sweet tweets and bitter

some tweets are too sweet. mar roxas’ blow by blow honeymoon tweets made me wanna ask him what korina looks like without hairspray, and would it be the first time he was gonna see her without it?  i think it’s kind of nice, that sometimes our most likely future vice president is going to pancake house for breakfast with the new misis and watching Michael Jackson same night and later on how they wanted to dance in the sinehan.

some tweets are red with madness. carlos celdran can go from sublime with his musings on sunsets to madness with anything related to politics and Catholics.

some tweets are bursting with energy. superbianca loves loves her life. she’s cheery bear incarnate and that’s amazing sunshine coming out of that body.

some tweets have replaced my newspaper reading. i love BNO and ANC_ALERTS and MLQ.

some tweets are always sad. some are bitter.

some tweets are not worth reading…so just unfollow.

thank you

i am surrounded by fabulous people

i am excited to wake up tomorrow

i have two stupid cats that drive me nuts

i have a house that is not just a place for sleep

i will not go to heaven when i die

Sometimes it just happens and something articulates for you. And in this case the AFTERLIFE. This has something to do with the story of a human raised as a Martian who returns to Earth, together with the blackhole theory.

Thank you to Robert Heinlein for ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’. And Stephen Hawking for ‘Brief History of Time’ (also Errol Morris who made a great doc on it).

I believe in the afterlife. I believe there is a higher being. But suddenly heaven and hell is no longer a clear cut division, they’re levels. In the same way that the black hole is not exactly black our spirits are not exactly spirits.

When we die we get absorbed into the collective energy of those who have gone before us. Dead Monster is no longer Monster because she does not exist.

There is a dimension in the universe that we don’t see because we’re limited by our bodies. Hawking kept on investigating the blackhole because he couldn’t believe that if you drop an astronaut in the blackhole it will just disappear. He just couldn’t. And that’s how he figured out that the astronaut as we know it DID disappear but it comes back…as radiation.

The consciousness that we so hold in high regard is the one thing that every religion promises will remain after death. I’m not discounting the fact that there might be consciousness…but not of spirit or soul or anything individual. It’s impossible. Consciousness is still coming from the brain…which dies with us.

I think it’s more like particles moving together like the blackhole that collapses, sucking in that astronaut and eventually nuking it.

Am i going to be excommunicated now?

School not cool after all?

I believe in education. Don’t get me wrong. I do know that it is the most popular thing to inherit from middle-class parents. “Edukasyon lang ang maipapamana namin sa’yo” is a line that will make you realize that there are no haciendas and vacant houses that they will give you when you eventually grow up and help you get started. When I was young and foolish and sick of hearing the only thing I will get from my parents, sometimes I wished they just let me exchange education for cash. Kung pinera ko na lang sya baka kumita pa’ko. We’re talking about over a million pesos here, right?

But now it’s not so foolish. Now that I’m wiser. With diploma. The idea of encashing tuition. Because how many subjects just went in over our heads? 70%? 80%? If I had just worked on basic math to learn how to compute my grocery and shopping list. Basic geometry so that i know the difference of a square from a triangle. More accurate Philippine history than advanced Algebra. More Philippine literature instead of memorizing the scientific names of plants and animals then it would’ve all worked out for me!

Let me digress. School is cool pala. I mean, if not for school I’d have less social network friends and people on my phone contacts. It is also the best place to collect boyfriends and friends for life and mentors and all that….

But the education…the education is becoming dated. Which is why more and more mothers are home schooling their kids. Kids are knowing more about stuff than actually learning about stuff. Especially here. If not for my father, who loved geography, I would not have known WHY it is important to know where countries are located. As I was agonizing over cities and countries to memorize, my father explained a great many things about WHY they want us to know these things. For example, we have to know that Africa is not a country (so that when you decide to run for the Vice President of the most powerful country in the world hindi ka mapapahiya) and that borders are just made up so that there’s a reason to fight over them. The WHYs are always important. And yet, I didn’t get that so much. Or when we did, they’re just wrong. One crucial example is “Why did the Spaniards conquer the Philippines?” Textbook answers: (1) To spread Christianity; (2) To spread civilization; (3) To exchange goods (for our spices?!?). Duh. What’s so wrong about saying they just wanted to take advantage of our hospitality and get what they can until we run dry? It’s history right? I mean they don’t run Makati or any major corporations or own large tracts land now right?

We have to harness the potential of a kid. Harness creativity. Imagine all those down and out kids who can’t do good in school. People! They do not have a learning disability! We just didn’t have the time to find out what they like doing.

The point being, education needs an upgrade. Computers do it all the time. Books need new editions. Why can’t the curriculum? We need primary education to survive in life…not to get in a university.

Still not convinced? Well, you can listen to him. He’s funny and exponentially smarter than me. Sir Ken Robinson talks about how school kills creativity.

Writing about writers / Films about filmmakers

Dalhin mo lolo mo, kaya ko syang gawing artista.

