated, movie-house copy and lastly don’t bother to watch the film.

I was also thinking that such a way of rating films will not be acceptable to the movie industry because I would be encouraging people to support piracy. But the thing is, no matter how the movie industry wants to dictate how we watch movies, piracy is practical to a lot of us. So this style of rating is very Filipino and a reflection of our movie watching habits these days. It is part of our culture now and we can’t deny that.

Again, I am not really sure if I am going to go make movie reviews with this system because as I said, I am not really good at judging films. If I am going to do it though, I would need to seek out the advice of my good friends Maumau Galinato and Viktor Cantal because these are the guys that I know who are experts at it.

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High School Reunions

There is one true fact about high school reunions: not all people are excited to join them. This is because not all people are excited to be reliving their past, especially if these people had bad experiences of being teased or bullied during their high school days.

That is why though some are excited to join reunions, there are people who want to avoid it; that no matter how many times you invite them, they will never come.

You really can’t blame these types of people, especially if what happened to their high school days continues to be done during the reunions. You also can’t blame them if they also do not give their high school batch mates a chance to make amends or to change. They just do not want to risk the humiliation. They just do not want to risk anything at all, for they have already suffered too much in their high school.

Forgetting about it is much easier than taking a risk. Forgetting about the past is much easier than giving people a chance to change.

So if you have reunions, and some of your classmates don’t ever join them, this kind of explanation could be one of their reasons though usually they do not admit it.

Of course, this does not only happen on high school reunions, any kind of reunion will do, grade school, college or work reunions.

Also understanding this will also help people how to handle past batch mates during reunions. One thing to do is stop teasing your batch mates and start calling them by their real names. This is one way to help them be comfortable on reunions.

That is why, I don’t call my friends or batch mates anymore with “kabayo”, “botin” or “hubog”. I now call them by Jojo, Arjay or Oliver.

But of course, if these kinds of people do start teasing you then you can always tease them back.

Another way is also to stop talking about someone’s humiliating experiences. But this depends on each person. If you are really friends and he or she is comfortable about it then, go ahead talk about the funny times. But if not, then steer clear from the topic.

I think there are still many ways to make reunions more comfortable, but for now these are just my two suggestions.

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Between Teaching and Coaching

To teach and to coach are almost the same thing, they involve developing people to become the best at what they do. Both professions need time and passion in order to be successful at it. Both of these two professions, I really love which is why I got to ask myself, if given the chance to pick only one, what profession would I choose, to teach or to coach?

In real life, I would choose teaching because there are more teaching job opportunities out there with good salary at the same time and compared to the best coaches in the city right now, I don’t stand a chance.

I don’t stand a chance because I don’t have a lot of player experience and skills training, as well the needed strategy during game time.

Though I had my own success in coaching, I mostly achieved it using my people skills – understanding players and in sharing a little dose of my experiences about the football game. I was good at that level, which is the U.P. football level. But if the level gets high, I don’t think I would survive.

But if I were to dream, without a doubt I would choose coaching. This is because coaching has something that teaching does not have: this is the challenge of beating an opposing team, using different strategies under pressure, the need to think on your feet to decide quickly and seeing players work together for one goal.

Challenge under pressure and teamwork – this is what completes the beauty of coaching, which I just do not think that teaching can offer.

And if I were to dream, yes I would still like to coach even on the low levels or the non-varsity level of the sport. If I had the time and do not need to get paid for it, yes I would like to give another crack at coaching.

And if I still were to dream, I would even accept an assistant coaching position. That way, I can learn more about coaching. Being an assistant coach also has less pressure because it is usually coaches who always get the blame. So being an assistant coach is a great way to develop one’s coaching skills.

But again, reality is reality so maybe someday I can coach again, but if not, then I wouldn’t mind that much because I am still enjoying one of my passions. That’s not saying that I regret being teacher. Teaching is a great and noble job. All I’m saying, I guess, is that in a perfect world, where choices can be made without worry, coaching would be my choice of occupation. However, since we know that our here and now is not everything we want it to be; that we certainly cannot just have our way here and not think of consequences, teaching is the near perfect job that I am more than happy to have.

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Prince of Persia

If you are a fan of Jake Gylenhaal and got turned off by him during his performance on Brokeback Mountain, then the Prince of Persia movie is the film that will bring your Jake G fantasies back to life…from a woman’s point of view, of course (hehe).

With all that death-defying action and awesome effects, girls will surely love Jake Gylenhaal as a straight man again.

If you are a fan of Jackie Chan and miss watching him and his stunts on the big screen, then watching Jake Gylenhaal jump up walls, doors and windows kind of like reminds you of a lot of Jackie Chan’s stunts.

Though of course, compared to Jackie Chan, Jake Gylenhall is too slow. Nothing beats the moves of Jackie Chan.

If you are also a fan of The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, then this film tries to capture the feel of that film franchise. So we could guess that this film could have a second or third installment in the future.

Then again, Jake Gylenhaal is no Johnny Depp, so it fails on that category.

Then if you are a fan of Gemma Arterton, whose ethereal beauty may have caught your eye in The Clash of the Titans, then you will want to see her again on this film.

So these are just some of the highlights of the movie, Prince of Persia. And now for the down points.

First up, because this film is a Disney movie it is already clear that the movie will have a happy ending. It’s Disney, it’s predictable like that. While kids may love Disney, it always sucks out the thrill for the mature audience.

Second, this movie, with its time-altering concepts, takes out the responsibility of the actions of the hero and villain of the film. With the power to turn back time, it’s almost as if the movie is saying that it is okay to commit mistakes or have your brother or friend killed because the hero can just return back in time and change what happened. It is as simple as that.

I told you it had a happy ending.

My last say, then, is you don’t need to watch this film at a movie house. You can just watch this at the comforts of your home with a pirated DVD, the DVD copy.

Remember, buy the pirated DVD copy because if you have the movie copy, then you won’t get to enjoy the action and the movie effects of this film.

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I Got Fired

Part of growing up, is getting fired from a job. In my time, I think I have already been fired twice. One was around 2005 and the last one was around 2009 and I hope the latter would be the last.

But contrary to what films portray about getting fired, I have never gotten shouted at, with drama and furor, “You’re fired!” when I got axed from a job. So the experience was weird and it kind of like spoils one’s expectations about getting fired.

So what happened when I got fired? I was told to rest. Yes, I was just told to rest and just that, no more explanations. And that was it.

This, for me, was a bad thing because getting fired usually means you failed and did not reach their expectations. So when one fails, the non-emotional thing to do is to know what led to your failure so you can improve the next time. But none of this happened.

What also happens in this particular situation is you are left with guesswork because you do not have the true facts of why you got fired. You could come up with probable reasons all day, of where you made a mistake and what not but you will never really know what’s true or not. It’s all a guess.

So I got fired and did not know what part of me needed improving. So I did not learn that much form that experience. I felt as if I got beaten twice, you got fired and you did not learn anything from the experience that will help you improve on a possible weakness.

Another thing I experienced about firing is that there was no warning. You had no second chance. The second chance would only come at your next job, which is good, but really is kind of useless if you come to think of it.

So the thing is, I really do not know why bosses in this country do not just fire you and explain more why you got fired. They are not confrontational.

So I hope in another reality when I get fired next time I would get shouted at and at least be given an explanation as well. On second thought, a non-dramatic firing, devoid of the shouting would be better. A little sugar coating and then the hard blow would be fine. But the important thing is that no matter what the manner of the firing is, I will still want the truth of why I got fired so I can learn from it. That is just how I want it.

And here’s to hoping that in another reality, my future bosses read this.

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Applying for a Job

One of the things that everyone needs to do in life is to apply for a job. A lot of us go through this one, but the reasons of getting hired are not all the same. Getting hired for a job is not all about your qualifications. There are other reasons why you don’t get hired, so please do not take it personally.

Some of the reasons why a person will not get hired for a job even if he or she thinks is qualified is that it could be that the persons who are hiring you are threatened of you. It is not really that you are overqualified for the job. It is about the idea that you can be a threat, a possible contender for job of the person who’s interviewing you.

It is the interviewer’s own issues, not yours. Sometimes, even the most mundane things such as the thought of you being beautiful and the interviewer being ugly can be an issue. Even the thought of the interviewer knowing you from college or high school and was jealous of you that time can be an issue as well.

So when they see that you are a threat and they are the ones that will decide to hire you, they usually do not get you. So if this is the reason, the reason why you did not get hired is not about you, it is about the insecurities about the one hiring you.

Another reason why you could not get hired is at the time you got interviewed the one hiring you is having a bad day, so whatever you will be saying will affect the already sensitive mood of your interviewer. The interviewer could have personal problems or just plain sleepy that he or she cannot focus on you. Such things can affect your interview and again, it is just not your fault.

Other reasons that you don’t get hired are the discriminating ones. Samples of these are you don’t have that pleasing personality they are looking for, you are married, you are gay or you are fat; you got have non-conventional piercings or a tattoo or you are not that conservative for the company. Though this may be personal, the close-minded culture of the company you are applying in can affect you too.

So if such things have happened to you or will happen to you in the future, the important thing to remember here is to not take it personally. It is not always about you every time. A lot of reasons or issues go to the final decision of hiring you, a lot of issues or reasons that is just out of your control. So cheer up it is still not the end of the world.

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The Problem with Suicide

A friend of mine during college once asked me for an opinion about suicide. I was taken aback by the question but was intrigued as to why she asked me about it. But because I am not a person who really asks people personal questions (especially if we are not that close), unless you are the first to talk to me about it, I did not ask her why. I just got straight to answering her question.

And even if the question was personal or not, whatever the reasons my friend had, if she was going to kill herself or a someone close to her wanted to commit suicide, at least I did my part to help her in her time of confusion.

So these are my ideas about suicide.

The thing with suicide, most of the time is that it is done when people believe they have unbearable problems. So this means that suicide, like it or not, to some people is a solution to a problem.

Now when we say solution, it means that when we look back at it we can say if our problems did get solved or not. Solution also means applying different strategies and seeing what type of strategy works.

But the trouble with suicide is when we die we cannot look back at the problem and see if it did get solved because it is obvious that we are six feet under. Now some of you may argue and say that the problem did get solved because the person with the problem put himself out of his misery. Sure, but what if at that time there other solutions that could have solved the problem that you did just not think of. Or what if, if the person just waited, the next day could have presented other opportunities.

So it’s kind of like saying “sayang”, “what a waste”, or “how unfortunate”. Her situation could have been better if she waited a little longer.

So suicide is kind of like dead end – a situation you cannot alter or be regretful of because again, you are no longer in the land of the living. How will we ever know how things turn out when you have already put an end to your life? We will never know. There is no answer.

Suicide is not a solution, it is more of like an escape. It keeps one away from his problems but having something out of sight or out of mind doesn’t mean that it ceases to exist. Plus, your suicide could bring unprecedented problems to people affected by it. Suicide is a dumb move because problems always have a solution, a solution that will make things better, not make it worse. Suicide is a dumb move because it never solves anything.

It is a dumb move because you can’t look back anymore, because, duh, you’re dead.

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The Best in school uniforms Awards (Girls category)

Today we talk about the best school uniforms in the city of Cebu. Before moving on, I pose a disclaimer. This blog article is in no way showing disrespect to all the schools mentioned. The opinions stated below are mine and that being said, is neither wrong nor right.

Now that we got that covered, let’s move on to the fun part.

For the best school uniform in the city, I give this award to the St. Theresa’s College (STC) high school uniform.

Their blue and white uniforms with the tie presents its wearers, the students, as clean, simple, and elegant. Their uniforms have no fuss yet it is not boring. Finally, anyone who wears their uniform – fat, thin, tall or short – is guaranteed to look good in it. That is why the STC uniform is the best school uniform I have seen so far. I could even conclude that it is the best school uniform even if we include the colleges. This uniform is that good.

For the worst uniform, high school and college I would give this award to the present University of San Jose Recoletos college women’s uniform. This uniform with its green checkers and green tie is awful. This uniform with its long sleeves and long skirt is so horrible that anyone who wears it looks bad in it. It is that bad.

Their old uniform was better. Compared to what they have now, they should have just stuck to the old version. I think the college was trying to ride the bandwagon of changing uniforms because this was the time when a lot of schools decided to give their uniforms a makeover. But the checkered and green choice was a makeover disaster. They did a bad job on this one. Bring back the old uniform.

Now for the most-improved uniform, I give this award to Cebu Normal University (CNU). For a lot us old timers, the pink checkered jumper uniform of CNU was just a mistake in all points. As if the checkered pink and jumper style were not bad enough, this uniform even had a checkered belt. Damn.

This uniform was that pathetic that when the school offered to change the uniform design and doubled the selling price, not one of the students protested. They were glad that the school finally had the conscience to change their uniforms and the students were all eager to pay the price no matter how high. It was that bad.

But that is the past now, today CNU has got a good looking uniform that makes the students look presentable. The brown and yellow combination is way, way better than the old one. So let’s give the CNU administration a thumbs up for doing a good job.

This is the end of our awards. Congratulations to all our winners!

By the way, I can’t give a best school uniform for the men’s category because I’m a Bosconian and I will always have biases on my alma mater’s uniform. For me as a young kid growing up, that was still the best uniform. It was simple and the uniform prepared us for a lot of activities.

I always hated those polos with their undershirts. I always hated the fact that every other high school student was wearing white polos and brown, blue, or black pants.

So until the time comes where I can overcome my biases, my Don Bosco uniform is still the best. So for now, no best in school uniform award (men’s category) shall be given.

