Mabuhay 2017

Ilang oras na lang ay bagong taon na.

Ang bawat palit ng taon ay dapat lamang mabunyi nating salubungin. Pero kung tutuusin, wala naman sa atin ipinangako ang taong darating maliban na lang sa kung ano ang gagawin natin dito.

Sana ay mapanaig natin palagi ang katotohanan, katarungan at ang ating kalayaan sa mga may masasamang balak, maging sila man ay dayuhan o kababayan.

Isang magandang pagbabago na masasabi ko sa taong ito ay ang parang malaking pagkakabawas ng mga taong nagpapaputok. Ilang oras na lang ay bagong taon na ngunit ang putukang naririnig ko ay mangilan ngilan lamang at mula  pa sa malayo. Sana ay tuluyan pang matalikuran ng mga tao ang ganitong tradisyon na mas marami pa yatang pinsala ang dala kaysa kabutihan.

At sa mga taong magpupumilit na magpaputok pa rin at masusugatan, ang masasabi ko lang sa kanila ay Happy New Year! na hangad ko rin para sa lahat.

No tyrants where there are no slaves...

Who will not agree with this statement of our national hero Jose Rizal whose death by firing squad 120 years ago we commemorate today.

While I do not disagree with this statement, I now realize that tyranny is not a simple one man affair of a despot oppressing powerless people consigned to slavery.

Tyranny is a conspiracy of evil men and it is not possible without an organization of knowing and willing cohorts and supporters. To defeat it, we must not only destroy its head but also dismantle its structure and exact punishment from the participants.

Being committed to fight tyranny and ensure its eternal defeat is the best way to honor and our heroes.

Remaking Christmas

If it is only possible to remake Christmas, I hope it can be made a day just for children and the less fortunate among us. It can still be a time for giving, but only for these people and as much as possible nothing for ourselves who are not in need. No commercialism, no orgy of feasting, no traffic, no Christmas stress.

Maybe this is not really remaking Christmas as it is making it hew closer back to its original spirit.

Instead of artificial gaudy décors, we can cheer ourselves up with our creativity and hand made creations as much as we can. Being productive with our own hands can make us happy and may bring us into the mood of the season.

Anyway there is still the New Year to welcome and party for.

A hopeful  and peaceful Christmas to all.

Hukayin! Hukayin!

Art installation at the Pinto Museum and Silangan Garden, Antipolo City



Whoever created this art installation may have a different idea and message in mind. But when our group saw this display, we were immediately reminded of the public's protest against the stealth burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Pateros - Rooftop Garden Community?

 

Pantasya pantasya lang pag may time....

Ang Pateros ang pinaka maliit na bayan sa Metro Manila. Sa dami ng naninirahan dito, ang mga bahay ay dikit dikit na at sa ayaw man at sa gusto, ang mga bahay ay sapilitan ng nagiging patong patong.

Kaya paano pa kaya makaka-asa na magkaroon ng maaliwalas na liwasan o park sa Pateros.

Sa nakikita ko, maaari pa rin ito kung magkaroon ng plano ang bayan na gawing rooftop garden ang mga bubong ng mga bahay bahay na konektado sa nga kadikit na bahay. Para ng sa ganoon, ang mga tao ay maaari sa itaas ng mga bahay maglakad at mamasyal.

Hindi talaga ganoong kasimple ang ideya na ito. Pero hindi rin naman siguro imposible basta pinagka-isahan ng taumbayan.

Wisdom picked up from the internet

The biggest mistake you can make is listening to people who've given up on their dreams telling you to give up on yours. - Umair Hague

A night of protest

People protesting at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on the day Marcos was buried at the LNMB

The stealth burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani will not change the fact that he is a heel and not a hero. The hurried and almost secret manner in which he was buried only highlights this point.

The burial of Marcos may feed the vanity and arrogance of his family but they will be wrong to think that this will bring closure to the Marcos issue. For as long as there is no justice rendered to his victims, the hallowed ground where he is interred will vomit him out no matter how deep and solid his grave was made to be.

Truth

Truth is the highest and  most important value. It is the basis of honor and order in society. It is the cornerstone of all virtues and the fundamental element of good which allows people to live in productive harmony.

We are all beholden to truth.

Without truth, the alternative is discontent, injustice and eventually discord and chaos. Might tramples reason and the law of the jungle prevails. Without truth, freedom dies.

Truth is the life giving air of legitimacy. A person may come to power by perfectly peaceful and legal means. But when that person tries to stifle the truth and governs through lies and falsehoods, he looses that legitimacy. This leader is a  failure, a potential tyrant and despot. It becomes the duty of the people to resist this person and make him to account for his lies first by all peaceful, legal and constitutional means but if necessary through resort to their united power.

Corny craft

Coin purses and other items made from corn husks

For people with a lot of time and looking for an outlet for their creative imagination, they might want to consider a project turning corn husks into various useful or decorative products such as those shown in the picture above.

These items and many others were made by the KARIGO Corn Husk Fashion and Accessories Association and were exhibited during the National Arts And Crafts fair held last 26-29 October, 2016 at the SM Mega Mall Exhibition Hall.

Haba haba jeep

I saw this passenger jeepney while on a stopover at a gas station inside the North Luzon expressway. It is the longest jeepney I have ever seen.

When I saw it, the first thought that came to my mind was how long does it take for this jeepney to fill up with people . Does it take off even with just one or two passengers? What if people are in a hurry?

It is possible to make the jeepney bigger and longer, but still, I don't believe that it can ever be a solution to our transportation problem.

The jeepney is not an engineering marvel that we can be proud of. It is inconvenient, poorly designed and inefficient as a mode of mass transport. It is also a major generator of pollution.

The kind of transportation system that we have says something about us. If the jeepney has become a national icon, it is because  it is how we adapted to a weak and even corrupt government that can not give us a better alternative.

We were among the first countries in our region to have a rail transport. How did we lose it and ended up with the most backward transport system? It is time that we do something about it.

Let us have a real modern mass rapid transportation system. As for the jeepney, let us try to use our imagination to evolve it for other uses.