Made Of Stone

The Stone Roses - Made of Stone

Your knuckles whiten on the wheel
The last thing that your hands will feel
Your final flight can’t be delayed

No earth, just sky it’s so surreal
Your pink fat lips let go a scream
You fry and melt i love the scene

Sometimes i fantasise
When the streets are cold and lonely
And the cars they burn below me
Don’t these times fill your eyes

When the streets are cold and lonely
And the cars they burn below me
Are you all alone
Is anybody home?

I’m standing warm against the cold
Now that the flames have taken hold
At least you left your life in style

And for far as i can see

Ten twisted grills grin back at me
Bad money dies i love the scene

Sometimes i fantasise
When the streets are cold and lonely
And the cars they burn below me
Don’t these times fill your eyes

When the streets are cold and lonely
And the cars they burn below me
Are you all alone
Is anybody home?

Sometimes i fantasise
When the streets are cold and lonely
And the cars they burn below me
Don’t these times fill your eyes

When the streets are cold and lonely
And the cars they burn below me
Are you all alone
Are you made of stone?

Credits: stockholmparkas for posting to YT

The Good Samaritan

The other day I chanced upon a post about the Parable of the Good Samaritan that was shared by a Facebook friend. As the story goes, a traveler (who may or may not be Jewish), is beaten, robbed and left for dead along the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. A priest and a Levite each pass by, but both avoid and ignore the man. Then a Samaritan comes along. Samaritans and Jews generally don't like each other, but the Samaritan stops and helps the man anyway. He bounds the man's wounds and pours oil and wine on it. Then he sets the man in his donkey and brings him to an inn. The next day, when he departed, he took out some coins and gave them to the innkeeper and says to him, "Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return".

Some of our local stories may have been derived from this parable. Remember that Fita TV commercial where a fairy gives the guy half a sports car in return for half a Fita? That was actually a parody. In the original story, a guy gives bread to a pulubi who turns out to be a fairy. In return for the guy's kindness, the fairy grants the guy three wishes. Jose dela Cruz, a Filipino writer and poet during the Spanish regime and more popularly known as Huseng Sisiw, probably was inspired by the Parable of the Good Samaritan when he thought of the leproso and ermitanyo of Mt. Tabor in his corrido, Ibong Adarna.

Today, the colloquial phrase "Good Samaritan" means someone who helps a stranger.

In legal terms, a "good samaritan" refers to someone who renders aid in an emergency to an injured person on a voluntary basis. Good Samaritan laws give the good samaritan immunity in case an unintentional injury is caused to the person he or she rescued. They are intended to reduce bystanders' hesitation to assist, for fear of being sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death.

It's a bit different in the Philippines. Here the law compels people to help others in need. Abandonment of person in danger is criminally punished. Under Art. 275 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), the penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed upon:

"Any one who shall fail to render assistance to any person whom he shall find in an uninhabited place wounded or in danger of dying, when he can render such assistance without detriment to himself, unless such omission shall constitute a more serious offence.

Anyone who shall fail to help or render assistance to another whom he has accidentally wounded or injured.

Anyone who, having found an abandoned child under seven years of age, shall fail to deliver said child to the authorities or to his family, or shall fail to take him to a safe place."

Under Art. 365 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), failure to lend help on the spot to injured parties is punished as criminal negligence.





Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Good_Samaritan
http://thelegallyinclined.blogspot.co.nz/2009/05/apathy-as-crime-abandonment-of-helpless.html
http://definitions.uslegal.com/g/good-samaritans/
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Good_Samaritan_law.html

Where are you Fairy Godmother?

Haven't we all wished for a Fairy Godmother to magically appear and help us in times of need and grant us wishes with the wave of a wand? That would be nice, right? Wish ko lang. Anyway, the Fairy Godmother is a commonly used plot device in movies and literature (e.g. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio). In fact, it has already become a cliche and not considered as good story telling nowadays. The preference being that the main character must be able to get past an obstacle himself or herself and not with the help of someone or something who comes in the nick of time to solve the difficulty. It is an example of deus ex machina. See http://writerofmoviescripts.blogspot.co.nz/2009/09/deux-ex-machina.html. If you ask me, I don't see anything wrong with the Fairy Godmother. Some of the Tagalog movies I love make use of this plot device. In other forms ofcourse. Often times, the "deus ex machina" in those movies rewards the protagonist because of his or her kindness and goodness.