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Poor Mar Roxas

Before Cory Aquino died, Mar Roxas was one of the politicians that really shone bright among the aspiring presidential bets. This man really had a big chance to win, with his Mr. Palengke persona that captured a lot of Filipinos and his special relationship with Korina Sanchez, this guy had all his plans rolling.

But of course we all know the story, all his plans started to crumble when Cory Aquino died and Noynoy used the bandwagon of her mother’s death to run for president.

Even if Noynoy had no resume to back up his presidential bid, even if Mar was more qualified than Noynoy, Mar Roxas, understood that the bandwagon for Noynoy to run for president would lessen the chance for him to win the presidency; he had to give way to Noynoy or as he called it -make a sacrifice for the nation.

So Mar Roxas announced to all of us that he would no longer run for the presidency but we all know that he would soon run for the vice-president, which he indeed did announced.

So the once aspiring presidential bet, backed off and gave way to another and was now running for the vice presidency, which a lot of his supporters thought was a good move and assured him the win for the vice-presidency.

But looks like Mar’s luck truly ran out and he can thank Chiz Escudero for that. With Chiz at the closing days of the election giving his support to Jejomar Binay, and Binay beating Roxas, Mar’s plans all went into shambles.

So what a downfall it is for the man who was once had a big chance to win it all, from dreams of becoming the next president to dreams of being the next vice-president to living a life of a loser, poor Mar Roxas.
And what has he got with all of these losing streak? He only got Korina Sanchez for a wife, poor Mar Roxas.

If the Korina Sanchez relationship was a gimmick, for now, we will never know. We will only know if these two will get a divorce in the future and such questions will pop out once again.

Now, I wonder what Korina Sanchez is thinking by now, she was engaged to a presidential bet, got married to a vice-presidential bet, and now she gets to live (for better or for worse) with the biggest loser of the 2010 elections.

Poor Korina Sanchez, poor Mar Roxas; looks like they were compatible after all.

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Poor man, Rich man

I am beginning to understand that society is run this way: that a poor man needs to cling to a rich man in order to survive, in order to feel security.

I’ve understood that for a poor man to feel a job or financial security or whatever type of security he wants, he can and must get it by working for the rich man. The poor man needs to serve a master.

But of course, the poor man is free, he lives in a democracy, he cannot be a slave. Yes, he is not a slave technically, because he has freedom, a freedom that allows him to choose which master he will be serving.

So the poor man chooses a master that is a little better than the other rich masters; a rich master who will give him a job with a lot of benefits; a rich master that gives him a big salary with a lot of bonuses; and a rich master that will give him loans and insurances.

And when the poor man gets to meet up with his fellow poor men, they will talk and share who has the greatest rich master. They will discuss and debate who has the rich master that truly understands them. And when their discussion is over, they will go home either feeling lucky to really have a sympathetic rich master or go home feeling down and unlucky in life, working for a cruel rich master.

So this is it, this is what all poor men are heading to, to serve a rich master. All poor men should know this and prepare.

The poor man needs to grab all the best achievements in high school. Grab all the best accolades in college. And hope that when the time comes he will go looking for a job, he gets lucky and serve a rich master that has a heart and a conscience at his first job.

And if he does not get this at his first job, then he can always start using his freedom to quit and start looking again for that rich master that will truly be sympathetic to him. This is his freedom.

I hope and pray that all poor men can get a rich master that will truly be kind and loving to their needs.

I hope and pray that all poor men will all be lucky.

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Sharon Cuneta, Gabby and Kc

If I remember it right, I was never a Sharon Cuneta fan. In fact compared to Vilma Santos or Nora Aunor, I have never seen a Sharon Cuneta film.

So when I occasionally get the chance to see Sharon Cuneta’s show on television, I am reminded why I never was a fan. You see, Sharon is really a has-been, washed up actress right now. It is just that ABS-CBN need to connect to the older audience that Sharon is still given her the chance to have her own show.

Proof that Sharon is a has been washed up actress is that her show can’t stand on her own. This is because Sharon most of the time invites gays, impersonators, comedians and young actors on her show to get the ratings up. The audience don’t go watching Sharon’s show because of her, it is her guests that the audience have come to see.

The audience do not go watching Sharon that if it had a different host like Vilma Santos or Nora Aunor it would not matter as long as the format of having gays, impersonators, comedians and young actors continue to be guests will still be part of the show.

Though I am not sure if Nora or Vilma can copy Sharon’s fake laugh, the fake laugh that she will always give during the shows jokes. Have you ever observed that?

Of course, the die-hard Sharon fans will continue to support Sharon, but those die hard Sharon fans are not enough to keep her show rolling so she needs those guests.

And to make matters worse, KC became an actress and Gabby came back to the Philippines. So, we got another Sharon in KC and she now has morning show. KC’s style is just like her mother’s, fake laugh, singing style and all. How lucky for this country to have two people like these on one channel.

Then Gabby came, and talks of reunion started spreading. Sharon protested before of this reunion. She told us that she wanted to be left in peace. So no reunion happened. And now that the KC-Gabby movie is going to be shown, a Gabby-Sharon reunion just happened. What a shock, huh? Just another genius gimmick to make us watch their new film.

So what can we expect from this family of has-beens? A Sharon-Gabby-KC movie, that’s my best guess.

It’s all clear now, this was the plan all along. The ingredients of KC, Gabby, and Sharon are all in place, this reunion film is going to happen in the future. These washed up stars need it to pump life back to their careers.

Now the question is, will this Sharon-Gabby reunion film be the first Sharon film I am going to watch?

The only thing that is permanent is change, so I will never know.

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Intellectual teachers

Teachers are very influential, and students are like sponges. Such a relationship gives a teacher a very powerful position to mold the minds of young people. That is why teachers need to be very careful.

Most of the time in class, teachers teach students by talking. But students do not only learn from what they hear in class. Students do not only learn when classes are over. Their sponge-like character allows them to see and hear how their teachers act in and out of class.

So this means, teachers are always teaching. Teaching is not a profession, it needs to be a way of life because as role models for their students, the students are always looking at the lives of their teachers. It is not only about what they talk about but how they act as well.

Students do not only learn from what they hear from their teachers, they also learn from what they see from their teachers.

If teachers talk about the importance of reading books in class but the teachers themselves do not read books in their lives then this will affect the students. Students will begin to say that, the teacher did not do it, so it is okay for me not to do it as well.

If teachers talk about ideas and theories in class but after class see their teachers most of the time talk about showbiz matters and entertainment gossip then this will plant seeds of confusion in students. Students will begin to ask what is important: ideas, theories or showbiz?

If teachers talk about passion and determination but seem the same teacher act lifeless, easily giving up then the students who see this will act lifeless and surrender as well.

Teachers need to walk the talk.

That is why I see coaches as having the advantage in teaching, because coaches need to show their players that they are good at the sport they are teaching. Their success largely depends on the fact that they need to be good players (not the superstars of their team) before they were coaches.

Because teaching is most of the time, being copied or idolized by their students. So coaches with their skills, mostly have the teaching advantage.

This is also true about college teachers, because college teachers usually continue to practice their profession and teach as well. Art teachers continue to create art and teach, Architecture teachers continue to design buildings and teach, it gives them credibility and students see and follow this.

So again, teachers need to be careful because they are not only teaching inside the class. They are teaching all the time.

This is not an easy tasks to do for teachers and a bigger salary would really make the job or this way of life easier.

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We Need Another Champion

Okay, Los Angeles Lakers won against my favoured team, Boston Celtics. A lot of people are celebrating right now but we also have to know that it is bad for the sport that the same champions emerge all the time.

Yes, it is bad because as far as I know now, knowing Phil Jackson’s teams, he will usually go for the three-peat, which means that I won’t need to be updated about the NBA next season because Los Angeles will still win it. Next season will be boring, no surprises there.

You might argue that other teams will challenge them. What other teams? Boston will be very old by next season, San Antonio Spurs too. Denver lacks big men, Phoenix Suns will not be intact and no matter where Lebron James goes, his old or new team will still need to adjust. Then Lebron with his inconsistent jumper is still not the dominant player we want him to be. So again, I say it will be a boring season next year because no team will be able to truly challenge the Lakers, so they will be champions again. No surprises there.

This is also the reason why I say that the 80’s and the 2000’s of the NBA seasons were one the best because a lot of teams became champions. There was the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Cetics, the Philadelphia Sixers and the Detroit Pistons for the 80’s. For the 2000’s there was the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.

For the World Cup, again the sport needs another champion. It is important that leagues have different champions all the time because it maintains the element of surprise and thrill that we love so much about in sports. There is no sure winner, so thrilling games and competitive games will always be assured. New champions will also bring inspiration to other underdog teams – that it can be done.

That is why in the World Cup, I am going to root for Spain and England and if I really want the underdog to win, I would go for teams from Africa and teams from Asia like North Korea, for example.

I know that the sure winner for the World Cup right now is Brazil, and for a third-world country like them, they surely need the inspiration for their football team to win. Football inspires them the way Manny Pacquiao inspires us. But right now, because Brazilians are dominating the mixed martial arts scene especially the Ultimate Fighting Championships, there country is not only inspired by their football now. So, I guess it wouldn’t be such a tragedy if Brazil loses the World Cup. They still have the MMAs.

So rooting for Spain now, where the team has always been strong but not able to fully perform in every World Cup. But if they win it now, it will be good for the sport. Then imagine if underdog teams such as North Korea or South Africa will win, that will be a great story good enough for a movie adaptation.

So sports, in order for it not to be boring, needs another champion. We need a good story that can uplift us; a good story we can tell over beer and peanuts.

We need another champion, we need another inspiration.

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Mixed Martial Arts

We hate what we don’t understand, and this thought is what I was reminded of when I got my first glimpse of mixed martial arts (MMA).

You see, when I did not understand the sports before I hated it especially when you see it around the time in between commercials where the fighters are on the floor hugging themselves. It was weird because they were just hugging each other and not doing anything. Little did I know that they were wrestling, looking for ways to defeat their opponent either through a submission or a ground and pound.

I truly hated what I did not understand that time.

Then such a misunderstanding of wrestling was also aggravated because I was a fan of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) back then which as most of us know now is not true wrestling, it is just all an acting gig. Wrestling in the WWE is so fast and polished without the blood and sweat. So when you get to see mixed martial arts, their wrestling is ugly, it so different that you will not like it at first.

Then the sports before only got my attention because I was interested about Brandon Vera, a Filipino American fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) that first got my attention when he visited the Philippines to train Richard Gutierrez for his television series.

Brandon Vera is indeed good but once you get to know mixed martial artists, Brandon is not the best among them.

So now, I can truly say that I am a fan of the sport. Now I can say, especially when I listen to the comments of the sports host Joe Rogan (a lot of people know him as being the host of Fear Factor), I truly understand the sport now. Joe Rogan is a good commentator and analyst of the sport. He is very knowledgeable of the terms and explains it very well.

What is great about the MMA is it is the real thing. MMA is much better than boxing and entertainment wrestling.

It is better than boxing because athletes here need to combine different ways of fighting in order to win. Fighters need to know boxing, kicks, wrestling Brazilian Jujitsu and others martial arts to have the advantage. So if you lack some fighting skills you will easily get beaten.

It is better than entertainment wrestling because fighters don’t need to have an act like having colourful costumes or quotable trash talks. Fighters don’t need to look good in the MMA, they just need to fight good.

So now thanks to local television studio 23, me and my wife get to see mixed martial arts every weekend. My favourites in the sport are the Canadian George St. Pierre and the Brazilian Andersen Silva. George St.Pierre is pound for pound one of the best in the sports. And Silva is very good at eluding and tiring his opponents.

There are other fighters I like as well, like the hall of famer Chuck Lidell, the Noguiera brothers and Cro-Cop. Of course, as a remnant of my entertainment wrestling days, I also like Brock Lesnar. Then though not in the UFC, the one I am also a fan of is Fedor Emialenko.

We hate what we don’t understand. So when you channel surf, and get to see two mixed martial arts fighters hugging it on the floor with all their blood and sweat, do not hate it. They are just wrestling, it is not a boy to boy action thing your gay friends can be excited about.

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The Need for an Exhibit

As an art teacher right now, I believe that showing students how art is done is more influential than talking about the theories and histories of art.

I did not grasp this idea before but when my college teacher Prof. JV Villacin showed us his artworks during an exhibit, we finally understood what he meant, the walk is more important than the talk.

You see, Prof. JV was the type of teacher who shared to us a lot of his experiences with art but he did not do it most of the time. He was the type who just talks a little and leaves you to do it by yourself. He trusted your maturity and independence. And if you had questions about your art projects and all, he could always entertain you all the time.

But of course, we may sometimes understand theories visually but when time comes to apply it, we might have challenges that come that we did not anticipate before and that means trouble.

So when Prof. JV decided to exhibit his artworks, and this was the first time for most of us in class that time had shown his works, most us students had our A-ha moment. We finally understood, this is what Prof. JV meant by always making artworks that are high in quality. His artworks at that exhibit were very furnished, very presentable.

We finally understood, what Prof. JV meant with creativity and uniqueness because his works at that art exhibit truly stood out. It was one of the highlights of that show.

This is what I learned from one of my respected college teachers, and this is what I want my students to experience now. That teaching is just not limited to lectures, it is also about showing them how it is done.

That is why as an art teacher, I also need to mount an art exhibit, so my students can see the theories being applied. That what I talk about is true.

It is also my understanding now that most of art teachers especially in college continue to have art exhibits compared to their fellow artists because they need to show their students their works. They need to continue teaching their students in different ways and having an art exhibit is one way.