Nick Hornby has had it with novels about writers. It’s so pa-bida I guess. But the thing is Mr. Hornby, hee hee…I actually like movies about movies. Which reveals a suspicion of too much self-importance…but what can I do? I love Day For Night. I love Living in Oblivion. And now that I just saw Bernal’s first film, Pagdating Sa Dulo, I love it too!

But yes Mr. Hornby, I have to agree, novels about writers have reached their quota.

cubicubacubicuba cubicuba cubicubicuba

[the above title is the lyrics to the Cuba Song]

5 reasons why I love Trabajo St.

1. Serendipitously, it is the street where I work. Oddly, the old street sign reads Trabajo St (with a j) and the new street names spell it Trabaho St (with an h). They are placed side by side which makes it rather redundant, but right on JP Rizal where most of our guests come from when going to Arkeo, is a sign-less Trabajo turn. Perhaps, we can just uproot one of them signs and place it where it matters.
2. The neighborhood is teeming with texture and life and enough oddities to make it a great location to shoot.
3. There is a crazy man who walks around in a superhero costume. He wears spandex in varying colors and cape. They come in hot pink, neon green, white and yellow. He has a utility belt filled with wrenches and tools. I have not been brave enough to talk to him. He likes to sing when he walks around.
4. We usually buy our lunch in the carinderia beside us from a woman named Belo. She’s a middle-aged woman who is always fully made up, complete with big hair while serving her famous giniling or bopis. Sometimes she closes the store when she doesn’t feel like cooking that day.
5. I live in a neighborhood. Which means the Arkeo House is literally that…a house. It’s not as professional as we’d like to look but right now, this humble 2-storey affair is just right for our needs.

In case you get to read this

your last birthday with me

Hey Dad,

For your birthday dinner, we went to Mongkok with the whole gang. We even had spaghetti and pancit at Loyola and someone ordered mami for dinner. Long life daw…why diba? Sayang you couldn’t make it. I’m sure you and the rest of the peeps must have had a terrific party. What did Cory give you? How’s she fitting in? Give my love to Caye and Lola, of course. Lolo’s not missing her too much because he keeps saying it won’t be long… about maybe a couple of years. He doesn’t mind reaching 100 years old (3 years from now) but he said he’d be worried if he’d get any older than that. Sabagay, who wants to be a farmer at 101 years old?

I really miss you na. Sana you have a landline. The telepathic thing is getting harder and harder to do as the time passes. Don’t know why. I think I’m losing my powers.

Mag-resign ka na please. Pagod na ‘ko. Hindi ka man lang naki-share ng lobster sa Le Cirque. Hindi mo man lang ako ginawang National Artist. Ano pa ba ang gusto mo? Hindi pa ba sapat ang nalimas mo? Hindi pa ba sapat ang mga namatay?

Gusto kong malaman kung nahihirapan kang matulog sa gabi kasi at least alam kong…nagi-guilty ka. Try mo Unisom…yung gel caps sa bote ha hindi yung nasa banig (may hang-over epek yung nasa banig). Pero dapat binili mo yun bago ka nauwi dito. Mahirap makapasok kasi sa Pinas ang iba’t ibang parmasya kasi…parang kotse…krudo…libro…eberithing na…mahirap makapasok dito kung walang tong-pats.

Hindi ko na talaga alam kung ano pa ang gusto mong mangyari. Tama na. Please lang.

Ayoko na,

Monster

why i’m warming up to the “erring child”

every 10 minutes or so, the camera would close up on the most famous aquino. i am completely transfixed. the very public cory-kris tampuhans has led me to guess that the constant crying has something to do with this. they say the one who cries the loudest are those who carry guilt.

in one of the eulogies, a sr. remy talks about cory’s unconditional love for an erring child. she goes so far as to mention your name (in case the nation didn’t know who she was talking about). you took this in stride, and i know because the camera was back on your face again, with fresh tears.

finally i youtubed that long interview of your blow by blow account of the deathwatch and i could feel your pain and how you looked into your script so you can remember what happened leading to august 1. that was very brave, and generous of you. pinoys like hearing the details, it comforts us.

and as much as you have been an easy target all these years, with your taklesa and your gall, i realize now that as much as i was annoyed with the scratchy voice and the shallowness, i still watch the Buzz when i can. you were necessary entertainment.

and more importantly, i have come to realize certain things: that you don’t steal, you were taklesa but never intentionally cruel, not corrupt, and just frikkin plain real. you are royalty fraught with the problems of absolutely ordinary folks. and the only reason i know because you told us so. the cheating husband, the violent ex, the fights with abs execs, the bangayan with cristy f, the rows with mom. you were mad for the limelight, but my resentment and annoyance should be saved for those who deserve it. GMA, Caparas and Guidote-Alvarez are deemed worthy.

perhaps i am softening because your mother just died, who is probably the most honest president in the world who ever lived. but i think it has put to light how i look at you. they say a person at her saddest is revelatory. and you and your family have shown grace and gratitude to those who share your grief, when it is easy to be angry and stupid during the bad times. (marcoses-awkward / arroyo – gatecrasher)

i’ve always known you were a smart person hiding in that cabral strapless–stay smart and don’t run for office. is that possible? can you promise?