Ang Hiwaga ng Ibong Adarna (1973). The story for this film comes from the classic Filipino tale Ibong Adarna. Three brothers, Prinsipe Alfonso (Panchito), Prinsipe Albano (Babalu), and Prinsipe Adolfo (Dolphy) each go on a quest to capture the magical Ibong Adarna to cure their father's illness. The prize for the one who can bring home the bird will be the throne. During their journey, each prince met a leper who asked them for bread. Two of them did not help the leper. Only Prinsipe Adolfo helped her. In return, the leper told Prinsipe Adolfo to seek an ermitanyo who lives in bundok Tabor. When the prince arrived at the place where the ermitanyo lives, he was given a lubid (rope), kutsilyo (knife) and calamansi (lime). These are things he used to capture the Ibong Adarna. I know Prinsipe Adolfo cut his arm with the knife and poured calamansi juice to his wound so that he will not fall asleep when the Ibong Adarna sings. Another advice given him was that he must make sure that the bird's droppings don't land on him. Otherwise, he too will turn to stone like his brothers.

Puto (1987). In this movie, Herbert Bautista plays good-natured and kind-hearted student Ivanhoe Dela Cruz who sells puto or rice cakes after school to help his widowed mother (Marita Zobel). Because of this, all the students in school call him Puto. He is always teased and bullied. Taking pity on him, three elves or duwendes (played by Berting Labra, Max Alvarado and Cachupoy) decide to help him. But Ivanhoe soon changes and becomes boastful forcing his duwende friends to stop helping him.

Manyika from Pik Pak Boom (1988). This movie is about an enchanted doll who comes to life (Lilet) and gives two poor orphans (Lea Salonga and Herbert Bautista) their hearts' desires. Just like in Puto, the two orphans change their attitudes once they got used to getting everything they want. In the end though, they realize their mistakes and become good persons once again.

References:

http://kidstvmovies.about.com/b/2012/10/04/who-is-your-fairy-godmother.htm
http://writerofmoviescripts.blogspot.co.nz/2009/09/deux-ex-machina.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/deus-ex-machina.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2071408/
http://www.historyofthings.com/history-of-ibong-adarna
http://www.mavshack.com/

Eat Your Vegetables

Ampalaya con Carne. Bitter gourd or ampalaya cooked with beef tenderloin strips with tausi and thick sauce. Hmm sounds good! That could be my ulam for both lunch and dinner. That's now but before, when I was a child, you cannot make me eat ampalaya. I don't like its bitter taste. Eating it is like swallowing a pill with no water. Despite of its bitter taste, ampalaya is actually good for you. It can help in the treatment of type-2 diabetes for it contains plant insulin which is known to lower blood sugar levels. It is also packed with beta carotene which helps in maintaining and improving eyesight. It is also good for the skin. It helps prevent psoriasis and fungal infections. Ampalaya can also be used in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Ampalaya seeds are good for the heart for they burn unnecessary fats that clog arteries and veins. Ampalaya also has a variety of nutrients your body needs.

Believe me there’s a lesson to be learned from eating ampalaya. In life, a lot of times we have to do something we don’t like, “particularly something that doesn’t taste good but is good for you”. It could be doing homework, studying for an exam, or exercising. These are things one may not be particularly thrilled about. But if you look at the benefits to be derived from them, they are definitely worth giving a try.



Sources:

http://ph.she.yahoo.com/the-health-benefits-of-ampalaya-162858308.html
http://heidicohen.com/free-blog-topics/

Dating Busko

Around the end of January 1992 - DBTI Makati Foundation Day Celebration - Fair. A few inches away from my barkada's booth called the "Doghouse", another booth was attracting an audience. A game was being played. A dating game. Kind of like the RPN 9 TV show "It's a Date" (hosted by the beautiful Plinky Recto and NU 107 DJ Tom Lupton aka Major Tom). The crowd was cheering. Seems everyone was having a good time. The booth was a hit considering that Bosconians rarely interact with girls let alone go out on dates. The name of the booth - "Dating Busko". What an intriguing name. A play on words really. "Dating" in Filipino being "former" and "Busko" referring to "Bosconian". The name could stand for two things: 1) Former Bosconian or an alumnus, or 2) Dating Bosconian or a Bosconian who dates.

I am proud to say that I was a "Dating Busko". That is, a former Bosconian. I don't date that much. I stayed in Don Bosco Makati for 9 years, from Prep-Second Year. If it were all up to me I would have loved to be able to finish high school in Don Bosco. I would have been a "bakal boy" like my friends who chose "Mechanical" as their shop for third and fourth year. But I had to transfer after my second year. Despite that, I believe that one who was once a Bosconian will always be a Bosconian.