Teachers teach all the time, there is no rest.

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How to Know when People are not Really Funny

Though I have mentioned some of this concepts in my Chokwang article I would like to write about this more because I think this would be helpful to a lot of people.

We can detect if comedians or just people around us are really funny or not. You can just use some of these concepts I have come to understand along the way and if you have other concepts that I did not mention then good for you.

One of the first indications if a person is really not funny is when a person always likes to blurt out green jokes. People, speakers or comedians usually do this in order to get attention. It is usually a sure thing that people will give attention when talking about green jokes because sex always sells.

The bad part about this is that, such types of comedians are not creative because they always go for the same formula of always giving green jokes. So you know that he or she is really not funny because he /she is not creative with his jokes. It is also very insensitive for this people to giving out green jokes, because some do not appreciate it. It is not good to be talking about green jokes in front of kids and religious people.

So again, when a person tries to be funny and starts cracking up green jokes. He/she is really not funny.

Second type of joke that is not creative and formulaic are jokes that make fun of people. One prime example of this is Willie Revillame. Willie has never been funny, that is why when Dolphy started proclaiming that Willie Revilliame was the prince of comedy, I had to protest. It is Michael V. that is the prince of the comedy now, not Willie.

Jokes that make fun of people like making of fun of ugly people or making fun of gays are sure to draw out laughs but they are insensitive because it does not care to see if the feelings of the person joked about is okay with it. It makes jokes at the expense of humiliating people, and that is bad. I hear that a local stand-up comedy bar in Cebu is like this, it makes fun of its guest which only means, comedians like these are very insensitive.

Of course there are exemptions to the concepts I am giving now. Exemptions like what if people are okay with being laughed at, so that’s fine. If comedians want to make jokes about themselves, fine.

Inside jokes or jokes between friends are also okay because there is already a stage of being comfortable.

Green jokes are even funny and okay between friends because you already know their reactions but if you start throwing it to people you don’t know then problems start to arise because you don’t know how they will react.

So what makes a good joke then? Good jokes are usually the ones that make fun of no specific people in different situations. Jokes about experiences of everyday life are funny. I can’t give examples about this but try to watch Bubble Gang and you will see what I mean.

Have a good day.

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We have nothing to talk about

Because of the changes of my life right now, I am having a lot of past friends and acquaintances that when we see each other right now, we no longer have nothing to talk about. This is weird because, in the past, time was not enough for our stories to be shared, but these days we are hurriedly trying to avoid each other.

There is this saying about friends, that you are only friends if you have the same interests and when those interests are gone, the friendship will also be gone. Which, if you come to think about it, is true. Why would you be friends in the first place anyway if you have different interests?

So maybe now, because most of my friends have different lives, our interests have also changed with it. Before we could just simply talk about playing football, losing and winning or we could talk a lot about politics, art or music, we cannot do that now. There is now a silence between us, a deafening silence.

That is why, I would always want to continue our interests like playing football or organizing an art club but then again, I have reached this limit where I am tired of organizing that I don’t care that much anymore.

But of course, there are exemptions and I am proud to say that I still have a lot of friends from my past that remain strong today. My seminary friends from high school and college batch mates have remained strong, though the topics have changed from talking about football or art to married life and babies, it still is something I am proud of that I remain in contact with them.

And this can only happen if you had a solid foundation when you were high school or college friends before. The foundation of friendship needs to be that strong that whatever changes come, you will still be able to understand and accept each other.

Then of course, social networks such as Facebook help as well. Events such as NBA finals, mixed martial arts and the World Cup have given my friends and acquaintances a lot of hot topics to be talking about even if we do not see each other so that is cool too.

The thing here is, we don’t need a club or have the similar organization to keep our friendships going, we just need to continue to be interested with each other so we can continue to have topics to talk about.

But of course, there will always be friends and acquaintances who will be forgotten, that is how reality is. And what you do is just keep the good ones and forget the bad ones. You need to filter them. That’s how you keep your friends and that is how they keep you.

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The World is a Changin’

One of the things I have been learning these days is about how rapid change is going. They say that in education especially the I.T. course, the curriculum changes in about three years, it is that fast that I.T. students need to be always updated in order to keep up with the changes of technology.

There is also right now the shift of what jobs are “hot” or which careers are in demand. Before, nursing jobs were the boom, now a lot of nursing students are finding it hard to get a job, some are even the ones to pay local hospitals so they could get in and acquire the experience they need to work overseas.

We got a lot of students enrolling to be nurses but we no longer have the companies to give them the job.

Then with the movie Avatar, it is a plausible threat that acting jobs, especially those based on “good looks”, could be gone because technology and special effects can already take their place.

Even, in the art scene, more artists and practicing computer graphics instead of painting oils on canvases because this is where the money is now. Though artists need their basic drawing skills they also need to level up and learn how to handle computer programs now to survive.

Then of course, computers, cell phones and other gadgets are coming out too, that if you really want to keep up with them then it is going to cost you.

So with all the changes that are happening, it got me thinking what remains the same with amidst the change.

One of the things I thought about was how a lot sports have stayed the same. Yes, because the same set of skills in sports have stayed the same. In a lot of sports you still need to have the basic skills to be good at it. Boxing, basketball, football and a lot of popular sports have stayed the same. Uniforms, conditioning, medication and the playing field have changed but the basics have remained.

So if you are a young player right now practicing volleyball or billiards, the same skills will still be needed after 10 to 20 years. Unless, of course the sports dies, which is unlikely to happen. How many years have these types of sports been played? More than 50 years, or 100 years perhaps.

Then special effects can replace actors on movies but because sports are always live, we want the real thing. No special effects can replace the real excitement live athletes can bring.

So it is safe to say that athletes will be enjoying more job security compared to actors and celebrities even though there are less career opportunities for this kind of jobs.

A future without celebrities? Hmmm…

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Why Brock Lesnar

Most of the time when it comes to sports, I will always choose the underdog to win. That is why in this world cup, it would be okay for me for Netherlands or Spain to win. And even if Germany wins, it still would be good news to me. So unlike the last NBA finals, this year’s world cup has already given a lot inspiration and thrills.

So when it came to mixed martial arts and the fight between Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, I happen to choose Brock Lesnar which in a way goes out from my usual formula of choosing underdogs. Because for Brock Lesnar’s fights, he has never been an underdog, his opponents were. So if this the case, why would I choose Brock Lesnar?

For me Brock Lesnar is an underdog. What makes him an underdog is that he came from the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a company of “fake” or “staged” wrestling fights and performers. Brock Lesnar even succeeded in WWE by winning early the WWE belt.

But of course, because everything is staged in the WWE, his credentials will always be in question. So with that background, we can surmise that Brock is more of an actor, a performer than an athlete. He is not the real thing.

That is why, if Brock wants to be treated as the real thing he needs to show people that he is just not a performer, he needs to win real belts and real fights and what better stage to do this than to try mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UfC).

Every fight Brock comes into in the UFC, he will always try to prove to us that he is an athlete, not a performer. Though I think with the few fights already he has proven to do this.

So with the basis of his entertainment wrestling background, Brock Lesnar is an underdog who is proving to us that he is not a performer, but a real ultimate fighter.

By the way, Brock could have chosen not to care for this performer tag, and instead stay with the WWE, and continue to get entertainment wrestling championship belts and get money as well. He could have stayed within his comfort zone and not risk it by leaving WWE for mixed martial arts.

He took a risk by leaving fake wrestling for mixed martial arts. That risk payed off.

This is also why I would like more entertainment wrestlers to jump shop to the UFC so we can see if they can survive the real fights they will encounter in the UFC.

I would like to see John Cena, Randy Orton, The Edge or Triple H prove their worth in mixed martial arts. Let’s see who survives.

I even heard that Dave Batista would want to join the UFC though a lot of critics have predicted he would not cut it. He could prove his critics wrong. Even Bill Goldberg wanted to try mixed martial arts if he were young.

So you see, for me, the UFC is the ultimate stage for these entertainment wrestlers to prove their worth, so bring on those fake wrestlers. Bring ‘em on.

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Noynoy, Gretchen and Kris

I was just waiting for something to happen these days, something shocking
and controversial so I can write about it. But as of now, there seems to be
nothing interesting to write about. It is all boring down at the waterfront.

But maybe there is something out there to get us out of the boredom, maybe
there is hope in politics. Sad to say it did not offer that much. Though
Pres. Noynoy Aquino singing “Estudyante Blues” at his people’s concert was
weird, I was asking myself what the reason could be for the highest
official of the land to sing a rebel song that carried a theme about
irresponsible parents and the unfairness in
youth? Did his parents, the late Tita Cory and Noynoy do this to him?
Were they irresponsible, unfair to him when he was going up? Was Pres.
Noynoy sending as a subliminal message or am I over-thinking this?

So if politics had no shocking news to offer, I had to turn to showbiz. But
again, most showbiz featured the past days have been boring. What, am
going to comment on the attention-starved Gretchen Barretto trying to
stir attention to herself
with this Derek Ramsay issue? That is so old news.

A lot of people wonder why actors and actresses with all their money still
return to showbiz when they could just rest and enjoy their wealth. Well,
the answer to that is they miss the attention. Actresses such as Gretchen
Baretto, Ruffa Guitierrez and Kris Aquino need our attention to complete
their lives. And when they lose that, or retire they want that attention
back. So that is just what is Gretchen doing to us, doing all these things,
creating controversy to get our attention.

Gretchen has only one talent, it’s not acting nor is it singing. It is
stirring up controversy.

When it is all said and done, it is not her doing us a favor, it is us
doing her a favor because she needs our attention more than we need her.

Then am I going to write about why Kris Aquino had to bring Baby James on
the inauguration and not the Big James? Am I going to write about their rocky
relationship? No, because this is old news, man. We all know from the
beginning that this relationship was all wrong. James, I think, is too young
for Kris Aquino. I think Kris wants a father figure so she was always going
for the old men. Guys like Philip Salvador and Joey Marquez fit right for
her. So, the woman needs an older man, not a young man like James.

And do you really think that James Yap, now that Noynoy is president, would
give up on Kris? No way, this guy, in a very suspicious way, won a basketball
MVP after she married Kris. He won it at a time when Noynoy, was still not
president, now with all the spoils he can receive with Noynoy as his
brother-in-law, who in his right mind would turn against that?

Then of course, I promise myself that I should stop writing about Kris
Aquino especially when Noynow wins. It is just too dangerous now. So Kris
Aquino should never appear as one of my topics for my articles. Never.

With all my twists and turns, I still do not have a topic for my articles,
it is still boring down here at the waterfront.

So what am I going to write about now?

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Lebron, Wade and Bosh

Man, this so big news for basketball right now. Lebron, Wade and Bosch coming
together in one team, this is big.

This is big and this is different from the past because most of the time,
when players like Karl Malone or Gary Payton joined the Lakers back then or
Shaquille O’neal joined Karl Malone and Dwayne Wade in the Miami Heat, most
of them were past their prime. But this one, these players are still at
their prime. So this is different and this is big.

But first of all, I need to make things clear first. I am not a fan of
Lebron James. I am just not a fan of a guy who has all the hype but no
championship to show.

Am kind of old school when I deal with these things because, Larry bird,
Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson had to first win MVP’s and championships
before they got those TV commercials and shoe endorsements. They had to
prove themselves first. With Lebron, he has the hype but he still has not
showed us the complete skills and the mental toughness to be able to win the
championship.

I am also not fan of Chris Bosch, though Kevin Garnett likes him I do not,
because of his insistence that he be “the man” of the team he’s playing in. That
makes him a selfish player.

But I am fan of Dwayne Wade. Dwayne is a good guy and an unselfish player.
He is kind of an underdog as well because he does not have the hype of
Lebron James.

So when these three get together I have two guys I don’t like join one
guy that I like. So what is my reaction to that news, then? I like it. Why?

Because I would take anything now, any team now that can stop the Los
Angeles Lakers from achieving its three-peat.

If Pat Riley plays it right, get more players to fill up the roster and
maybe even he could return to coaching then the Miami Heat could win the NBA
championship next year.

And I even think that if Pat Riley does come back to coaching, Erik
Spoelstra would not be treated like Stan Van Gundy who was ousted. Because
Erik is Pat Riley’s protégé, I think Pat would treat him right and retain
him as an assistant coach.

So now with this basketball news so sudden, there is now a possibility that
a team can stop the Lakers. And for that I like the Miami Heat news now.

Pat Riley vs.Phil Jackson, Lebron, Dwayne and Bosh vs. Kobe, Pau, Odom and
Artest, would also be great television ratings.

And after the Miami Heat beat the Lakers for the championship, I will be a
happy man. If they win more after that, maybe two or three then it is till
okay for me. But when they start winning more then I’ll probably start
to hate them
and root for another underdog by that time.

Because I am only liking them because I don’t want Kobe, Phil and the Lakers
to win again, it is that simple.

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Ride A Taxi

When you ride a public transportation like a jeepney, you can’t control how fast or slow it will lead you to your destination. So when jeepneys stop for a long time to wait for more passengers to ride it, you can’t complain about it.

But this fact has not stopped people from complaining though.

So when passengers complain about how long the wait is when taking a jeepney, the “konduktors” or drivers will tell them that “they should take a taxi instead.”Yeah that’s it, they tell you to ride a taxi.

So, when they tell you this, you can’t give any retort to it. Because jeepneys are like that. They give you a generally slower travel time compared to taxis or a private car. They need to fill the seats up with the maximum allowable passengers so they can make more money. And you, on the other hand, can’t do much except to suck it in because you don’t have a budget that commuting through taxi demands. You can’t disregard riding the jeepney. You have no choice but to stay on the jeepney you are riding.

