damn! it's campaign season once again

This morning a 40ish lady approaches my gate where low branches of tambis (curacao) stretch out. She reaches for one of the branches and attaches a campaign leaflet using a stapler. I watch her as she walks away. Seconds later, another lady does the same thing. "My tambis is not a Christmas tree," I tell her. "I'll only attach one," she replies, grinning. I am speechless.

It's campaign season for barangay (village) elections. There ought to be a law requiring political candidates to pay a gazillion-peso fee to fund the clean up drive after the elections. They should also be required to plant a hundred seedlings (for the damage they are causing trees with their damn posters) and make sure they survive until the next polls.

The woman's grin remains in my memory. The nerve. I hope her candidate loses.

When I was young, everybody on screen was gorgeous. I have to say there aren't many good-looking actresses around today. I mean there's Angelina Jolie and... there's Angelina Jolie. Jennifer Aniston is cute but I wouldn't call her beautiful.


-Joan Collins

iceland

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo

Who knew a disaster can be this lovely.

mangiamo

Venice, famous for its centuries-old houses, the Grand Canal, gondolas, is also known for its great seafood. The best time to check Rialto for the bounty of the sea is Tuesday when fishermen bring their catch from the Adriatic and Mediterranean seas. Although much of the great catch goes to hotels and restaurants, the market will never disappoint shoppers.

While in Venice, my high school buddy Kay treated to dinner at Ristorante Gran Viale. Our prima piatti was a sumptuous spaghetti with lobster. I'm generally allergic to crustaceans but I could not resist it. Especially with a magnificent glass of wine.

a loss

I lost my phone yesterday. I don't remember how it happened, or where I left it. I only realized it after a few hours. It kept ringing when my cousin called it in the hope of finding it, but it was nowhere within reach. Several hours later, when my cousin called again, it was already turned off.

I'm paralyzed. It took me years to build the directory. A day before it got lost, I was supposed to start making a back up directory after my high school buddy Kay gave me a nice directory notebook from London.

Now, I'm starting over again. I'm back to square one.

welcome back to the dark ages

When I was in Venice, my high school best friend Kay flew in to join me in the Mostra. During one late lunch, our conversation drifted to pilgrimage sites in Italy. He referred to the Italians as "very Catholic" as though it were a bad thing. I learned that he has stopped going to mass a long time ago. "Nobody in Europe attend mass anymore. Cathedrals are now converted into museums or performance spaces," he told me. "Nobody believes the priests anymore, those sexual molesters, hypocrites."

I just listened to Kay's rant. I could not approve or disprove. I'm a Muslim, although I attended Catholic schools all my life and got better grades in theology compared to my Catholic classmates. So I just gulped my wine in between his ramblings.

As a devoutly Catholic country, poor mass attendance is highly unlikely in the Philippines. But when priests threaten everyone, including the President, of excommunication, then sooner or later people would think twice of going to mass. The last thing people want to hear is their priests insinuating that they have committed evil, and that they are destined to hell for eternity. A Padre Damaso in a high tech world!

Look at Carlos Celdran, that gallant, brave, and perhaps callous man, who stood against clerico-fascism and the meddling of Church in affairs of the State. He is now in jail. He was charged for "offending religious feelings" when he protested against the meddlesome Church who are making sure that a Reproductive Bill now pending in Congress will never see the light of day. A report said that group of Muslim ulama are now backing the Catholic Church. I remember five years ago, the ulama issued a fatwa saying that responsible parenthood is the Muslim thing to do. When you have lots of children and you cannot rear them properly, then you violate the trust that was given to you as a parent. What happened now?

More than a century after Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere, this could still happen. So it might be true. A Catholic Taliban rules much of the Philippines. The same way as oppressive Wahhabi numbskulls are slowly becoming influential in Morolandia.

Welcome back to the Dark Ages!