Simpson's OST
Here's a nice primer for all you guys who are waiting for the Simpson's movie. Enjoy! :)
Here's a nice primer for all you guys who are waiting for the Simpson's movie. Enjoy! :)
The morning of April 16, 2007 was the day that Americans hoped they would never have to wake up to. On this day, occurred the most horrific shooting of US history. A 23-year old South Korean student by the name of Cho Seung-Hui shot and killed 33 (including himself) of his fellow Virginia Tech schoolmates with the use of a 9mm Glock pistol and a 22 caliber handgun. The shooting rampage started at around 7:30 am and ended shortly before 11am. This incident was even worse than what occurred in Columbine, Colorado 8 years ago (April 20,1999, incidentally also in the same month of April). Police and FBI are all still wondering about what triggered this deadly massacre.
While authorities are still investigating for more answers, big media entities like CNN and Fox News are having a heyday broadcasting and re-enacting the event. Though am not an avid fan of American journalism, I must give them credit for the good job they've done on piecing up the bits of information together. They're so good in extemporaneously recreating the scenes. As the viewer, you get glued to the tube, literally. It's close to watching a blockbuster hit, but better coz its reality.
Another thing which these news groups are particularly good at, are creating subplots (stories within the story), whether it be the victim's or the shooter's past life. One interesting subplot, was the life of one of Cho's victims - Liviu Librescu. He was a Romanian-American professor teaching Aeronautic Engineering. He is considered by many of his surviving students to be a hero.
This was what transpired: "My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Librescu's son, Joe Librescu, said Tuesday in a telephone interview from his home outside Tel Aviv. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."
I just wonder what coursed through his mind upon meeting the shooter face to face. He must've thought: This is it, this is how I'm going to die. What made this subplot really stand out from the rest, was the fact that he was a former Holocaust survivor. He survived the cruelty of the Nazis but ended up being killed by a college student. His sacrifice though was not in vain, because of him all of his students lived to tell the deadly tale. His sacrifice is also being made the totem of heroism across all news channels in America, which is another thing which they (news groups) are really good at - profiting from other people's tragedies.
They say, there's no news like bad news. And this rings true none better than to the media groups. Tragedies increase viewerships, and an increase in viewership ratings boosts investor confidence which in turn increases revenues from sponsorships and advertisements. No wonder I was so hooked up with the news last night. Their news crew (or creative crew in this matter) were instructed to come up with best storylines possible. No wonder its still in the Breaking News Section in CNN and Fox News though the news is already 2 days old. I was right after all, I was indeed watching a blockbuster movie! Enough with the media's shortcomings, they're too many to mention anyway.
I want to focus on another topic which may be relevant to this matter. I want to talk about why people in America (or is it all around the world?) stop and reflect only when something tragic happens? Right after this shooting incident, thousands of university students gathered around their Drill Field to hold a vigil and to show support to one another. They kept on quoting that the Hokie spirit will live on (Hokie being their School moniker). And in fact, one university student confessed: "We needed this."
Just like after 9/11, New Yorkers were greeting each other in the streets. New Yorkers were never famous for their courtesy before. They came together to ground zero to help out in cleaning the debris. They congregated in the streets to show their appreciation to the firemen and policemen who lost their lives. In short, New York became a better place to live after 9/11.
Why does it take death to awaken us from our insensitivities? Why does it take death to unite us? Why does it take death to create changes in this ailing society? Its like death is the key catalyst in this world of living. Without it, no one moves, no one budges, no one gives an inch, no one cares, no one feels, no one matters.
The knowledge of death changes lives. One does not continue to live his old ways knowing that tomorrow he shall die. Death is an important ingredient to life. Without it, life is devoid of its color and flavor.
Sometimes it takes death to break the redundancy of living and appreciate all its trivialities...
