Look Ma, I'm a Writer!

"Waaah! I don't like chocolate! I want vanilla!"

"Why are you crying?" asked Mommy.

"Because I don't like chocolate ice cream! I want vanilla ice cream!"

"Stop crying. Big boys don't cry. We'll buy your vanilla ice cream in another store."




"Waaah! I don't like carrots! I want cake!"

"Why are you crying?" asked Mommy.

"Because I don't like to eat carrots! I want to eat cake!"

"Stop crying. Big boys don't cry. Finish your carrots and you can eat cake."




"Waaah! I don't like Cartoon Network! I want Batibot!

"Why are you crying?" asked Mommy.

"Because I don't like to watch Cartoon Network! I want to watch Batibot!"

"Stop crying. Big boys don't cry. Watch Cartoon Network first, then you can watch Batibot.




"Waaah! I don't like a t-shirt! I want a toy!"

"Why are you crying?" asked Mommy.

"Because I don't like to buy a t-shirt! I want to buy a toy!"

"Listen to me. Stop crying. You're a big boy now. Big boys don't cry. Only babies cry. Are you a baby?"

"No, I'm a big boy now."

"So stop crying. I'll buy you this t-shirt for your birthday. And then I'll buy you a toy for Christmas. Okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. I'm sorry. I'll stop crying now."




And the big boy stopped crying since.



Sun, 5 Dec 2010.

by Gene Paulo Abrajano

(Edited and titled by Chonx Tibajia
Published in the Philippine STAR, page J-2, Sat, 21 Aug 2010.)


The STAR's Features Editor called me and asked, “Pwede ka ba magsulat ng article para sa Ninoy Aquino Day?”

I replied, “Ninoy Aquino Day? Mayro'n ba n'un?” It was only after she thought I was weird that I realized that she was referring to NINOY, the guy in the five hundred-peso bill. Fail on my part.

Anyway, I said yes, and asked her what angle she wanted me to take on the article. We had a couple of discussions before we finally settled for “How the youth remembers Ninoy Aquino.” Or something to that effect. She told me to interview ten people, preferably those born after 1990, or at least post-EDSA.

Eager to do the assignment (and since I had like less than twenty-four hours to write it), I went to work immediately. The first person I interviewed was my sister, born in 1990. I told her I needed to write an article about Ninoy, and asked her what she knew about him. Twice in the same day, Ninoy has been mistaken for Noynoy. Or vice versa. Either way, this is definitely not right, and in my opinion, is a bigger problem than kids not knowing who Ninoy is altogether.

This of course made me wonder why people mistake P-Noy for that guy in the five hundred-peso bill. Okay, they look a bit alike. They're father and son, after all. But it seems that people have made P-Noy his father's avatar. This is quite surprising, as father and son are more than a generation apart. But I'd like to think that they share more than their names (incidentally, there is only a one-letter difference in their nicknames).

As is typical of famous father-son relationships, one would think that the son would have some “living under the shadow” issues. There's John and Julian Lennon. Then there's Bob and Ziggy Marley. But aside from being artists, the fathers' shadow has become too big for the sons to escape from. The Aquinos, on the other hand, are a different matter. Aside from being politicians, both of them seem to be casting only one shadow, Ninoy's. P-Noy has simply stepped into his father's shoes, and thus does not have to worry about casting his own shadow, one greater than his father's.

So how big is Ninoy's shadow, really? Big enough, apparently. Cory Aquino has stepped into it from 1986-1992. And with P-Noy's election to the presidency, we can expect his shadow to remain for another six years.

And again, we go back to the avatar issue. If P-Noy is the avatar of Ninoy, then so was Cory. We've heard it countless times before: if Ninoy hadn't been shot in 1983, it would have been him in Malacañang, not his wife. It seems then that the Filipino populace does not vote for a person; the Filipino votes for an ideal, an ideal represented by a certain bespectacled former senator who died on the tarmac of the airport that now bears his name. This ideal, by association, was passed on to his wife, which got her elected to the presidency. And this ideal, by genetics, was passed on to his son, which also got him elected to the presidency.

Ninoy's ideals have outlived him, as they have outlived his wife. And they must also outlive his son. Ninoy's ideals must continue to exist, even after Ninoy Aquino himself has reached the status of “icon.”And Ninoy is close to reaching this status, as evidenced by the greatest creator of icons: pop culture.