Jeepney drivers will also not care if you are late or not, or if you are in a hurry because it is basically your fault why you can’t take a taxi.

Now is there really no retort to the “ride a taxi” statement of drivers? I think there is no retort. Unless of course, you do have a budget and leave the jeepney and start riding a taxi, so the driver wins and you lose.

If you do try to get the help of our local traffic enforcers (CIToM), maybe that will work and force drivers to start driving responsibly – meaning that they make stops at the proper spots, not wherever they see a bystander by whichever side of the road. But if the jeepney you’re on does stop at the proper areas, then you can’t do nothing about it. Also, you can’t depend that traffic enforcers are always present for all time. You need luck to have them always there.

So what is the lesson here? The next time you ride a jeep, don’t ever complain about drivers being too slow. Don’t try to debate with them about it because again, you are going to lose. Because you know that they are going to say, “Ride a taxi.”

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Saying Bad Words

Before you read this, I have to post the typical parental advisory message. Because there is going to be a lot of swearing in this article and if you are sensitive about it, then you are advised not to read this article. Okay?

As a teacher now, I am not suppose to say any bad words or do any swearing. This is of course, because teachers have to set a good example, and swearing or saying words like “shit”,

“damn”, or “fuck” would be a bad example that kids will follow if they hear you say any of these. It is a bad influence.

Though I am not an absolute believer of this, I still have to follow it for the fear of being reprimanded or of losing my job. Anyway, young kids already know these words or will pick it up in the future from a different source, the thing is just as long the source is not you, it is okay.

So why am I not a firm believer of this? This is because I always believe that words were generated to express what we truly feel at a certain moment. If we really have a bad day or feel much worse, then we use words that truly represent what we feel. With or without censorhip, feelings need to be expressed through these words.

That is why such words have been created, and part of our vocabulary so we can use them to express ourselves.

Of course, maybe there are words to replace “shit”, “damn”, or “fuck”. In Bisaya there may be words that can replace “atay” ( Is liver, as in the anatomical one, the English term for “atay”?) or “leche” or “piskot”.

(I know there are still a lot of Bisaya terms for swearing that I don’t have the guts to write it now so I leave it up for your imagination.)

Okay so if this is how I stand in swearing and bad words, how do I replace them with other terms or words that still can be swearing and I still get to express myself and also still get to keep my job?

Well, a style to do this is to replace shit with “shoot”. Then in Bisaya I need to say “buanga” now instead of “ataya” which is hard to do because “buanga” and “ataya” are very different words unlike shit and shoot.

Though I think I will just have to replace “ataya” with “pataya” or “patay”.

So this could be the way to do it. Hope this works.

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Leading the Fine Arts

While in college, I got the chance to lead our Fine Arts organization, and I consider that experience as one of the highlights of my life, no matter what happens in the future. I think being the Chairman of the Fine Arts org was my first crack at having a big role in leadership, and I am proud, with the help of my fellow officers, that we did a good job at it.

Now, as I think back on why we were successful, I would like to share these points and hope some young fine arts student is reading this.

First of all, no matter how good you are, leading the fine arts is no one-man or one-woman show. That is why, when we became officers, it was really our batch 94 that was leading the organization that time, and not just the chairman, vice-chairman, secretary or other officers.

This means that batches starting at first year should already be learning how things work in the fine arts organization, they should already be trying to undo the mistakes of the past and continue what works for the organization. So that when the time comes that they will be seniors or juniors, they should already have a lot of know-how on how to lead the organization.

Leadership is not like what actors/athletes-turned-politicians do now, that they first try to win the position and then start learning what to do after they win it. That is stupid, and not a good example for young leaders now.

As for my batch, as freshmen, we already started learning the ropes of the organization, we got our fine arts history lessons from the higher years back then.

I think my good friends James Siador and Rainville Gemperoa got it from the likes of Donald Sabandeja, Rex, Maning and even Sir Karl. I think Tianos Makabenta got most of the stories from her sister Fil, and then as for me, it was Jethro Estimo who told me a lot of Fine arts stories. Though I also asked a lot of former chairpersons like Lily Uy, Ricky on how they did it during their respective terms.

Tianos Makabenta and I got the most stories out of UP football greats like Sked Besa and Dado Montano, as we were both groomed to lead the UP FASO United Football team.

I think that is always the role of the seniors, to share the history of the organization. And the role of the lower years is to know more of the history of their organizations.

It is also important for the higher years to start letting the lower years know that one day their young batch will lead the organization, so they better start preparing as early as first/second year. It should be that early.

So again, it is a batch or team that leads the organization, not one man. And second, young fine arts students should know the history of the organization, they should start the preparation that early.

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Leading the Fine Arts pt. 2

The one thing I learned about the Fine Arts organization, especially about its leadership, is that the new batch of officers do not continue the good things their predecessors did.

Most of them always try to change things for the sake of changing so as to have something new. Most of these leaders also change things so as to have a legacy. So that when young fine arts students start knowing the past, their names will always be mentioned.

The thing is, if a leader is that good, he will always be remembered. That goes for the bad leaders too, if they have done the organization harm, they will also be remembered for that. So leaders should stop thinking about their legacy at present time. If your leadership is good, then let the future decide if you will be remembered or not. Focus on how you lead the organization now and stop thinking about your legacy.

So by not continuing the good things on what their predecessors did, they fail to continue the development. Things have to start all over again. One example of this was about the Mindworks activity being on September and now is being held at December or January. September is first semester and December is already second semester.

Though as far as know, it started being held at December because the officers organizing the event encountered problems and had to move the activity to December instead of September. So it was not moved because of the legacy thing.

Those new officers who did not understand the organizing mistakes of the past, did not understand the essence of things, and continued to go on doing Mindworks on the second semester.

So the moving of the Mindworks to January is just one example that I would like to point out because there is a reason why the Mindworks was placed on the first semester. It was one of the good things past leaders did for the organization and has not been continued now.

That is why again the young leaders need to know the past, the reason, the essence of why things were made or did that way because if they don’t, they would not even care and would just do activities as an obligation, not because of passion.

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How to know when People are not Really Funny pt. 2

The first part of this topic I have given some ideas about spotting people who are not funny, and in this second part, I will continue to give more.

One experience I have with people trying to be funny is the part where a person does not acknowledge you and acts like he was the one who first came up with the joke, this kind of situation usually happens when you are new to a group of people, usually when you are new to a job or you are attending a forum or seminar.

So what happens is that you are seated with people in a seminar or a group and you silently blurt out a joke in reaction to someone who is talking. You blurted it out silently so few people heard it. Then suddenly some guy who heard the joke repeats the joke and much more loudly now so more people hear it and the crowd laughs at the joke. The crowd recognizes the guy who told the joke not you, and the guy does not look at you to recognize that it was your joke.

He got the spotlight, he stole your joke.

He was not the funny one, you were and you just can’t do anything except to remember the guy or mentally kick his butt. You also know the guy is not really funny, he is just stealing other people’s jokes so you have to beware of it.

Of course you can always use the jokes you have heard from your friends and give it to another crowd or group of people you know, this is always okay. I even do it all the time. But the outright stealing of jokes, with the guy who originally cracked in the same room as you, that is not cool. You shouldn’t be a blatant plagiarizer of jokes.

You may even have experienced this already or know someone who is like this or worse…you are like this. Nevertheless, that’s just me chipping in my two cents on the topic. Now you know. And for the guilty ones, now you know that your joke-stealing ways have not been forgotten.

Beware.

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What Happens to Impersonators?

Impersonators are comedians who copy politicians, celebrities or any famous person for a living. Impersonators are living caricatures of politicians and celebrities, they are funny and give us this awesome feeling of laughing at politicians or celebrities without the feeling of disrespecting them, because we are not laughing at the real thing.

Impersonators are really hilarious and by delivering their brand of entertainment and comedy have also attained fame just like the famous people they impersonate.

There is Pooh who became famous for impersonating Manny Pacquiao, there is Ate Glow impersonating Gloria Arroyo, Jon Santos for Vilma Santos, and Pokwang who impersonates Mommy Dionesia.

But the bad side of impersonators is that there jobs also depend on the fame of the celebrities and politicians they copy, this especially true for impersonators who can only copy one celebrity.

That is why, if Gloria Arroyo would not have won as a congressman and retire, this would take her out of the limelight. Which means impersonating her would no longer be relevant , so her impersonator Ate Glow would also be irrelevant and would have no job right now.

If we forget, Gloria Arroyo, we would also forget her impersonator Ate Glow. This is the bad side of impersonating, it is a temporary gig. So they better make the most of the fame right now before it’s gone.
This is also true of the many impersonators of Manny Pacquiao and coach Freddie Roach. When the time comes that Manny will retire, they will also lose their fame as impersonators.

This bad side of impersonating is even true to the greatest impersonator our country has, Willie Nepumoceno. Willie Nep is one of the best as he can copy a lot of politicians and celebrities.

The long list of people he has caricatured include former presidents Marcos, Ramos and Estrada. Willie Nep has also copied Freddie Aguilar and Fernando Poe Jr. Then just during elections, he has copied political aspirants Manny Villar, Gibo Teodoro, Dick Gordon and Noynoy Aquino.

But because Willie Nep has been very famous in copying Philippine presidents, he has also lost his gigs when Gloria Arroyo became president. Because this time even though he could impersonate a lot of people, he could not impersonate women. This was his weakness.

It all goes to show that even with a talent like Willie Nep, he is still affected about the fact about impersonating- their jobs are attached to the famous people they copy.

So what happens to impersonators? They lose their jobs. Impersonators achieve fame when the people they copy achieve fame. Impersonators also lose that fame when the people they copy lose that fame as well.
Though I hate to say this, for Willie Nep’s sake, thank God a man won the Philippine presidency. So that Willie Nep can be back doing his political comments on how this country is being run .Willie Nep is back to give us this excuse again to laugh at our presidents without being guilty about it. Because again, we are not laughing at the real thing, we are laughing at impersonators like Willie Nep.

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To be open-minded

The idea of writing this came to me when in my few months of formal teaching I got to experience students who when I got to know them, were afraid of a lot of things. They were afraid to go to tree planting activities because they would get wounds. They were afraid to learn how to draw because when they were young, they were bad about drawing so they concluded that they will be bad forever. They do not want to try anymore.

I said to myself, these kids are too young to be afraid, too young to be close minded, too young to give up and lose hope.

I must be feeling very old when I say this but one of the things I have learned in life about the secrets of staying young is about retaining your open mindedness.

Being open to new ideas and experiences, is one sure way of being young.

I must be very old that I can say things like this, but as I understand it as long as we continue to learn something new then our lives will not be boring and dull. Life will always refresh us as we always become open to learning new ideas and trying out new stuff.

But, being open to new things is not always that easy because being open to new things means trying out new experiences where you could be humiliated and laughed at. And most of the time, a lot of adults are not comfortable about getting laughed at. A lot of adults are not comfortable at committing mistakes again because they think that the time for learning is over, they think that they are already too old for mistakes.
Being open to new things would also mean forgiving yourself of past faults because trying out new stuff also involves reviving our past experiences. Because this is true, our past which has a lot of hurts and pains are the ones that are stopping us from trying out new things. We are afraid to make the same mistakes again, we are afraid to go through it all over again.

Yes, we can always let our past control us and keep us in our comfort zones. But the consequences of it, is that we will be afraid, we will be bored, we will get old fast.

What are our common fears about the past? One of the common things is our experiences with relationships. A lot of us are afraid to go into new relationships because we have been hurt in the past before so we have closed our minds about it, saying that it will all be the same.

It is foolish to try again because we assume that it will all be the same.

Another common fear is pursuing our dreams and ambitions when we were children. When we were young, we had many dreams but as we grow old as we learned that in order to get our dreams we would also need to do the hard work. And by learning all of these requirements to get our dreams, a lot of us surrendered and forgot about it.

So our fears are keeping us from trying out new things. Our ideas about what adults are suppose to be are keeping us from being open minded. These fears, these ideas are making us old. Being open to trying out new things is what keeps us from being young.

So it is up to you now, do you want to grow old fast or do you want to stay young? It is your life, so you decide.

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Coaching Women pt. 1

After I coached the FASO United Team for what I think was 11 years, I decided to be open to the idea of coaching the U.P. Women’s College Team.

Before this, though, I encountered a lot of bad experiences in coaching women, because during U.P. intramurals they never made a habit of listening to me. They gave an impression that they already knew what to do and didn’t need my advice. So naturally, the effect this experience had on me made me see coaching women as discouraging.

But, I thought, maybe this time, with the new U.P. Women’s team, it could be different. I also wanted to try out new experiences and challenges, so why not give coaching the woman’s football team another try, I thought.

So I did pursue coaching the U.P. women’s team and it was a great learning experience for me, especially on the topic of understanding and handling different kinds of women.

The two-year experience with coaching a team of women gave me some enough insight on how to coach women. These insights were not even of the technical sort or about the game of football. This was about the mindset the coach should adopt if and when he coaches a women’s team.
And here are the things I have learned along the way.

The first and most important thing in coaching women is that a coach needs to believe in the potential and capabilities of women, not just women athletes, but women in general. What I mean by this is that, women are seen by many as the weaker sex, so if a coach gives credence to such though, he will never believe that a woman’s team will ever improve or even be good at sports.

A coach who believes that women are the weaker sex will see a woman’s team as slow and frail. He believes that girls are slow to improve compared to a boy’s team.