Pacquiao vs. Morales III on Nov.18, (Nov.19- Phil. time)
Pundits say that this time Morales is the underdog
People's champion is a favorite at 12:1
Plainly put, a $240 bet on Pacquiao would only collect $100 if he wins, but a $100 bet on Morales would pay a whopping $200 if he wins
Personally, I'm not so much into boxing but I can see the impact of this Pacquiao-fever over the entire country
Pay-per-views are mushrooming all over the city: malls, hotels, restos, and sports complexes
Prices range from as high as P800 to big-screen rates of P100
Plane companies announcing that seats are still available for Las Vegas flights this weekend
Politicians scramble to secure their tickets and ring side seats
President Arroyo might as well join in the fray
People's 'new' initiative: Pacquiao to be announced as Super Featherweight Champion of the World!
Politics and pop culture seem to go hand-in-hand in this country (the infusion of which is called Personality-politics) in fact the
Press has one time asked Pacquiao if he is interested in politics
Pacman answered: " ..konsentrayt lang muna ako sa boksing.."
Pragmatic yet poignant answer coming from the most popular icon in recent Philippine sports history
Probably, doesn't have a reason to enter into dirty politics
Prize money for this fight is slated at the millions, and he just recently
Purchased a shimmering black Mercedes Convertible in the US
Proof of his elevated socio-economic status in this country where
Popularity is the name of the game
Pardon me, but I feel I've got to cut this blog short or I'll be spending an utterly unproductive day or worse I'll be sounding like the ever-famous elementary tongue twister full of P's...
And i thought David Blaine was otherworldly...
While roaming the ever-increasing-in-popularity video upload sites like YouTube and Metacafe, i chanced upon this mindfreak, Criss Angel.
Does he truly perform the Black Arts? Or is he just utilizing the power of the mind?
I don't know, but it seems that these contemporary street magicians are suggesting that their magic involves both. I am not opposed to the entertainment factor of magic, but they seem to encourage people to exercise the power of their minds by performing in the streets. These innocuous tricks may be of something deeper meaning than mere entertainment. There seems to be an invisible movement towards these forms of arts. What has been taboo in societies before are now widely accepted and even have become popular novels and blockbuster hits. As occultism and wizardry are slowly gaining influence in the media today, we can only ask one thing: "What has the world come to?" Indeed, we should stand steadfast to our faith so as to not cause even more people to befall upon this grand scheme of illusion and deception.
I happen to stumble upon this website while browsing over the net. It's a reality show with complete interactivity. You get to control a pathetic guy's life (Kieran Vogel) for 6 months. Like Big Brother, he is locked up in his house for 6 months, but visitors are allowed inside per voting basis. Everyday, registered users get to vote on what he does, wears, eats, what time he sleeps and wakes up, how he is waked up, who gets to visit him, and who he dates. You could also vote on hot topics like what new hairstyle he should be wearing. Like all reality shows, it gets old really fast after viewing and listening to unintelligent conversations with his visitors. But its cool though to see especially if your vote won 'coz you get to see him the following day, wearing the funny costumes you voted. hehe! This is really more of a comedy than a reality show 'coz the choices of clothes often include some outlandish costumes. If you guys wanna check it out, the site is: www.ourprisoner.com
Today is an ominous day in terms of symbolism. It is the 6th day of the 6th month of the 6th year after the second millenia. 