Quick notes on Philippine politics
I’ve been out of it for quite a while, but here are some of my takes.
- I am currently an independent. I have not made up my mind on who to support or vote for. I am still looking for better politicians, but I am given to the fact that I won’t see any this election cycle.
- It used to be Noynoy, but I’ve fallen off that bandwagon way, way back. He finally lost me with that atrocious ad. Redemption can be made by being clear with a platform and taking firmer rein of the Liberal Party. That remains to be seen.
- I am becoming very interested in how Gibo Teodoro will run his campaign. How he distances himself from GMA will define him as a candidate and politician.
- I still don’t trust Manny Villar. Never will, never have. Loren Legarda has lost all credibility.
- Chiz Escudero has floundered and made so many bad political decisions. It is unfortunate. Despite my mockery of him, I am very open to seeing him grow as a politician. I hope he becomes someone I can vote for in 2016. If he ran for the VP as an independent, I could possibly vote for him.
- Erap Estrada is a non-issue as far as I am concerned.
- No candidate has a monopoly of good or evil. They’re all politicians and they’ll say what they have to say. Those who framed the coming elections as one between good and evil can take off their rose-colored lenses now.
- Political turncoatism is absolutely shameful. We need to reform our party system post haste.
- Will the elections be judged on issues or personality? In the end it all boils down to character.
- I suspect that the coming presidential race will be at most a three-way race.
- I hope to see some real presidential debates this time.
- It will be interesting to see how many take away from the Obama playbook.
- Good move by the Left to break away from the NP. I was about to write a comment on their hypocrisy. (Well, look at what I just did!)
More soon. I don’t expect our elections to be of the same caliber as the US 2008 national elections, but they’re bound to be even more entertaining.
The Mystery Box (a prelude)
The secret of filmmaker JJ Abrams, creator of Alias, Lost, Cloverfield, and the re-imagined Star Trek, is an unopened Tannen’s magic box he bought for $15 (“$50 worth of magic for only $15!”) in a store his grandfather once brought him to. Rectangular and sealed with tape, there is a giant question mark on its flattest face. The box still sits on his work desk, unopened.
“It represents infinite possibility. It represents hope. It represents potential,” said Abrams in a TED talk he delivered in 2008. “Mystery is at the heart of imagination… and sometimes mystery is more important than knowledge.”
This is pretty much what I thought as I walked away from the Taj Mahal last November 7 — the first trip abroad I’ve had in two years.
I missed traveling. Deeply. This is one luxury that has gone by the wayside in the past year and I’ve forgotten how liberating it could be. My mind has become too local, too parochial. I’ve substituted books and websites for the realities they can only attempt to represent. I’ve lulled myself into thinking that life has no more mysteries, that all actions are due to rational self-interest, and that God is dead.
My trip to India taught me the opposite.
God is very much alive. Self-interest can mean selflessness. The joy in life lies in its mysteries.
This is just a prelude. I hope to finally get my thoughts down during the coming long weekend.
Everything’s wonderful now
Hey guys.
Life has been so busy lately. Been back from India since Tuesday afternoon, and I know I owe everyone a story. Let’s give it time. There is so much to catch up on and rethink. I am sure this will be one of the best posts I’ll ever write. For me at least. Stay tuned.
Long days and pleasant nights: On King’s “The Dark Tower”
How did I end up reading The Dark Tower?
Ka.
The Dark Tower is a 7-book series by Stephen King, the master of the macabre. Known for his horror stories, he treads new ground with this fantasy story of Roland Deschain and his eponymous quest for the mysterious Dark Tower. In this tale, the world is one that has “moved on” and Roland is the last of a long line of revolver-wielding knights called gunslingers.
A reader of mostly history, politics, and non-fiction, I am an unlikely candidate for Roland’s ka-tet (fancy term in the series, look it up). Yet, the economic crunch forced me to do some belt-tightening and the number of new books I’ve bought over the past year drastically decreased. Not to my regret, I have been forced to dig deeper and read all those books I never finished. Chief among them was Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Was.
I made a bet with myself. I wouldn’t buy a single new book until I finished the monolithic volume and read of Frodo’s quest from the source itself. I’ve attempted it several times in the past but I never saw it through. I figured this was a good way to save up too, since I didn’t foresee finishing the book for quite a while. But alas, as fortuitous events would have it, a two-week break was declared due to an outbreak of AH1N1, giving me enough time to journey from Hobbitton to Mordor, and back.
Not too long I was aching for something new to read. Remarkably, I was craving for fiction. I wasn’t too excited to go back to reading about Iran, globalization, a new theory about the rise and fall of states, and a bevy of other pretentious topics. Middle Earth converted me into a believer of fantasy. Now it was a matter of which world I wanted to go to next.
Around that time, with all the fanfare surrounding the new Star Trek film, I recommended Fringe and LOST to a friend who was just about to begin his addiction to torrented TV. As forays into these shows often lead me to, I looked up interviews with JJ Abrams for insight into what the next Star Trek film would be. Then he talked about something else.
“We’ll be working on The Dark Tower,” he said. And by we he referred to two friends, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse — two names I know very well. They are the current showrunners of LOST.
I worship that show.
So I looked up The Dark Tower. All I knew then was that it was written by Stephen King and spanned several books. Upon further Googling, I discovered that King himself is a fan of LOST. With the stars aligned and my Tolkien pact fulfilled, I picked up the first new book I’ve bought in a while, The Gunslinger by Stephen King. It’s book one. The beginning. And in his introduction, he wrote that this is a story that he began at the ambitious age of 19. Then he set out to write his own magnum opus; his own Lord of the Rings.