On the back of his mind, he will always think that women are the weaker sex, and therefore think that it is okay for them to lose.

If a coach thinks this way, he is already limiting the potential of his team. He is already accepting a culture where losing is okay; where striving to be the best is okay. This is wrong because coaches are supposed to inspire and motivate their players. Coaches are supposed to be expecting the best from his players-whatever the gender of the team is. If a coach is not there to get the best from his players; if a coach is not there to win, what is he there for, then? To lose?

A coach for a woman’s team needs to believe in women empowerment in order to be successful at the job.

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Coaching Women pt. 2

The second and important thing in coaching women is that a coach needs to respect women.
This means that male coaches who want to try coaching women should not see women as sexual objects, but instead to see them as human beings. A male coach should not be coaching a woman’s team because he wants to get a girlfriend out of it. Or even worse so he can get laid.
A male coach should stop looking at who is beautiful and who is not. He must focus on the skill level and on developing teamwork.
Now, I know that for guys, it must be really awesome to be coaching women and get an exponential increase in the number of female friends you have. Yes, this is good. But if a male coach thinks he can get more than friendship and makes “hooking up” as a primary objective in coaching, then his team will never respect him; they will never believe him. He may even get kicked out for his hidden agendas.
Then again, there are exemptions, because even if a male coach did not plan it, love can always blossom. This is always possible because there are a lot of beautiful and intelligent football players out there. So what must a male coach do in such a situation?
The male coach, because he respects the team, must talk about it to some of his players. He must ask the team if it is okay for them if the coach courts one of their teammates. And if it comes to that, the coach and his players must also discuss the adjustments needed if the coach gets busted or gets a “yes” from the girl.
If this is okay for the team – that their coach to court a player, then good. But if it is not okay, then a coach can either court that player after she graduates, or when that player is no longer on the team. A coach can also forget about his feelings or quit as a coach and decide if the girl-player is worth pursuing over the team. These are his options if indeed the male coach is “in love”.
And if the coach is truly in love, he really needs to be sure about his feelings and his intentions because, again, every wrong move he makes will affect his standing as coach. So he really needs to be sure. Is it love, or is it only just infatuation?
So these are my insights about coaching women. If a male coach truly is serious about coaching women, then he needs to treat women as equals; he needs to believe and respect them. If he can’t do all of that, then he can forget about his coaching career.

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Kapamilya, Kapuso or Kapatid? Pt. 1

These days, Filipinos are now confronted to answer a question that can dictate their social lives. This question is about what television channel he or she is fanatically watching.

This question can dictate their social lives because by watching a certain television channel shows, Filipinos can be updated about what is going on in showbiz. And if you are not updated, then you will be out of the loop; you will be unable to understand the latest television craze or keep up with telenovela updates. Television has now been a tool for peer pressure.

So like it or not, as a Filipino, you need to answer, are you a Kapamilya, Kapuso or Kapatid?
As a Filipino, I am neither of the three. Why? This is why.
First of all, I am not a Kapamilya because I do not like Abs-Cbn because of its boring shows that always center on dramas.

Dramas, or soaps, that always have the same storylines but just the different actors. Abs-Cbn is always about drama, they like to see people cry, they want to play with our emotions. Even in Wowowee before, they wanted their contestants to cry or dish out some teary story. That is why, Abs-Cbn loves Kris Aquino, because Kris always wants the drama of her life to be broadcasted and talked about by everyone. With Kris Aquino, Abs-Cbn has surpassed their teleseryes, because Kris is the real thing – a real drama queen, that is.

I also do not like Abs-Cbn because of the way they trick us by making Bea Alonzo, Toni Gonzaga, KC Concepcion and other stars and portraying them as full-fledged singers. They do this by putting them on a level parallel to real talents like Jed Madela, Christian Bautista, and Rachel Ann Go.

These stars sell a lot of albums even when they do not have real talent to back it up. These stars sell a lot of albums while talented bands and singers from the provinces do not get their due recognition.

These stars sell a lot of albums, even if they can’t sing. Actors that they are, they are just acting; only this time, it’s with a microphone. They are not singing; they are just trying to make us believe that they can sing. It is all an act, and they are very good at that.

There are still a lot of things I hate about Abs-Cbn from their biased news and all, for me, their only saving grace is Sarah Geronimo. That girl really has a talent, she can sing, dance act and be charming at the same time.

That is why Abs-Cbn, needs to hold on to her because that girl is one of the things that make Abs-CBN credible. Sarah Geronimo is their proof that they are a TV station with real talents. They should never let her go away.

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Kapamilya, Kapuso or Kapatid? Pt. 2

Why am I not a Kapuso?

From my previous article, I have already shown why I dislike Abs-Cbn. It is already clear that I am not a Kapamilya. But not being a Kapamilya does not simply conclude that I am a Kapuso.

Before I used to choose GMA-7 over ABS-CBN, and there are many reasons why I did so.

First of all, Gma-7 has more variety. In their prime time shows they have a combination of shows that feature fantasy, comedy, action and drama. Shows such as Darna, Captain Barbel and Mulawin were all good signs of variety.

Also their news and current events shows are more credible than Abs-Cbn. I am not saying that Gma-7 has no biases, I do not even believe that they truly do not side with no one. But between choosing two evils, Gma-7 is the lesser evil.

My choice of liking Gma-7 more than Abs-Cbn started to wane , when they started accepting people who had no talent but because they were grandchildren or sons of some celebrity. Then they were given primetime shows. I am talking about the talentless Carla Abellana here; I am talking about the talentless Geoff Eigenmann as examples here.

I even find it ironic that Carla Abellana was chosen as host to a talent search. Something she can’t relate to, something she never went through: a talent search.

Such celebrities were given breaks over people who had true talent; ABS-CBN does this, now Gma-7 does this too. There is no difference between the two, they are all the same. So my respect for the channel started to wane.

Add to that fact is that a lot of their storylines were copies of American stories. Captain Barbell was like the local version of Smallville. I was just thinking, is this Filipino creativity? Can’t we just make our own stories that reflect the lives and struggles of the Filipino and not the Western standards we all are programmed to adhere to?

Now, the only reason why I watch Gma-7 is because of Michael V. and Bubble Gang. Again, Michael V is a talent that Gma-7 should never let go of. The guy is a comedic genius. He has no counterpart in this generation.

So I am not a Kapamilya and also not a Kapuso, where do we go from here? Does this mean I am a Kapatid? Let’s see…

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Kapamilya, Kapuso or Kapatid? Pt. 3

If push comes to shove, if I am forced to select one channel only then I would choose TV5. I would choose to be a Kapatid. This is because TV5’ programming is focused on comedy. With all the drama and hardships our real lives have, we all need a break. We all need a laugh here and there. So I would choose TV5 because it has a lot of comedy shows.

However, I would not be a fanatic about it. I can still choose to turn off the television and just watch pirated movies or go surf the internet.

Between reading a good book or just spending time with my dogs and watching television, I would choose to turn off the TV and walk my dogs.

So if I say it simply, if I am not choosing any television channels, then what is my point here?

My point is this: the goal of these television channels is to control and dictate us. They want us to side with them and follow their every word. They want us to accept what they give us without question. They want us to dictate what we should look like, what our ideas about things should be about and also what our attitudes should be. This is what they want. They do not want us to question things. They do not want us to be critical.

Now, this is very dangerous because television is very influential. A lot of our ideas and attitudes come from watching television. A lot of our beliefs about what is right and wrong come from television and if we are not careful, we could adapt a false sense of morality.

This is why a lot of parents do not let their kids watch television on school days because it is a distraction to learning. This is why a lot of parents do not let their toddlers watch television at all because bad attitudes about eating and how babies act can be picked up by children like an open book.

Children influenced by television do not question what they see, they just follow and that’s it.
Am I saying we should ban television? No. I am saying that instead of these channel stations wanting to control us, we should control them. We should be able to choose what truly is entertaining for us regardless of channel station. We should be able to choose what is right and wrong for us?
We should be able to know what crap is and what real talent is.

This is a bad thing to do, and talking about what is right or wrong will take more time. But for starters do this, if you do not want to see some drama tonight, then feel free to watch some comedy without being guilty that you have offended a television channel and broken your loyalty.

You own the television, not them. So be entertained without feeling any guilt. Go ahead, channel surf.
Now, about peer pressure, if your friends are mad about you because you are not updated about local showbiz then screw them. It is not end of the world; our lives do not revolve around these people. Who cares if so and so is getting a divorce or pregnant, celebrities being pregnant or having a divorce is no big deal, it will truly not affect your lives.

Politicians stealing our taxes, politicians breaking the rules affects our lives not these celebrities. If your friends think otherwise then get new friends, do not be afraid to do so.

Celebrities are people that we should not idolize; they are people that we get entertainment from. They are people we can laugh at. But we don’t follow the way they live their lives especially when they do this to get our attention.

So to conclude, do not be afraid if you are not a Kapamilya, a Kapuso, or a Kapatid. You own your television. Take control.

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Why the Mindworks should be on September pt. 1

I have been talking lately about leading the Fine Arts in this blog and doing that reminded me of a lot of our past ideas. One of these ideas was about how the Fine Arts Student Organization (FASO) should handle the activity they call the Mindworks.

The Mindworks, with the Jose T. Joya Awards, are the major activities of the Fine Arts Student Organization. The Mindworks, as a show that presents performance art, is one of the creative shows FASO has ever produced. The show is very much unique in the Cebuano art scene.

The Mindworks is supposed to be held during the first semester, while the Joya awards during the second semester. But in present time, the Mindworks and the Joya Awards have both been placed at the second semester, which for me is not a good idea.

Now, why is this not a good idea? Why should the Mindworks be on September and not on December or January?

First of all, the Mindworks as a major activity should not be stacked up together with the Joya Awards because doing so will fill up the schedule of the second semester. By putting the Mindworks in the first semester, it will loosen up the schedule thus, giving priority to every activity.

Now, present FASO members may question if this can be done, because there is still the acquaintance party, cook- out, and the intramurals to organize. Of course, this can be done, if again the officers start preparing and planning for their activity by March, or the moment they were sworn to office.

Officers should plan the Mindworks early especially since it is a major activity. As early as March, they should already be planning the Mindworks together with the summer art workshop. But if they just plan the Mindworks as late as August or September, then they are about to fail.

The Mindworks, like every activity of an organization, depends on the organizing capabilities of its officers. If the officers did not do their home work, do not know what it is getting in to, do not know how to plan, do not how to anticipate, do not know how to delegate, then, it looks like we elected the wrong officers here.

Again, let’s emphasize on the major activity label that is given here for the Mindworks. If this activity is indeed important, then it also needs longer preparation. In order to make it work, you need months, not just a couple of days, for its preparation.

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Why the Mindworks should be on September pt. 2

Now, for the second part of my topic, why should Mindworks be on September?

It’s because as a major activity, Mindworks is the first test for the Fine Arts Organization to know if it is strong or not.

And it’s precisely because every organization’s goal is to be strong; to be united. An organization that plans and is able to execute such plans is a strong organization. If the organization has no plans to be strong or united, then why did they organize themselves in the first place? If an organization does not aspire to be strong or united, then it is better that they discard dreams of organizing and just go their own separate ways.

Then, the summer art workshop cannot qualify as the first test of strength for the FASO because not all of its members are present in that activity. The FASO acquaintance party also does not qualify because it is treated as a minor activity. The cook-out, does not qualify either, because it is an activity of the whole school where the FASO only plays a minor part, then lastly, the Intramurals is also an activity where FASO plays a minor part.

Activities such as the summer art workshop, the acquaintance party, the cook-out, and the intramurals; even though they do not involve all FASO members, are still important. They can be used as “build-up” for the two major activities that are coming.

These minor activities can be viewed as preparations where the new FASO officers can gauge their organizing skills and be able to experience first-hand what the capability of its new team of officers can do. They are minor but they are still important; they are the first steps for something bigger.

Though the intramurals can be seen as a major test of unity, this test of unity is shown in sports. Now, the FASO is not a sports organization; it is an art organization. So its first test of unity should be along the lines of art. That is why, Mindworks provides that venue.

Now, because FASO needs to know as early as the first semester if it is strong or not, it has to place the Mindworks at September.

September also makes the Mindworks a venue for showing the accumulation the successes or failures achieved and learned from the summer art workshop, acquaintance party, cook-out and intramurals, to add it all up and apply it to the Mindworks to make it successful.

The Mindworks with its overnights and workshops in August are a venue for the members to bond more deeply, know more the history and set its goals for the new school year.

The Mindworks, if successful or a failure, if placed on September also provides ample time for the next major activity to be prepared, which is the Joya Awards. The Joya Awards is on February, so the October to January period, four months of preparation is enough to organize the awards.

Think about it, what if the Mindworks was placed on January, the Joya Awards on February or March. It is just too tight. Now what if the Mindworks was a failure, it would still be fresh on the organization and would harbour a bad mood for the next activity. Putting Mindworks in September, Joya in February is enough for preparations and failures to be assessed and regroup.

So again, as an art organization, FASO needs to know if it is strong or not. The Mindworks as the first test of unity will answer the questions the art organization has. That answer has to be known early, that is why the Mindworks has to be placed on September.

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About Sex Education

Early this year, sex education became a hot issue when the Department of Education planned to teach it in schools, to make it part of the curriculum of this school year.

But the plan never came to light because of other sectors, especially the Roman Catholic Church protesting the plan (and let my say this, assuming that priests are really practicing celibacy, I find it weird for the church to be so knowledgeable about sex even if they do not have substantial experience when it comes to sex).