Ninoy's induction into pop culture began even before he was immortalized on our currency (currently the second most expensive monetary bill of this country). It began with the use of the color yellow, way back since Cory Aquino's presidential campaign. This of course alludes to the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree,” Ninoy and Cory's favorite song. The color yellow also became the symbol for democracy and peaceful protests, gracing the cover of Time Magazine when they featured Asia's first female head of state. The yellow ribbon made a popular comeback in 2009, when Cory left this world to join her husband. This kind of gave P-Noy a campaign edge, since he also utilized yellow ribbons for his presidential campaign, way before the start of the official campaign period.

Artists have also gone as far as using metonymy with Ninoy's glasses. Some have also made shirts (yellow, of course) with Ninoy Aquino's face done in the style of Che Guevara. And this is where the danger lies, in my opinion. Che Guevara is more than an ideal now; he is an icon. And this is apparently the direction Ninoy Aquino is bound to take. Che Guevara used to represent an ideal, one that we may not all agree with, but an ideal nonetheless, pure and selfless. But once he became an icon, everything was lost. Now, people remember Che Guevara not for his socialist ideals that helped win the Cuban Revolution, but for the beauty of his face that looks damn good on t-shirts. And that same thing could happen to Ninoy, should the Filipino people forget the story behind the iconic mug found on countless campaigns and merchandise. Everything he fought for, everything he stood for, everything he died for is part of the story that we should keep on telling.

Many are still believers. That surge of patriotism running through the veins of today's youth? It seems very real and enduring. Let's hope that generations to come will see Ninoy not just as a face on a shirt, but a true face in the crowd─as someone real and could possibly be awakened from inside all of us.

by GP Abrajano

(Published in the Philippine Star, circa March 2010.
The following article is NOT the published version.)


Land. The last frontier. It is probably the only thing that will still be in demand three hundred years from now. The entire world knows this, which is why the world powers are now scrambling for a slice of Antarctic real estate, and are also actively crafting legislation to distribute lunar land.

The Philippine Constitution prohibits foreigners owning lands in the Philippines. The 1935 and the 1973 Constitutions are explicit, the 1987 Constitution not quite so. This is because, according to law professor Carmelo V. Sison, it should already be implied.

There already exists a legal loophole regarding foreign ownership, and that is Republic Act 4726, known as the Condominium Act. Maneuvering through its legalese, it becomes possible for a foreigner to own one hundred percent of Philippine real estate, because when it comes to condominiums, it is possible to separate the interests on the land from the building.

What then could be the future of Philippine real properties? Would it remain patrimonial? Or would it be sold to the highest bidder? That all depends on who will lead this country at the start of the new presidential term. Here are the presidential candidates and their stand on foreign ownership of land in the Philippines.

Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro: Gibo is a clear proponent of changing the charter. He is particularly vocal about reducing the legislative chambers into a single, unicameral system. We can understand where this is coming from, after two years of serving as a congressional legislator. Of course, this is not the only change he wants to see. He is for the partial lifting of the ban on foreigners owning Philippine lands.

Gibo is all for foreigners owning commercial, industrial, and residential lands. Residential lands are understandable ─ we’ve had foreigners living here as far back as anyone can remember. But commercial and industrial land is another matter. This actually covers potential tourist gold mines. This poses the danger of the gold being mined into foreign pockets.

He does, however, reserve to the Filipinos the agricultural, forest, mineral, and timber lands of these islands. I guess this seems all right. But I still can’t help but think that it’s the commercial and industrial lands that will generate more money.

Richard “Dick” Gordon: Dick Gordon is generally of the same view as Gibo, that is, opening our lands to foreign enterprises. He also added that our minerals, our oil, and our waters should be reserved only for Filipino citizens.

This is of course coming from a man who held the mayoralty seat of Olongapo city for thirteen years, and chaired the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, countless others tourism agencies, and also served as Secretary of the Department of Tourism. For someone who would go the extra mile to attract foreigners to visit our shores, you can only imagine how far he would go to attract foreigners to stay on our shores.

Joseph “Erap” Estrada: Erap is the third presidential bet who is openly pro-foreign ownership of Philippine lands. This has been his policy when he was still in office, and he shows no signs of changing this policy should he get re-elected this time.

Think back to the time of Erap’s CONCORD, or Constitutional Correction and Development. Charter Change had already been part of his agenda, although not in a term-extension manner, but in a manner that will sell our national patrimony to the highest bidder.

Manuel “Manny” Villar: To determine Villar’s stand on land ownership by aliens, all one has to do is study the platform of the Nacionalista Party.