6/6/06 indeed has a plethora of symbolism associated with it. For Christians, this number rings a scary bell, for this is the mark of the beast mentioned in the book of Revelations or more popularly known as the number of the Antichrist. Supposedly, nothing in Revelations should be taken literally; (there are verses depicting a red dragon with seven heads, a beast with ten horns and a leopard that had feet of a bear and a mouth of a lion) because it would certainly not be a realistic doomsday scenario, but would look like a movie produced by overly-creative graphic artists that would rival adventure/fantasy flicks such as Lord of the Rings and Narnia. But as it is with human nature and idleness, various events are associated with symbols and abstract contexts. One good example, is this phenomenon called the "Da Vinci Code". This much-hyped but pathetically disappointing movie is the brainchild of infamous fiction author Dan Brown. The story is riddled with misinterpreted symbols and inaccurate historical reviews. Now, I don't want to be another critic of Dan Brown proclaiming his work as blasphemous 'coz its already very much nauseating. I just want to point out the unlimited creativity of the human mind when stimulated with symbolisms. It is amazing how the human mind can correlate a certain symbol to an event. In fact, this is what fictional writers are constantly developing: their imagination. Of course, the end-product of this imaginative odyssey offers a great read. But it should only be utilized as such form of entertainment and not as a basis of principle and spirituality, for when critically examined, an expert can almost certainly find an error in every angle. I want to get back to my topic because I'm sounding like a Dan Brown-critic already. The symbolic sequence of numbers of the date today is seen as a sign of misfortune or bad omen in the Western world. (or the "early Christians" - this includes North Americans, British, and the Europeans because they were among the first to be Christianized, however today it is more of an irony because their culture is starting to accept double-standards in their faiths, resulting to empty pews in their magnificently built Churches.) Today is such an ominous day for Americans that CNN reported a certain mother who induced her labor yesterday just to prevent her son from getting a 666 date for a birthday. People are so afraid of being associated with anything evil, but are unaware of their own shortcomings and notoriety. Anyway, I was really amazed of the mother's decision, that she would do something like that. To think that her baby's life could have been affected. Her actions were certainly drastic even close to desperate. I also saw the trailer for the remake of "The Omen". This movie is about the birth of the Antichrist and Armageddon and had four sequels in the past. The movie could not have been timed more perfectly as the producers decided to release it on this ominous day in this side of the world. As I switched to another channel, I came across the daily evening news of Channel News Asia (Singapore). What an irony indeed! In the other side of the world, people are scrambling to get married to the extent that mass weddings were held. Everybody was rushing to get married in Taiwan, Hongkong and some parts of China. The Chinese view the number 6 as a lucky number and so a date that offers a triple 6 offers more-than-usual luck, happiness and wealth. What a contrast indeed. For such simple symbols as numbers, there are differing even contrasting interpretations for different kinds of people. As I turned off the TV, I realized that in this world, there simply is no clear line between the good and the evil. The protagonist and the antagonist. The Pro's and the Con's. The Left and the Right. There's always two sides in a story. Two sides in an argument. Two sides in life. It all depends on your perspective. It all depends on where you're standing. And most importantly, it all depends on what you believe in. For at the end of the day, we are all the same, we are all humans, we are all imperfect --- erring, naive and arrogant. So choose your side...
As with all abstract writings, I shall try to connect the things I have mentioned in the title. To make it even more challenging, I shall connect these four elements in a single sentence at the end of this blog. Yes, these four are interconnected as far as last night was concerned. Last night was really weird. I got home around 7 pm and noticed that there were gazillions of winged-termites hovering around a halogen bulb outside the premises of our house. (my colleague informed me just as I am typing this blog, that these are actually termites that are in their final stage of life cycle. No wonder they don't last till the following day.) Around three days ago, my acceptance letter for postgraduate studies arrived. It was delivered by DHL all wrapped up in bubble wraps. Oh vanity! What a waste of resources! Imagine enclosing a single envelope containing a single letter inside a brown-envelope sized package with bubble wraps all around. Well who am I to complain, I guess that's part of what you pay for express mail. And the best thing is: I get to pop the bubble wraps after! hehe...