Though I do value the concerns of the Roman Catholic Church on this issue, I also do not fully agree with their alternative. Their alternative is to just let the parents do the teaching on sex education.

In an ideal society where everyone is educated and sex is no longer a taboo topic between kids and parents, the alternative of letting the parents teach their kids about sex is a good plan. But we are not living in an ideal society. A lot of parents themselves are uneducated and they do not know how to talk to their kids about sex. A lot of parents, especially from the poor, did not finish school. They are not technically qualified to teach a fragile matter such as sex. They do not even know how to talk to their kids about growing up, discipline and other issues society has.

Then add to that fact that sex is a taboo between parents and kids then the percentage of sex being explained to kids would be less. This taboo between parents and kids is the reason why a lot of us grew up learning about sex from other sources, and most of those sources were not credible so we end up having lot of misconceptions about sex.

The key word here is “education.” Young kids growing up today need to be informed about sex because the more we have information about it, the better it is for all of us. Knowledge is power. Ignorance is not bliss.
It was our national hero, Jose Rizal who told us all that education is important. And that includes sex education too.

The alternative should be complete. If the church does not want to teach sex education to students and let the parents do it then there should be an education program that teaches parents how to teach young kids about sex. If the church does not want to teach the young kids, then teach the parents.
By doing this, the information about sex will be correct. Misinformation and misconceptions about sex will be done away with.

Sex education for parents: I wonder how the parents would react to this.

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Growing up and Long hair

Though I am not sure about this, I think every new presidential term the Philippine army always brings back to the open the topic of reinstating the ROTC. Though I am not talking about the ROTC topic here, my topic today about growing up and long hair came out because of the ROTC issue.

It was funny, because when I was going to work and listening to the radio. The radio station I was listening to was accepting callers to air out their ideas about the return of ROTC.

One caller wanted ROTC to return because a lot of male kids were already sporting long hair. What a reason! What is so wrong with long hair?

I know, I know a lot of people especially those who live under rocks among us still see men with long hair as bad apples just like the villains in movies. But of course, that is stupid. It’s all been said before: judging a book by its cover is a no-no. So I do not need to explain the topic further. Men with long hair are not all bad, as well as men with short hair are not all that good.

The way I see it, having long hair for male teenagers is part of growing up. As teenagers they are in their exploration stage. Some kids want to try playing sports, some want to try being in a band. Some want to court the opposite sex, and some just want to try long hair.

And college is a stage for this exploration because in college you can try new stuff and change yourself along the way. Growing your hair long is just another experience boys need to go through, and it does not matter if they look good with it or not. The thought that they experienced it is the important thing here. It is just growing up. Relax.

In high school, boys were always told to have a proper haircut. Then we go to the corporate world, men again will also be told to have a proper haircut. So college is the only time for males to grow their hair long. That is why; it was sad news for me when many colleges started banning their students form sporting long hair. But then again it was also good news for call center companies to allow their employers to sport long hair.

So parents, or old people, relax. There is nothing to fear. Long hair is just part of growing up and that is all there is to it.

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I used to be a Leader

I used to be a leader; “used to be” because I am not leading anything these days and I have no plans to lead anything in the future. I have said this before; I really got my chance at leading when I was in college. It was a great fun, learning experience for me; but it also had its bad side.

One of the bad sides about leading is that people expect you to lead every time, which is just impossible. That is why when, even when there were times we had groups in my minor subjects, my classmates expected me to be a leader still. This was tiring because there was no rest. People expect their leaders to be at their best every time. And at that time, I just wanted to rest. Be a normal person.

This is one of the things I hate about leading, people expect you to be the best, and people expect you to succeed. That kind of pressure is just nerve-wracking. Leading is good, people recognize your efforts but it also sucks up a lot of your spirit. That is not good.

Then another bad thing about leading is that people expect their leaders to do all the work. Yes, I know about delegation and all, but some people when they know that their leader is good, they don’t do anything anymore and just expect for things to be given to them by their leaders. Some members just want the dregs of the work to be given to them, no more hard work.

I have seen a lot of people in my day just arriving only during the good times and are the ones gone during the bad times. Then this kind of people, the ones who do nothing are the noisy ones, the ones who always complain but are doing nothing. This kind of experience makes one think that he or she is just being used by people. This kind of experience results in the leaders getting tired and being discouraged.

People or members of organizations need to understand that for a group to succeed, it needs the effort of both leaders and it members.

That is why right now, because of this understanding that even if I don’t want to lead organizations anymore, I understand and respect people who want to lead. So in this light, I want to try to be a good member.

Because again, it takes a lot of a person’s time, patience, and sacrifice to be a good leader. The job is stressful, and knowing that, I do not want to add any more stress to what these leaders already have.
But being a good member does not mean that I will blindly follow my leaders now. Though some people think that to follow blindly is the right thing for a member to do, I don’t think that is a characteristic of being a good member.

Being a good member means you move, you follow because you understand. Being a good member means not being used.

If I see that my leaders somehow do not give credit where credit is due, then that is not acceptable. If I see that my leaders only do things for their own good; that they all get the spotlight and forget their members, then that is not acceptable.

I will only be a good member to a good leader. If my leaders are mediocre, then you get a mediocre member out of me.

New Motto for Life

When I was young, I used to hear this positive notion that I should give my best all the time. It was really good advice, especially when you are young because at that time it was easy, I was full of hope and nothing could discourage you. Also, when you are young, you think that all people are good. So it was easy trying to give your best all the time.

But as one grows up, there comes a time that giving your best becomes tiring. This is because you learn that no one can consistently give their best all the time. You can’t put your best foot forward all the time because you also need to rest. You just want to relax sometimes.

The question also comes to mind that if you do your best all the time, the people surrounding you like you for your best. So what if you fail, will they still like you?

The thought also comes to mind that if you do your best all the time, people will always expect that from you and nothing less. So there is pressure, there is stress to always fulfil their expectations. You need to exceed your past achievements to do that. That is not a very relaxed life.

There is also the possibility, that when you do your best all the time, people will always depend on you and let you do all the work.

There is also the possibility, that because you are dependable, always giving your best all the time, you might get exploited for it.

What seems a good intention for you, people may use it for their personal selfish advantages.

With all of this being said, I have decided to not give my best foot every time. This means that I will choose when I will do my best and when to just sit back.

I am doing this in order to lessen the pressures in my life. I just want to relax and take it easy. If I do give my best, it means I truly want to do it and enjoy doing it. I must be properly motivated and very happy if I do decide to give my best to something.

People can give all their best if they want to, that is their decision and it is admirable that they can do that. I applaud them for that.

But for me, here is my new motto: I will not give my best every time. I will choose when and where I will give my best.

I just want to relax. Watch a movie.

To complain or to protest pt. 1

Complaining and protesting are two different things. They may sound the same but they are different.

Complaining about something or someone is the thing people do in secret. When people complain they dare not do it in front of the people they are talking about. Complaining is in a way backbiting, complaining is in a way a form of talking against something but because it is not confrontational it really does not solve or change anything. Complaining, in a way, is a cowardly act because we are afraid to bring that concern to the people involved in fear of the consequences. Then complaining can also mean you just do not care. You just want to talk about it, but do not care enough to solve it.
So why do people complain?

People complain sometimes for the emotional release it can give. It is always a good thing to talk about your problems or worries to your friends or loved ones. A lot of these worries or problems we have are brought about from people who are in authority. Examples of these people in authority are our parents, teachers, bosses, priests and people in government like the police and politicians.

Because we cannot stand up against people in authority, we cannot tell them our problems or complains to them, we need to talk our problems about them to other people or those who are close to us to get the emotional release. That is the purpose of complaining.

Complaining does not solve the problems you are affected about because the authority figures do not know that you bear concerns about them. That is the problem about complaining: it is backbiting. We dare not bring that concern to these authority figures or we might have terrible consequences. Such consequences could lead to being kicked out of your job, excommunication when it comes to religion, or being scolded when it comes to teachers or parents.

Though complaining does not solve or change your problems, the problem being spoken here only covers the problem you have with your authority figures. Which means that because you are not telling these authority figures your concerns, they will not change for the better. So your problems about them will not change. However, you can still solve this problem by looking for another job, moving to another religion or rebelling against your parents.

Rebelling against your parents is already a form of standing up against them. You can still rebel against them even if they do not know what your problems are. You just want to express your anger in a form of your fashion, by going home late or by getting a boyfriend. Talking to them or raising your voice against them is not part of the option.

By complaining and solving your problems in another way, you are not solving the cause, you are only solving the effect of it. What bad deed these authority figures may be doing will continue to happen to other people, it will just be no longer your concern because you have already moved away from it.

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To complain or to protest pt. 2

One other characteristic about complaining is that it is personal; it is something you do by yourself. That is why it is different from protesting.

The first similar thing about complaining and protesting is that you are talking against something; it could be an authority figure or whatever. The other similar thing about complaining and protesting is that people who do this look tough and intelligent. They look tough because they are brave enough to talk against something; even when it is done in secret. They look intelligent because they are able to analyze the things we normally would not see and say that it is a problem. But the similarities end there.

If complaining is done in secret, protesting is the opposite. Protesting is done out in the open. People know and see that you are standing up against the authority figure you have concerns about. Protesting is addressing your concerns to the “man” himself and letting him know about it.

Protesting is solving the problems by hitting the core – the root cause. You want these authority figures to change their assumed evil ways. And if it comes to that, you even want to change the system. You want change.

If you do not like your religions stand on society’s issues, then you protest about it, you let them know. If you do not like the corruption in government then you stand up against it, you let them know.

Then because protesting is trying to solve the problem at its cause, it will take time and it will not take a mere single individual to do it. This means that if you protest you will need patience and determination. You will not expect for the thing to be solved in a day. Change such as that is impossible.

Protesting needs the help of other people. This can only mean making an organization that will give your support so you can stand up against a common concern. This is where organizations like unions, associations or non-government organizations come out.

By making an organization, complications like leadership, dealing with other people, fear of getting kicked out of a job or humiliated or whatever connotations we all have about protesters also come into the picture.
So these are the difference about complaining and protesting. When people do this, they look tough and intelligent. The only difference about them is if they are brave enough to stand up against the authority figure they have concerns about. This is what separates the cowards and the courageous among us.

But even though, complaining seems cowardly or in secret, we still need to do it in order to achieve the emotional release we need. We just want to talk about our problems without caring if it gets solved or not.

And though complaining seems cowardly or in secret, it still needs to be done because it is the first step to protesting. Complaining is a requirement for protesting, because by complaining, other people know that you have felt the same problems as well and it is up to you if you want to act on it or not.

So what am I doing right now? I am just complaining. If I see something bad done on television, in the government, in religion or in our barangay, I just want to talk about it without caring if it gets solved or not.
I am not here trying to spark something.

Am I a coward? Sure and who cares, being brave is for heroes and I am no hero. This is me, I just want to survive and see where this life of mine goes.

No idealism, no religion, no principles here, just talk. This is all you are going to get.

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The Truth About Recognition pt. 1

As people, teachers also need to be recognized for their contributions in society because they play a major and significant part in developing the young.

Without our teachers we would not have learned anything in school. Even if a school has the most sophisticated facilities around, a very remarkable teaching program or curriculum, all of these would still be nothing without the teachers who teach and implement the plan of the school. I think it is safe to conclude that, without qualified teachers, a school’s reputation would go down.

Parents who enroll their kids in school do look at the facilities of the school, but they also ask the educational attainments of its teachers and their turnover rate.

That is why, school administrations and even a lot of companies do continue to give credit to teachers or their employees by giving them awards or plaques to know that they are important. Recognition also makes teachers or employees feel good thus discouraging them to look for another job.

The bad thing about this, a lot of this recognition is empty soundbites.

What do I mean about this? The thing is, though I know how good it feels it to be recognized, by accepting awards or plaques, at the end of the day it is still the financial rewards and benefits that a company gives to its employers that will be the final say if an employer or a teacher feels recognized or decides to go and look for another job.

I remember something like this was done during President Fidel V. Ramos term where he started to recognize OFW’s as the “Bagong Bayani”, the new heroes of our country for the revenues they give to the country that keeps our Philippine economy afloat. Of course that sounded good, to be called a hero is very prestigious. We even do this with our war veterans.

But the bottom line, our country still has not solved the issues OFWs face when they go abroad. There are already many stories coming out about the cruelty their foreign masters do to them, still these injustices have not been resolved.

Same as war veterans, they do are respected as heroes, but they don’t have the financial benefits, that they need in order to keep on living.

So what is the use of getting recognized if at the bottom line, we all know it is just talk? So what is the use of all of these recognition when at the end of the day, we cannot eat it. We do get recognized but without the financial salaries and bonuses, 13 month pays, medical benefits, insurances and whatever, talk still feels empty.

Let us be realistic here. Have you heard of someone wanting to go to work so to be given plaques and awards? We work to get paid, and that is the bottom line.

(Just a clarification, if I do say the term, “Bottom line,” I am not trying to follow Boy Abunda here. That quote was made famous by the iconic wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin. So I got it from him. Am I defensive? You betcha. Hehe)

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The Truth about Recognition pt. 2

It is advised that if you have just stumbled on this article to read the first part so as to understand what the topic is about. Thanks

So I say, there are two important recognitions that a teacher needs to have in order to feel that he or she is fulfilled. One, is the recognition that a teacher gets from his/her employers. This is the salary he or she is given, a salary that is equal to his/ her effort. A salary that makes a teacher not feel cheated.