Run, jump, talk and play but do not sin. It is only in Don Bosco where you can see more than 10 people playing basketball in the same court at the same time. As in 2 groups of 10 playing in the same court. Every lunch and recess you'd see that. What's more interesting is that when the clock strikes 12 noon, everything grinds to a halt. Everyone freezes like when the music stops during a game of stop dance. It's time for the Angelus. After the Angelus, it's chaos once again.

In Don Bosco students can wear different color undershirts and rubber shoes. Other schools follow strict dress codes. Some even require neck ties and tucked in polos. That's a no-no in Don Bosco. As far as I know it is only in Don Bosco where students have diaries where they would write their assignments and excuse letters. Teachers could also write remarks on those diaries. Once a Bosconian was naughty, his parents would know because he is required to let his parents sign his diary every day.

Bosconians are also good handy men. They have Shop and Work Ed subjects. Folding chairs, laminated pictures, water heaters are among the projects they would build during grade school. They know how to use a file, a T-square and Rotring technical pens because of Shop and Drafting classes. They also have weekly year level mass and mass during First Fridays and Catholic Celebrations. And during mass, a band plays instead of a choir singing.

It's been what? 21 years since I last set foot in Don Bosco? I just had so much fun and happiness during my stay there. I will always cherish those Don Bosco days.

Remembering My Lolo Ben

The aroma of burning red incense sticks. That reminds me of my late grandfather who is 100% Chinese. Lolo Ben, as I call him, was a kind and honest man. He was a great cook. He came to the Philippines during World War 2 at the height of the Japanese Occupation. He came to Ilocos via boat. He was smuggled there so he had to change his surname as he had no papers with him. In Ilocos, he met my grandmother, Lola Omeng. My Lolo and Lola later moved to Manila. To Sta. Mesa first and then to Makati. In order to make a living, my Lolo established a small restaurant (like Mabuhay Restaurant in Pasay) in Herran Street (now Pedro Gil) and a sari-sari store in Kakarong, Makati which later evolved into a carinderia after the original restaurant closed. I have high respect for the man because he was able to buy a lot and build a house on it just from the earnings of the store. My family still lives in that house. During celebrations, my Lolo would prepare his special recipes. Pansit sotanghon, bola-bola, kikyam, and camaron rebosado. All of them are my favorites but I especially like his camaron rebosado. Aside from being very delicious, the coating or batter never falls off the shrimp. No matter how hard my family tries, we cannot replicate his cooking.

My Day Job Versus My Passion

I always thought professional basketball players have the best jobs because they do what they love and they get paid for doing it. Wasn't it Confucius who said: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."? But not everyone is endowed with athleticism, height and talent to be a professional basketball player. Most of us have to work day jobs instead of doing something that we really really love. Don't get me wrong I love and value my present job (it's my lifeblood) but if I were to choose, I would also want to be a professional musician or a creative writer or script writer.

Being a musician. Playing guitar has always been my passion. What I love about playing guitar is composing melody over chord patterns. I think of it as a puzzle. I just try out different notes and scales and find out by trial and error which fit and sound good over certain chords. Yehey! Eureka! when everything is spot on. It gives me great joy when I've written a melody line.

Being a writer. I've always believed that I have a knack for writing. That is, creative writing. Sentence construction was not my strong suit when I was still studying. I'm more interested in metaphors, similes and other figures of speech. I like to "express thoughts, feelings and emotions rather than simply convey information" using language. Ginang Mandigma, who is my Filipino teacher at The University of Manila and who is a "Noranian", is an inspiration to me. As an assignment, she would ask her students to make clippings of prose and poetry found in the Liwayway Magazine. The students must submit their clippings by the end of the term in order to pass her course, forcing them to be exposed to Filipino.

Another thing I wish I could be is to be a script writer for movies or komiks. I just read Mike Relon Makiling’s blog (http://direkmikerelonmakiling.blogspot.co.nz/2008/03/how-i-entered-movies.html) and it made me want to be a script writer for komiks where he started. How cool would it be to be sitting behind a desk, pounding away on a vintage typewriter churning out scripts for illustrations drawn by masters ala Mars Ravelo, Pablo S. Gomez, or Mike Relon Makiling? How cool would it be if I could write funny dialogue for Tony Velasquez’s Kenkoy? That would be very cool. Very, very cool.



References:
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/100-blog-topics-i-hope-you-write/
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/creative-writing-101/
http://direkmikerelonmakiling.blogspot.co.nz/2008/03/how-i-entered-movies.html
http://pilipinokomiks.blogspot.co.nz/2005_10_01_archive.html