Now for the correlations. My siblings have always been complaining about the lizards and ants in our house. They are all over the place! I was musing that the lizards should have controlled the ants' population (by the way, how do you control lizard population?) but apparently, the ants are simply too much to handle even for this insect-starved gecko-sounding lizards. The lizards though are starting to get annoying. They make this gecko-like sound with the snap of their tails all the time. I mean I've been awaken by this sound during the wee hours of the morning. Talk about a bugging alarm clock. Plus, I always have this bad feeling that these lizards might one day fall off from the ceiling and straight into my face or even worse into my gaping mouth while am sleeping!!! Well last night brought all these elements together. And at last they all made sense. With the end-of-life-cycle-stage termite invasion, I was hard-pressed to find a solution to quickly eradicate them lest they invade our rooms. My good 'ol pop suggested the ancient technique of putting water in a basin and then raising it up near the lights so as to make the termites drown into the water. Well, that technique worked for a while, like 10 seconds, because before long the damn termites were crawling all over my face, arms and body (imagine a scene in fear factor where they have to endure creepy crawlies all over their bodies). I had to rethink my strategy and I had to do it fast coz I had to fax my postgrad application that night and they were all over the office where the fax machine sat. Talk about bad timing. Then I thought of a brilliant idea. Instead of me drawing the water close to them, why not make them draw closer to the water. How? By putting the basin below a low-hanging fluorescent lamp while switching off all the other lights. Waalaaaa!!! And like magic the pestering termites were all concentrated in one area. I was so happy that I was able to conquer a whole battalion of devil-may-care termites that night. As I was watched them dive randomly into the basin of water, I can't help but notice that I wasn't the only one enjoying the scene. Apparently, all the annoying lizards were also feasting on this rare termite buffet. They were all over the walls, crawling and snatching as many termites as possible. So that's what the lizards were for. To wait for this fateful day to happen, and show their worth. Thanks my reptilian friends, for without your help maybe we could not have eliminated the termites that fast. Now lastly the ants. Not all of the termites drowned in the deadly basin of water. Some of them simply fell to the ground. And like an army of coordinated force and strategy, the ants came out marching! They devoured all termites that fell to the ground - with or without wings, dead or alive. Talk about scavenging! Because of the coordinated efforts of the lizards and ants, the pesky winged-termites were easily eliminated and I was finally able to fax my application. But this is not the end of the story as far as my postgrad application is concerned. But this is something I would like to talk about the next time around...
Another year has come. But realistically, I feel that nothing has changed. Still feels, looks, sounds and even tastes the same as the previous years. Maybe seculars invented this New Year celebration to instill a kind of hope and renewal of strength for the future because it really isn't a new year. The only thing new around this time of year is the calendar, to say the least.
2006 is the year of the FIRE DOG. Astrologers, Feng Shui experts and Tarot card readers are all busy dishing out their "abstract" predictions for the coming year. Yes, very abstract indeed... Quite literally, they dish out predictions which have an array of possible interpretations and outcomes. No wonder all of their predictions come true. Ask any fortune-teller and they would refuse to give out names of people or specific events that would affect the future.
All they do is make generalisations:
That 2006 will be tumultous for the Arroyo administration because of the transition of government and the resiliency of the fragmented oppositions
That 2006 will again be marred by natural disasters but more specifically those with relation to fire and heat like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and forest fires
That 2006 will be lucky for people under the Pig, Rabbit and Bull signs
That 2006 will be good for industries like real estate, construction and metalworks
That 2006 will witness a lot of showbiz break-up's
That 2006 will be a year of changes and transitions
Ok, now that they have stated their predictions. Here's my 2cents worth on each one of them:
That 2006 will be tumultous for the Arroyo administration because of
the transition of government and the resiliency of the fragmented
oppositions
2c : The Arroyo government has been fazed with tough opposition ever since the start of last year. There's no reason to think that the fragmented opposition will let up in their efforts of inciting the people of the Philippines to another ridiculous uprising. In fact, that's what the Philippines is known for: Unseating a President, and then replacing it with a worse prospect.
That 2006 will again be marred by natural disasters but more
specifically those with relation to fire and heat like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and
forest fires
2c: Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and forest fires occur perenially with no specific tendencies. Countries situated near fault lines and the Pacific Ring of Fire regularly experience volcanic eruptions and consequent earthquakes. It would have been clearer if they singled out one specific location for a huge earthquake to occur. Maybe they are reluctant to do so because of the "dilang-anghel" phenomenon. Maybe some of them are silver-tongued? ?