Second, is the recognition from his/her students. In fact, students who express their gratitude to their teacher is the highest recognition not financial a teacher will always value for. To know that their students came out to express their thanks for teaching them, is one of the best feelings a teacher can have. This is way better than plaques or awards because students thanking teachers is something that is real and it really feels good.

Gratitude does not even mean popularity. Because teachers can be popular because they gave way to the wishes of their students and may result to popular teachers afraid to teach young kids difficult lessons or not reprimanding them for being foolish. Even if there are just two or three students thanking their teachers, that is already enough.

Even if a teacher is strict, as long as students learn something from him/her, then well and good. Of course, students do not value discipline when they are young. It takes time for students to value strict teachers.

I used to hate my college teacher Prof. Karl Roque for his strictness. But as I grew up, I thank Sir Karl Roque for trying to implement discipline especially in a course such as the Fine arts where every young artist thinks that freedom without discipline is the rule. Sir Karl Roque brought balance to our course. He did a good job about it. And he did this to a college where academic freedom is highly valued. Sir Karl did a good job and I thank him for that.

So to conclude, the only recognition that a teacher will feel is real is when her/ his superiors give a salary, benefits and all that is truly equivalent to his value, a salary where a teacher does not feel that he or she is being cheated.

And second, the recognition from his or her students. We cannot expect students to give money to their teachers to express their gratitude. That is just weird in a way. A simple thank you from a student will do.
The fact that a teacher sees a student developing and becoming a good person is already something fulfilling to watch for teachers, whether or not that student expresses gratitude.

Plaques and rewards are good, but without these two real expressions of recognition, plaques and rewards are all just fancy chiseled wood and pretty paper…and nothing more than that.

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The Pinoy Azkals

I am very proud of what the Philippine football team has achieved in this year’s AFF Suzuki cup. I am that proud that I wanted to buy their official uniform which is sold at the Mizuno shop at SM. But because of financial constraints, I had to cancel that plan. The uniform is expensive as it costs around 2,000 pesos. And that is only one uniform as they have two sets for it, the blue and white. And it also does not include shorts, only the upper jersey. But still, buying the uniform would be a good remembrance of this historic moment of Philippine football. Hope it gets cheaper after the Christmas season.

The success of the Philippine Azkals has brought again to the center of our attention the discouraging state of football in our country. The success has also renewed talks that Philippine football might rise after this one. I do hope it’s true but I also have my worries.

I am worried because I have heard such talk before but still to no avail, still no Philippine football program to be proud of. I hear such talk all the time during every Fifa World Cup season.

Everyone wants to support football during the Fifa World Cup, everyone wants to play and understand the game. Everyone wants to wear and buy the jerseys. Everyone loves the game, that is so good, but it is just a fad. And when the World Cup ends, we are back to loving basketball or boxing again.

And this is what I am worried about the success of the Philippine Azkals, that it will all just end up again to being a fad, to be forgotten again once another sport success comes in.

So what can we do to not make it a fad? I really do not know. After watching the Azkals with their Fil-foreignerss, I have come to the idea that in order for football to succeed in this country, it is the rich and the immigrants will have to do the work in order to save the beautiful game in this country. So if you are not rich or not an immigrant there is not much you can do about it.

This is because, if football continues to have no budget, then rich kids will not have a problem about this because they can support themselves. Rich players can continue to play the game, finance themselves on leagues and represent the country. Same goes with immigrants.

And with immigrants they can expose their children early to the game and be future football players that represent our country.

If all football programs this country has will fail then the rich and the immigrants would have to shoulder the burden of saving the game. They are our last resort. Football as bad as it sounds will be a game of the elite. The rich will be on the spotlight, the poor will be on the sidelines.

And with a Philippine team composed of rich and immigrant players consistent success in winning games abroad, the game will continue to get our attention and will no longer just be fad .There will be change of culture, there will be an awakening, a realization that as Filipinos with even just an average height of 5’4”, we can be good at this game.

So it is up to the rich and the immigrants now. Start saving football for us.

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Another Kris Aquino article

History repeats itself.

Is it not strange that in order for an Aquino to win the presidency, one family member has to die?
This is what happened with Cory Aquino back then. She had no plans to run for the presidency because it was suppose to be Ninoy Aquino doing that. But when Ninoy was assassinated, Cory had to replace Ninoy. And as they say, the rest is history. This was the year 1984.

Now –the year 2010– the same scenario unfolds. Cory Aquino died, and thus propelled the people to clamour for her son Noynoy Aquino to run for president. Noynoy won and, again as they say, the rest is history.

So what does this all mean to all of us? Here’s a theory:

In the future, history will repeat itself again.

I believe in the future, Kris Aquino and James Yap’s son Baby James will run for the presidency. This is why in the first stages of their divorce, Kris Aquino demanded Baby James’ family name to be changed. In all the issues about their relationships, it was the changing of the family name that Kris Aquino was after.

True or not, somewhere over the horizon, Kris Aquino is already planning for her son’s presidency; something Kris Aquino could not do, that is why her son has the burden to do it for her.

And you know how this will happen? If history will repeat itself again, if we follow the same script, this is what is going to happen.

In order for Bay James Aquino to win the presidency in the future, one family member from the Aquino’s has to die. And you know who will die? Yes, as sad as it is to hear to all of us, in order for Baby James Aquino to be president, her mother Kris Aquino has to die.

This is Kris Aquino’s ultimate sacrifice, that for her son to be successful she has to die. She has to die so that the Filipino people will clamour for another Aquino to run for presidency. The same script has to be acted upon again. History has to repeat itself again.

But of course we all know that Kris Aquino is not Cory nor is she Ninoy, so this can all be wrong. It is Noynoy that may equal Cory and Ninoy in political weight.

So in order for this to be correct, it is Noynoy Aquino future’s son that has the assurance that if Noynoy dies, it will be his name that people will clamour for the presidency. But as long as Noynoy Aquino does not produce an heir, it will be Kris Aquino’s son Baby James to follow the script.

Kris Aquino will die. The masses will clamour for Baby James Aquino to run for the presidency and Baby James Aquino will win.

If this all true, in a way we are all safe, because most of us will probably be dead by that time. Our children, and our children’s children will not be that lucky though. So start preparing your kids for what is coming. They need to know.

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Learning How to Draw and Becoming an Artist

It was while I was just sitting around school, that a fourth year student (her name is Irina Gabasa, I think she is a junior champion golfer) approached me this question, “Sir, because all of us are learning how to draw, do you want us all to be artists?”

So far, this was one of the good questions that I got from a high school student. So good that I have given it a name in tribute to the student who asked it, I named it the “Irina Gabasa question”. It is a very challenging question and I am very glad a student asked me this. Again it is a very challenging question which I also have a good answer to.

Though I gave my student an answer, it was very short at that time so I like to share to you my answer and explain it much further.

This was my answer, I answered my student with a “no”. This is because learning how to draw and becoming an artist are two different things.

Learning how to draw, is just that, a skill or a talent. You can master it, you can even make it a hobby but you would not be called an artist for it. You are just good at drawing.

Learning how to draw is important to being an artist but it is just the first step to being an artist.
And this is what I want to teach my students, the skill of drawing. Because learning a new skill especially like drawing is very important. With your drawing skill, you can use it to make other projects for your class.

Then it is also can be another admirable characteristic for you. A lot of people admire people who can draw, so in a way it is plus points.

Teaching them how to draw is also good for them because they don’t need to go and spend more money to join art workshops during summer or weekends. They can just learn it in high school, so this is good for them. It saves them money and time.

So, that’s it. I just want to teach students how to draw, and because they are fourth years I do not even expect them to take courses related to art like architecture, advertising or interior designing. Especially since they come from rich families, usually their parents want them to take business courses. That is fine by me as long as they learn something from my art classes. All is well and good.

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Learning How to See Art

Aside from teaching my students the skill of drawing, there is also another thing I
want them to learn. And this is the skill of learning how to appreciate and see art.

Such skill is important especially when they grow up and their social lives force them to start visiting art exhibits and buying art. So when that time comes they will not be ignorant when it comes to art.

Appreciating art, teaching them what is beautiful and all–can be taught. They don’t need to master it, they don’t need to become very serious art critics about it but at least they learn the basics to use later on. And if they want to pursue such studies, they can read books about it and also take humanities courses in college.

To be very simple about it, appreciating art is just easy. It is all about describing what you see, interpreting it and judging if you like the piece of art work in front of you or not.

Describing art would involve obviously the giving of a description of the art work. Stating what colour it is, what shape and texture as well the medium used. In appreciating art this is the first thing to do.

Then next to describing art is interpreting the work. Interpreting usually involves learning how to look at the symbols used. Though the artist has its own interpretation of its work, critics and audience can also see something in the art work that the artist might not see or planned to show.

To be really good at interpreting, audiences also need to know the history of the artwork and the artists. That, though, may take time and we can just let the critic do that type of work. Knowing the history of the artist and the work is essential to truly understanding and knowing the language of art.

Describing an artwork and interpreting it are connected so much so that if the description is lacking, the interpretation will also be lacking. I had one student who did this to me, it was as if she was trying to escape the lesson. The lesson was about learning how to draw their hands and she did not do it well. I gave her a small grade because it lacked effort on her part.

She tried to defend herself by interpreting that she was drawing a farmer’s hands that is why her drawing looked dirty and hard.

Aside from not following instructions because she was supposed to draw her own hands, she also drew a smiley tattoo on the drawing, which, if I’m not mistaken, was supposed to make her work cute. But the thing is, farmer’s hands do not look cute, their hands have the wrinkles and creases borne out of struggle. So her interpretation was wrong because the description of the drawing and the interpretation did not connect. She was just trying to make excuses.

Then the last part of appreciating art is judging it. This usually depends on the audience tolerance on a lot of topics. That is why learning how to see art is also learning about yourself. If you examine an artwork and decide that you do not like it, this will reflect on your own views about life and all. If the message of the work offends you then the audience will have to ask themselves why they are offended.

So in a way the most important thing about appreciating art is that you get to know something about yourself in the process.

Well, that’s it for now.

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Going to the Dentist

I’m planning to go the dentist one of these days to get my teeth cleaned. I think it has been a long time since I went to the dentist, so I should take this seriously before my teeth start dropping off on me.
So while I was thinking about it which dentist to go to I had also found out in the process that I know a lot of dentist friends. There is my high school batch mate Gunther Seroy. There is also a sister of one of my players from U.P. Cebu before, Pam Fernandez. There is also a grade school batch mate of mine from USJ-R, Jill Sarvida and lastly a teammate of mine from the Fine Arts team that after graduating the Fine Arts course proceeded to take dentistry, this would be Ian Pehzman.

So with all the dentist friends that I have, which one should I go to? To be frank about it, I wouldn’t go to any of their clinics. You wonder why? Well, let me explain it to you.

The thing is I find it weird to open my mouth and have my teeth poked around by someone I know. I compare such a situation to confessing my sins to a friend that has become a priest now. Or to let my wife go to an OB-gyne doctor who is also a friend of mine. It is just weird.

Two reasons why it makes it weird, one is that it is just uncomfortable to have someone know something about you and you don’t know something about him or her, especially when it involves secrets like having bad and dirty teeth.

Having bad or dirty teeth is something personal, it’s like letting people in to your personal space. And showing it to friends just makes me uncomfortable.

But of course, since I have a lot of dentist friends I also would like to be one of their customers and support them in way at their jobs. So in the future, when I have kids I would let my friends be their dentists. That would be fine by me as it involves no invasion of my personal space. Yeah I know I’m sensitive but that is just me.

By the way, it was last year that I had thought of this topic while I was talking to my batch mate Gerald Ortiz in one of our reunions. We both agreed that we won’t let our friend dentists to check our teeth.

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Only Yes and No Questions Please

There is a conversational skill that everyone needs to learn especially if you need to relate to people and avoid irritating them. This is the skill of asking only yes and no questions.

Yes and no questions involve you asking someone questions that are only to be answered with, you guessed it: yes and no. This means that you do not ask questions that involve long answers. This means no why, what, where, when, who and how questions.

If you need to ask this type of questions, you need to pattern your questions by making it long. For example, if someone is in pain, you ask her or him a question like, “Are you in pain?” (yes or no), “Is your pain in the shoulders?” (yes or no), “Is your pain in the hands?” (yes or no).

Now, as you can see, because someone is in pain, it would be unrealistic for her or him to be answering long answers and giving explanations to you, so you need to adjust make it easy for someone in pain to communicate to you so you need to ask yes and no questions. Another thing that makes yes and no questions easy is that they can be simply answered with a nod. So if someone is really in pain, he or she is unable to speak then by a simple nod to your yes and no questions you can already communicate.

So what are other situations we can use the yes and no questions? Other than talking to people in pain, other situations would involve if someone is sleeping or already asleep and you need to ask that person a question. Use the yes and no question here. Have you ever experienced someone letting you explain something while you are already sleeping or about to sleep? It was irritating wasn’t it? Now if that person was just asking the yes and no question, it would have been easy.

Another situation is when you are talking to an angry or irritated person like most love quarrels situations are about. To people who are in this kind of special relationships, yes and no questions are very important because most angry and irritated people do not want to talk so yes and no questions would be ideal because it only involves again nods and short answers.

An example for this situation would be like, “Did I offend you?” (yes or no) or “Was it because I was doing something while you were talking?” (yes or no) or “ Was it during while I was texting?” (yes or no) .
So as you see, things are easy for an angry, irritated, sleepy person or someone in pain to communicate with you if you present your questions like this.