Well, what do you know.
Tolkien begets Tolkien.
There is no other way to explain that than with two letters.
Ka.
In the lore of The Dark Tower, ka means destiny and a whole lot more. It is both reason and unreason, logic and illogic. It is the principle, a wheel, that keeps existence moving along.
So when the seventh book ended the way it did, I was overpowered with no other impulse than to read the entire series again. I agree with King; it is the only ending to the story.
(Intrigued? Read it.)
In lieu of writing a review that spoils the journey for everyone else, I saw it fitting to recount my own journey to the Tower. It is finished and it is also beginning.
It is ka.
Thankee big big, sai King. We are well met.
Long days and pleasant nights.
Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger
Top Ten reasons why Chiz Escudero is actually a robot
Sen. Francis Escudero (file photo)
10. My iTunes just notified me that a firmware upgrade for Chiz is now available. Fixes several bugs and addresses security issues.
9. Japan wants their prototype — Politiku! — back. Threatens embargo.
8. He is a hit with the college-educated, iPod-wielding, tech-savvy youth.
7. His AI is able to generate an infinite number of ways of saying “yes” and “no”.
6. Compassion, empathy, and sincerity algorithms have yet to be invented.
5. He almost had Loren Legarda for his running mate.
4. Headlines yesterday read: “Chiz resigns from NPC. Will reboot campaign.”
3. He is controlled remotely and his speeches are sent to him via Twitter.
2. He is a robot sent from the future, and he wants to dumb down our children so the machines can take over.
And the number one reason why Chiz Escudero is actually a robot –
1. The NASDAQ took a hit when he resigned, cancelling the gains made by Microsoft from the launch of Windows 7. Tech experts baffled.
Prelude
Dear blog,
I know I haven’t written lately. Been busy, you see?
Anyway, we’ll get to talk more soon. I’ll be traveling again (finally!) and you know how that does wonders for my soul. As always, you’ll be the first to learn of my exploits.
Can’t wait.
Thankee, sai.
Long days and pleasant nights.
Teaching the Past in the 21st Century
This is the presentation I delivered at a panel in NCRTE 2009, UP NISMED.
I stand gladly corrected: Noynoy Aquino shows promise
Woe to me!
Woe to me for making an opinion on his performance without actually watching the said performance.
Woe to me for relying on Newsbreak, a news magazine that I once considered intelligent, fair, and balanced. Their piece made Noynoy Aquino come across as weak and indecisive when he in fact showed sincerity, pragmatism, and fairness. That magazine has just lost credibility.
In some way I am glad that I caught the forum’s rerun with a tinge of negative bias — this allowed Noynoy Aquino to shatter my expectations. Now, I will listen to him first and foremost. I apologize. Mea culpa.
I am now convinced that there can be something behind Noynoy Aquino after all. I observed that he wants to firmly cast himself as a listener and consensus builder. He showed respect for the expertise of the LGUs and believed that it made no sense for Imperial Manila to dictate how things should be run in localities kilometers away. What the Newsbreak writer perceived to be Noynoy still ’studying’ the issues is actually a Noynoy that wants to collaborate with stakeholders all across the board.
This may come across as weak or indecisive to a people who have long been used to a President calling all the shots. We are not used to someone more open and willing to form and strengthen partnerships that work. He may yet be the change we need.
What Noynoy Aquino still has to work on is conveying exactly what his guiding principles and positions on issues are. After all, he will still be the leader. We need to know what sort of legacy he intends to leave behind if only to understand his decisions. Consensus building is good, but that may not be enough to weather the different crises that will rock our still developing nation. There is still an argument to be made for a strong and decisive leader for our time, but the form Aquino brings is welcome too.
It would also help for him to be more concise while retaining his certain folksy charm and personal grasp of the plight of other people. I can’t wait to see what the campaign will look like.
I’m listening more closely now, Mr. Aquino.
Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize — really?
I am a supporter of Barack Obama.
He is one of my heroes. I can say that he has single-handedly restored my faith in politics. Having been a political science major, I saw politics as just a phenomenon to observe and analyze. Living in the Philippines makes that position all the more convenient. But Obama has compelled me to take a more active part in it. His story has inspired me to write my own, believing that there is an arc to our lives that summons us to do greater things. After eight years of George W. Bush, America looks so great again.
But the Nobel Peace prize? This early?
Congratulations are in order, of course, but I am left scratching my head. I suppose this says more about how the institution of the Nobel Peace Prize has grown more irrelevant than how little Obama has accomplished in less than a year in office. I emphasize little because we have to put things in perspective here — this is just his first year and he kicked off his administration with a broad attack on all issues. All these initiatives need to be given time to bear fruit.
But right now, Afghanistan is still a mess. His commitment to improving America’s carbon footprint has yet to transcend his rhetoric. He has restored multilateralism in the world, but how far will that take him with Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela? Domestically, things are still shaky. His promise to reform the financial system threatens to be mere lip service again. And health care? Oh my.
It seems that the committee actually awarded Candidate Obama rather than President Obama. The power of his promise has indeed spurred a global consciousness shift of sorts — just look at how our own 2010 National Elections is already being framed — but is that all it takes to win the Nobel Peace Prize?
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