“Foreign Investors are welcome to invest in the Philippines so long as the national patrimony and economy is protected and not compromised. Foreign investors shall be allowed access to land through the lease system.” So the Nacionalistas are not actually against totally alienating the aliens from Philippine lands, because they do allow the foreigners access to it. Just through a system of lease. Why sell, when you can lease it, make just as much money, and still retain ownership?

The platform also states that, “Land ownership has always been an important component of building up the Filipino middle class and it should not be easily compromised.” That is of course, the Nacionalista Party speaking. Not Villar himself. On the issue of foreign land ownership, Villar gives the cryptic response of “letting the people decide.”

Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III: When asked about changing the charter’s policies on foreign ownership of lands, Aquino gives the vague answer, “if it is necessary.” He plans on forming a separate Commission to determine if it is necessary to amend the Constitution’s prohibitions regarding foreign ownership, if it is actually necessary for our economic growth. Well of course anything can be justified as “necessary” as long as the conditions are ripe.

We must take into account that Aquino comes a family of landowners, whose vast haciendas have not yet been distributed to the farmers that tilled its soil, pursuant to the directives of agrarian reform. So if Filipino farmers cannot own their lands, I don’t think even foreign businessmen should.

Eduardo “Eddie” Villanueva: Brother Eddie, along with Nicky Perlas, is maybe the only candidate with no experience in public office. His concerns are different from the other candidates. For example, he has no solid stance on foreign ownership of lands. But he does say that he is against all forms of foreign intervention. We can also assume he is against foreign ownership of Philippine lands.

John Carlos “JC” De Los Reyes: De Los Reyes may also be a relative cellar-dweller in the presidential race, but he is one of those who are against foreign ownership of lands. His prohibition is not total, though. He still retains a nationalist policy regarding lands, but he has expressed interest in exploring the possibility of letting foreigners have “limited ownership” of our lands. Not to take it against him, but history has shown us that “limited” will eventually mean “full.”

Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal: Senator Jamby has come under a lot of flak from the voting populace, what with her relentless drive against corruption and corrupt officials. And yet, Madrigal’s stance on foreign ownership of land may actually be the strongest among those who oppose it in its entirety. Madrigal wants to shield the patriotic provisions of our constitution reserving the rights of Filipino citizens to land ownership against any and all forms of foreign influence. For her, there are no conditions. Foreigners must not own lands. The Philippines is strictly for Filipinos.

Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas: Nicky Perlas is the underdog, one with no political experience under his belt. He also has the clearest, meatiest platform among all the candidates. Yet surprisingly, his platform, as well as his party’s (PANGMASA) platform, is silent on the issue of foreign ownership of land. It does put emphasis on the state of mining in this country, and talks about broadening “the ownership-base of the mining industry”. But this is in relation to local miners. However, if you take this in context with another point of his platform of encouraging foreign investment in the country, then I guess you can consider his platform vague on the issue of foreign ownership.

So there you have it. The question is: Should foreigners own land in the Philippines? Three candidates said yes. That’s Teodoro, Gordon, and Estrada. One is unsure, and that is Villanueva. Four are vague, and that’s Villar, Aquino, De Los Reyes, and Perlas. And only one has a loud, resounding NO, all caps, and that’s Senator Jamby Madrigal. And if your presidential vote will depend on the candidate’s stand on foreign ownership, then I hope this article has been of some help.

Look, Mom!
I can write on my own.
I hold the pencil with my hand,
and make my mark on the paper.
See? That's my name!

Look, Mom!
I can eat on my own.
Fork on the left hand,
spoon on the right.
And I scoop the food into my mouth. Yum!

Look, Mom!
I can dress up on my own.
First my underwear,
then my shirt and shorts,
then my socks and shoes.

Look, Mom!
I can tie my shoes on my own.
A loop on the left,
and a loop on the right,
then I loop the two loops together.

Look, Mom!
I can read on my own.
Left to right, top to bottom,
turn the page, and do it again.
Now you don't have to read me a bedtime story!

Thank you, Mom,
for teaching me
how to do things
on my own.


*6 Sep 2010.

A little girl, about six,
walking home from school,
two fingers pinching her lower lip,
creating a very tiny hole,
and when she inhaled sharply,
she made a high-pitched whistle.
And she kept whistling
as she walked, and
I could hear her
even after she turned
the corner.
And I remembered
when you told me
that when you were that age,
around six,
your older brother told you
to stop whistling,
because girls don't whistle.


2 Aug 2010

Fire. Fly. Fire. Fly.
Moving through the night
Blink on. Blink off.
Firefly's alight.

Shine once. Shine twice.
Glowing in the dark.
Night time. Bright time.
A concert in the park.