Now, what is the very important trait you need to have if you are to be very successful with using yes and no questions? The most important trait is that you need to be sensitive to people’s feelings and be aware of things like body languages and facial expressions to know if someone is sleepy, in pain, irritated or angry.

If you are sensitive and be able to read people even without them talking to you, this would make you very effective with the yes and no questions. But if you are not sensitive and aware of even basic body languages then a lot of people will easily get irritated at you.

So next time be sensitive, stop irritating people and only ask yes and no questions if the situation calls for it.

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The Sto. Nino and Cebu

I heard an explanation once during typhoon Ondoy, the explanation was about why the other regions like Manila or Leyte experience great floods or great typhoons while Cebu did not.

It goes that Cebu is blessed to have all the good weather because our province and city is protected by the Senyor Sto. Nino. We are the ones who worship Sto. Nino and celebrate Sinulog, and this is why we are blessed with the fine weather.

As much as it sounds real awesome to be protected by the Sto. Nino, it also sounds pretty bad because it would appear that other people suffer because they do not have the Sto. Nino. And secondly, it would appear as if other saints are lame because their devotees get the ire of a super typhoon?

If the explanation or the whole story is true, then the best way then would be to get the entire nation to celebrate Sinulog (instead of just Cebu alone); so every region can get protection from Sto. Nino, right? Other regions celebrating fiestas or other devotions no longer need to have the Black Nazarene or the Ati-atihan, the whole country can all have the Sinulog! If we do that, we would all have good weather, no more typhoons, right?

So why are the other regions not doing this then? Don’t they want protection from the bad weather?
There are lot of questions and possibilities if this explanation is really true to all of us. Would we as Cebuanos share the Sinulog to other regions thus the celebration would no longer be exclusive to us? This would mean that tourists would no longer have a reason to come visit us during third Sundays of January, are we alright with that? If this happens, Cebu will no longer be unique. No more bragging about the mother of all festivals that is the Sinulog.

Do we want to share the Sinulog (thus giving up the rights to its exclusivity) so everyone would have the protection that the Sto. Nino gives? Or are we not ready for this?

And if we are not ready to give up the Sinulog then, is it fine, then, that we stop spreading such kind of explanation and give a more rational, realistic explanation instead? I mean no disrespect to the power of a festival like Sinulog and certainly, I mean no disrespect to the Sto. Nino and of its devotees. I chose this particular topic because I want to point out how people can sometimes come up with the craziest explanations for events and certain phenomena; how people seemingly omit rationality.

We can begin with grounded explanations such as: “typhoons and bad weather now are caused by Global warming and bad sewage planning”. Or the explanation that “Cebu is at the middle of Leyte, Bohol and Negros which means that we are do not feel the whole power of typhoons coming from the Pacific and other oceans”. Can we do this instead, so we won’t sound selfish to other regions? So we, as Cebuanos, will not be put in a bad light.

So as we celebrate the Sinulog, think about it.

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How to be Insensitive

There was a time while I was riding a taxi that I had this realization. I am not making this up to shock you. This was weird but this is true. This is how the story goes.

So as I said, there was a time while I was riding a taxi going to work that I experienced such a realization. With its radio and air conditioner on full blast, the taxi stopped on the highway and beside the highway were shanties with dogs and people going their way. I did not mean to do it but I was just looking outside and I just stopped and started to look at dog poo. Yes, I was looking at dog poo, staring through the glass at it about two to three minutes and I really did not know why.

Then it hit me, because my whole senses did not experience the whole thing because of the radio and air conditioning blocking the other senses, dog poo seemed “un-yucky”…I perceived it akin to the blue colored gooey toys kids now like to play with. Dog poo was just like that, with only the eyes having to experience it, dog poo was just like that – normal like a gooey toy. It was not ugly and you just accepted it, not wanting to clean it or what.

It was weird but it was true.

Then if you think about it more, riding cars or taxis, going to the malls with their radio, glass walls and air conditioner is a nice way to distance yourself from what is outside, to block you from feeling, to make you insensitive to the dog poo, to the issues and problems going on outside.

It is an effective and enjoyable way to learn how to be insensitive, because you do not feel guilt over it because you are having fun. Cool, huh?

Thinking about it more, it reminded me of my good friend Maumau Galinato’s winning artwork for the Joya Awards way back. Sorry that I forgot the title of the artwork but the painting depicted a rainy night with kids begging on the street to people in their air conditioned cars. Maumau Galinato’s message on this artwork was to let us see the differences between the haves and the have-nots. It was a sensitive painting from a sensitive man. Cool artwork.

So back to my topic, so again if you want to be insensitive, have fun doing it, and feel no guilt, ride a taxi and go straight to the mall. Cool.

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Pinoy Rock Will Survive

So Bamboo has disbanded. Nu107 is out. And Rico Blanco is an actor. These must be tough times for Philippine rock music. But still it will not be enough to kill it. Yes, I believe such bad news is not enough to kill it. And there are a lot of reasons why I say that.

For one, Rock music, as a form of expression that is the most rebellious, will always find a way to survive. As long as there are kids and grown-ups out there with angst, those who want to rebel at something, Rock music will survive.

Rock music has always been the music of choice of rebels because it is a music that shows the bad side of a lot of things. It talks about depression, anger, insecurities, confusion that the youth need to let out. Rock music has never been radio-friendly. Pop music can never give this to the young, that is why Rock will be there to let it all out for us.

Then another reason why rock music will continue is that for some, it may be bad news to no longer have a Rico Blanco or a Bamboo for the music scene but it also is an opportunity for other rock musicians to fill out the void these bands and rock gods have left. So it is all not bad for us because it is a chance for other bands coming from different places and regions to step up. The old will always be replaced by the new. And now is the time to do it.

Such change has been experienced before when bands such as Eraserheads, Wolfgang, Yano and Razorback disbanded. Their end was a beginning to a lot of bands to get their limelight. Bands such as Urbandub, Itchyworms, Parokya ni Edgar and Slapshock filled that void.

So it can be bad news, yes, but there is always a light at the end of the Pinoy rock tunnel, and that light means opportunity for a lot of aspiring rock bands out there.

Then another way that may insure the survivality of Rock music is through old timers forming new bands. Examples of these are Bamboo Manalac forming Bamboo and Ely Buendia forming Pupil. Other bands similar to these are Sandwich and 6 Cycle Mind. So again, death nay come but there is also birth. So there really is no need to worry.

Rock music survived Martial Law, it survived the 80s, a time when The Dawn was the only popular band. It survived the break-up of the Eraserheads, Yano, Wolfgang, Razorback and many more 90s bands. Rest assured it can survive this.

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Fastfood Chicken can make you Gay

I have heard a lot of old conservative people complaining that there are a lot of homosexuals roaming around these days. It kind of irks them that there are lot of gays and lesbians now and kind of makes them proud that there were few from their generation.

These old conservative people have tried hard to understand such changing of the times, and one of their explanations and I find very weird is this – eating chicken from fast foods can make you gay. Yes, you are reading it right, so if you are reading this with a KFC, McDonalds or Jollibee chicken in your hand, you better stop doing both at the same time.

The explanation about this is that because a lot of fast food chickens are injected of growth hormones (particularly estrogen), the side effects on human beings is that it can make us gay. Now true or not, for this to be the accepted reason is way absurd.

Absurd because, the more realistic explanation why there are more gays now than before because more and more homosexuals are becoming brave and admitting out in the open of their true nature. In the past generation, gays and lesbians were afraid to be known so they would hide their true sexuality. It is different now. Times have changed.

More gays are coming out, more gays are becoming successful at different fields and more gays are fighting for their rights to be respected.

If this is hard to accept for the old generation and they start making up such absurd reasons then by doing this they will never understand the third sex.

Now, I am not writing this because I am pro growth hormones to be injected to chicken. I am not. That is just gross; and unnatural.

I am just writing this because that the more conservative people close their minds to change, the more they will not understand it and it will have the effect of escaping it instead of solving it. That is if homosexuality is indeed a problem for them.

So if they really believe that they need to solve the problem of homosexuality. Start learning to understand it and spare the chicken.

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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson vs. Vin Diesel

The new addition to the stars for the Fast and Furious franchise is now Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. And for fans of the action film genre, such a move is big.

Big, because as I have said before in one of my previous articles, Vin Diesel is the next Sylvester Stallone and The Rock is the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. And because the action film genre has been experiencing an all time low these days because of the influx of the comic book movie genre, the action film genre has adjusted by bringing their action stars together in one film.

This has already happened with the The Expendables, and now two of the top stars of the genre will meet on the big screen by way of Fast Five, the fifth film to the Fast and Furious franchise.

Yeah, I know The Expendables was not much of a great film with all its macho clichés and all, but who cares? We just watch the film for its all-star cast and old school action. So the film was a great boost to the action film genre.

We can also include here the team up of Jet Li and Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom as well as Jason Statham and Jet Li in War.

Now, with The Rock and Vin Diesel meeting on the big screen we also would not care about the story, we just want to see some action.

How I wish this happened before with Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Just imagine at the peak of their careers these two battled it out in the big screen. Just imagine the possibilities, Rambo vs. Commando, Judge Dredd vs. The Terminator or The Demolition Man vs. The Terminator. We could even have another Rocky with Schwarzenegger. But of course, because of all the big money these stars could make they did not need to team up in one film. So for the young fans of the action film genre, they are lucky to see Vin Diesel and The Rock meeting early in their careers.

Young fans now are getting what most of us in the past were just dreaming about. So know the significance of this team-up because this is going to be big.

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The Comic Book Film Genre

The comic book movie genre in 2012 will flood us with a lot of films. As for now the films that are planned to go out in 2012 has this great line up. Such films and their schedule of release are as follows:

February 17, 2012 – GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE

May 4, 2012 – THE AVENGERS

June 29, 2012 – STAR TREK 2

July 3, 2012 – SPIDER-MAN

July 20, 2012 – BATMAN 3

December 2012 – SUPERMAN

Aside from that, there are also news that The Flash, a new Fantastic Four, Wolverine 2 and Judge Dredd starring Karl Urban will also be on their way.

So with all the comic book movies coming out, will there be a time that this fad, will bore us? If that will happen, what could be the next move for the comic book movie genre?

What is great about the comic book movie genre is that it has its foundation of fans, stories and characters already established way back then, in the comic world. So this means that fans and different storylines have already been planned out. So if boredom thus sets in and ends the fad, the comic book movie genre has still a lot to offer us.

Think about it, we are still at the first part of the possibilities of the comic book genre .Most films right now are at the stage of introducing new superheroes. And with the Avengers, we are somewhat going to the second stage, superheroes teaming up in one film. But superheroes going against each other, storylines like Batman Vs. Superman or Wolverine vs. The Hulk still has not come out on the big screen yet. So in the future, this could ultimately happen. Imagine that possibility. Then if all the comic hero versus another comic hero has been exhausted, there is still the next step, Marvel and Dc Comics teaming up for a film. Their team up would mean movies such as Batman vs. The Wolverine or Superman vs. The Hulk. So again, imagine that possibility.

This is what is great about the comic book movie genre, it already has a lot of storylines reserved for us that can be done in movies. This is what is great about the comic book movie genre , it is not tied down to one or two star like action films. So if action film stars such as Stallone or Bruce Willis (of the Rocky and Rambo or Die Hard franchises, respectively) are fading, the film genre also fades with it. With the comic book movie genre, the characters like Spider-man or Wonder Woman are the stars, so all you need to do is just supply the genre with the correct young stars to don the costumes and off we go, another franchise getting a revival.

So if you feel that the comic book movie genre is about to get boring, just be patient because we all know what’s coming up- team ups and the superhero vs. superhero storyline.

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My Korean Students

One of the discoveries to my job as a teacher is getting to know a lot of Koreans. From first to fourth year high school, I have known a lot of Koreans and I might say they have changed my perception about them.

This is because my first impression about Koreans is kind of like connected to the arrival of Vietnamese back then; where they got our education (especially about planting rice) from us and then they returned home and developed their rice industry – which is now more developed compared to our own country’s rice industry. And this might happen to Koreans as well. They learn English and other stuff from us and then maybe use it on the development of their country.

Learning from other countries is not bad at all, and our system of government is mostly to blame if we do not properly maximize our own advantages. And if Koreans and other tourists want to learn from us especially knowledge that is valuable to them then we have to teach them about it.

So what has changed about my perceptions about Koreans? Well first of all, because I am not really that good at speaking the English language, I find the Koreans students easy to talk to. They also have a good sense of humour so a lot of jokes get passed around when I talk to my Korean students. So it makes it a lot easier when I talk to them.

Then second, most of my Korean students (mostly the girls) are very good in drawing. So they are very attentive in my class and usually do not create disturbances. However, I do find it weird that the Korean girls are very good at drawing while the Korean boys are not. It must be something about the culture.

The plus factor about the Korean boys is that they play football, and that is one thing we can agree about.

So in a way, for now, I like my Korean students for the reasons I have stated above. Now, the question is, will Koreans be a threat to our country one day especially in terms of being another option for the Western world to market or outsource their products? Yes, that is a sure possibility.

But, even with that thought, I am a teacher today and I cannot worry or live in the future. I am a teacher right now and I cannot choose to have favourites when I teach. Korean, Japanese, American or Filipino, as long as they willing to learn, then I have to teach them even if they become future competitors to our country.

And if it does come to that, that Koreans will be compete against Filipinos especially in the field of outsourcing then it is not their fault. It is the fault of the system of the Philippine government for not making sustainable developments in our country and just relying on other countries to boost our development.

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