That 2006 will be lucky for people under the Pig, Rabbit and Bull signs
2c: It could not have been more abstract than this. I mean, how many people you know are borne under these signs. Chances are, one of them will indeed get lucky this year. And to make the prediction more abstract, luck is actually viewed differently by different people. What maybe a boon to one maybe a bane to the other.
That 2006 will be good for industries like real estate, construction and metalworks
2c: Mayb this is their single most specific prediction. But who knows? We'll just have to wait and see if real estate and construction will indeed pick up. Metalworks and metallurgy products are predicted to be on the rise next year, so let's keep a close watch on the gold and silver market.
That 2006 will witness a lot of showbiz break-up's
2c: What more can I say?! Watta a prediction! hahaha!!!
That 2006 will be a year of changes and transitions
2c: Another prediction with multifarious interpretations. I believe that nothing in this world is constant but change. To say that this year will be full of changes, is like saying that you're gonna have your hair cut within this year. The probabilities are just too high for it to even qualify as a prediction.
Oh, I almost forgot... They also predicted that this year will be unlucky for people under the Dog sign. I couldn't believe it myself. I thought that people were lucky on the year of their animal signs. Apparently this isn't the case. It is only lucky for those people who have signs which are close or friends with the dog like the rabbit, pig and bull. This is indeed bad news for all dogs out there (that's me included). Generally speaking, these predictions are but logical forecasts of the future. So don't rely on these stuff so much. Life is what you make it. Don't worry dogs, we are going to be lucky this year. Just do your best, make your mark, wag your tail and pee and sh*#t outside the house... hehehe:) As I am writing this blog, I am overhearing the news on the tv.
A huge forest fire has just spread across parts of northern Sydney, Australia and parts of Oklahoma. Uh oh, I think their predictions aren't exactly abstract after all...
Happy New Year to all!
The Philippines has now become the unofficial rally capital of the world. Yeah, give it up! Thanks to our prudent and discerning president, rallies are a commonplace now in Manila.
I am quite amazed of our people's resiliency, or is it plain stupidity. Why can't we just follow simple instructions: NO PERMIT, NO RALLY. Its very simple english, in fact even grade schoolers could easily correlate this to their NO ID NO ENTRY rule. But yet, different human rights organizations still press on with their racketeering on the streets. They say that it is freedom of speech and expression, but I say that this is freedom abused. I thought, that the freedom of speech was instilled to nurture a society which would respect the ideas and thoughts of the people FOR the betterment of the whole nation. What good has these rallies brought to our nation? Nil. Instead, it promotes more polarity between party groups. More divisiveness among our government. And more hatred to the people. So what's this freedom of speech for? I do not understand really. But thankfully, there's this almighty invention to stymie these pointless debacles. It is the government's new secret weapon against terror!!! THE INVINCIBLE WATER CANNON!!!!
Wherever there's commotion, you can always rely on the WATER CANNON!!! With its mighty gush of water, it drives the unruly back. Its justice is blind to social and poilitcal standing. It is fair and equal to all. With the WATER CANNON, if you're one of the crowds, then you will get wet. My apologies to the priests and most notably to former Vice-President Guingona. Your theatrical performance was Oscar-award worthy, yet it was not good enough for the blind justice. Therefore, for your excellent performance, I award thee with the dubious distinction of becoming the only vice president dozed off with a WATER CANNON. hehehe... Praises for this wonderful invention. Who could have been the first to use the water cannon as a crowd dispersing medium. He should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. It is so much more economical than to train a bunch of corrupt policemen. It is so easy to use: just fill it up with water, aim then fire away! It is very efficient, it does what its suppose to do (to disperse) without bloodshed and arguments. Don't ya'll agree it deserves a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize next year?
The Water Cannon -- a simple solution to a complex problem.
Recent Comments