There are two types
of light shows
on Olympus.

The first type: the Sound Show.
When a blinding flash
like a huge strobe
blinds mortal eyes
for just a split-second,
coupled with
the crack of
a hundred thousand whips
in unison,
that is Zeus
throwing a tantrum.
And the waters that fall
are the tears of the gods,
feeling sorry for the mortals
who are at the receiving end
of Zeus's fit.

The second type: the Silent Show.
When you see Zeus's lightning bolts
being thrown around
from cloud to cloud,
backlighting their beautiful shapes
intermittently,
that is Zeus
throwing a party.
There is
no noise, not
even a single whip crack,
because this is an exclusive party.
No mortals are invited here,
and all the gods are either
dancing, and/or drunk.


*But after the light shows,
when Apollo's chariot rides
across the fields,
then spring the
golden caps.
These mushrooms
are actually ambrosia,
the food of the gods,
and for mortals,
their ticket to
the Silent Show.

INTRODUCTION

Maybe no other phrase in modern English can claim to be mystical while still remaining cool, and that is, “May the Force be with you.” It is a line made famous by the science-fiction film saga Star Wars, probably the most successful film series in history, dominating the whole decade of the eighties, and crossing well into the next millennium.

The whole Star Wars phenomenon is a pioneer in many fields. Tomlinson Holman, the technical director, was the first to develop the strategy for replicating the excellent sound quality of the dubbing studio in theaters, which today is more popularly known as the THX sound system (Otte:1994). Creator George Lucas spearheaded the digital revolution, when his Industrial Light and Magic (ILM)¹ wizards won the Best Visual Effects Oscar² for the flawlessly-realistic dinosaurs for the film Jurassic Park in 1994. He was also the first to remaster his old films and re-releas them as the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition in 1997. He also pioneered the merchandising practice, the first filmmaker to make millions from the sales of his movies’ posters, t-shirts and lunchboxes. And now apparently the Star Wars films have started a new religion.

British officials from the Office of National Statistics reported that nearly 400,000 wrote “Jedi” on their 2001 census form, outnumbering those who registered their faith as Jewish, Buddhist, or Sikh, while in Australia more than 70,000 people have declared that they are followers of the Jedi faith. One of the Jedi’s most popular websites, jediism.org, states their creed: “(Our) mission…is to reaffirm and restore the knowledge of the True Inner Self (which we refer to as Jedi)” (Skye:2003).

Sound familiar? It should be. It is modern-day Taoism, the philosophy of Lao Tzu which Lucas draws heavily from in Star Wars. This paper shall illustrate the huge influence Taoism has had on the mythical Jedi Knights and the whole philosophy of the Force.


TAOISM

Before we can appreciate anything I shall discuss in this paper, we must first have a basic understanding of the two philosophies to be discussed, and these are 1) Taoism; and 2) the ways of the Jedi³.

Taoism is a Chinese philosophy begun by Lao Tzu. Little is known of him, and even his very existence has been disputed. Scholars place his birth at 604 B.C., and they say he lived the same time as Confucius, and had been keeper of the Archives of the Treasury of the Imperial Court (Soothill:1973). Numerous legends have been attributed to him, even some fictitious conversations with Confucius himself.

Regarding the Tao Te Ching, recognized as one of the most influential woks in human history (aside from the Christian Bible, the most translated work of literature), single authorship is not even attributed to Lao Tzu by most scholars. They say that most of the Tao Te Ching may have come from Lao Tzu himself, and it was probably passed down verbally before it was written down. The use of rhyme made the text easier for people to remember and recite (Lin:1939). But once the words were immortalized in writing, scholars began to doubt if other writers have not added passages to the original, and thus the idea of the Tao Te Ching as a multi-authorial work was born.

The impact of the work, however, cannot be denied, and if the enigmatic lines of Lao Tzu may leave some of the readers perplexed, his ideas have been explained with some element of humor by his most famous disciple, Chuang-Tzu. If Lao Tzu gave us the instructions (however vague they may seem), it is Chuang-Tzu who gave us the applications of the Taoist philosophy. Taken together, Lao Tzu and Chuang-Tzu give us one of the greatest philosophies the East has ever spawned, a philosophy unique and indigenous only to China.


THE JEDI

To those uninitiated in the realm of Star Wars, let me give a brief background. The whole Star Wars saga is comprised of six films. The first trilogy (actually the second half of the saga, Episodes IV, V, and VI) was released in 1977, 1980, and 1983 respectively. The second trilogy (the first three episodes of the saga) was released in 1999, 2002, and 2005⁴. The whole saga tells the story of Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight who betrayed the Jedi order and turned to the Dark Side. He however redeems himself in the end, thus fulfilling a prophecy about him, that he would bring balance to the Force.

However, it is not so much the starships and the space battles we are interested in, but the Order of the Jedi Knights. The Jedi⁵ are mystical warriors, “keepers of the peace, not soldiers,” armed only with two weapons: a lightsaber (a kind of laser sword), and their knowledge of the Force. With these alone, they are able to engage enemies armed with laser guns and still emerge unharmed. Such is the power of a Jedi, and a Jedi’s power stems from the Force.

          THE JEDI⁶
          The Jedi are selfless. They only care about others.
          A Jedi must have the deepest commitment. The most serious mind.
          Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things.

          The Force is what gives the Jedi his power.
          A Jedi’s strength flows from the Force.
          A Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.

          Attachment is forbidden.
          Possession is forbidden.
          Compassion...define[d] as unconditional love, is central to a Jedi’s life.
          So [it can be said that the Jedi] are encouraged to love.

          Wars not make one great.
          [The Jedi] are keepers of the peace, not soldiers.
          A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.
          There are alternatives to fighting.

When written in this form, it will be easier to see how much a Jedi Knight is very similar to a Taoist. One can even say that the Jedi are Taoists in a galaxy far, far away. Indeed, the Taoist too must have the deepest commitment and the most serious mind, for detaching oneself from all earthly attachments is no easy feat. Nor must the Taoist crave adventure or excitement, otherwise his isolation would have been in vain, for adventure and excitement still imply attachment, and that is attachment to pleasure. For the Taoist, attachments and possessions are automatic no-no’s, for one must embrace only Nature, the Tao. The Tao Te Ching’s equivalent for that is found in Chapter 19:

          Discern plainness.
          Embrace simplicity.
          Reduce selfishness.
          Restrain desires. (Tao Te Ching: chapter 19)

          Nameless simplicity means being without desires.
          Being without desires and with tranquility,
          The world will keep peace by itself. (TTC: ch.37)

To the Taoist, the mere act of possessing something,

          This is called robbery and extravagance.
          Really, this is not Tao. (TTC: ch.53)

Love too, is forbidden, unless it is the love that is not selective; that is love, compassion for everything in the universe, animate or inanimate. However, we should not love too much, for then we become attached.

          Of gain and loss, which is more distressing?
          Therefore, loving in excess incurs great cost. (TTC: ch.44)

The Jedi’s passive attitude clearly demonstrates the Jedi’s abhorrence for violence, parallelized by

          Weapons are the tools of evil
          not the tools of the gentleman.
          When he uses them unavoidably, he is most calm and detached.
          And does not glorify his victory. (TTC: ch.31)

And as the Taoist draws energy from the Tao, so does the Jedi draw energy from the Force.

          THE FORCE
          Be mindful of the living Force.
          It is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.

          My ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is.
          Its energy surrounds us and binds us.
          You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock. Everywhere.
          Feel the Force flow.

          Use the Force.
          Sense the Force around you.
          The Force will guide us.
          It continually speaks to us, telling us Its will.
          When you learn to quiet your mind, you’ll hear It speaking to you.
          It also obeys your commands.
          You will know when you are calm…at peace…passive.

The original idea for the eternal is supposed to be “Nameless,”

          The Nameless [non-being] is the origin of heaven and Earth.
          The Namable [being] is the mother of all things. (TTC: ch.1)

as stated in the first chapter of the Tao Te Ching. But in order to teach this concept, one cannot keep on referring to a nameless idea, so for the sake of Lao Tzu’s students, he decided to name it.

          Not knowing its name, I can only style it Tao. (TTC: ch.25)

But what is Tao? Apparently it is something so deep that no word can fully synonymize itself with it. It cannot even be directly translated as God. In places it seems to be confused or sometimes interchangeable with T’ien (Heaven), The Great Unity, The Great Mystery, The Great Illuminator, The Great Framer, The Great Infinite, The Great Truth, The Great Determiner (Soothill:1973). For me however, its closest equivalent in meaning was coined in 1977─The Force.

Tao is therefore also “Truth”, “right conduct”. Tao underlies the cosmos. Tao inhabits every created thing (Campbell:1973). Like the Force, described as an energy field,

          Looked at, it cannot be seen;
          it is called colorless.
          Listened to, it cannot be heard;
          it is called soundless.
          Grasped, it cannot be obtained;
          it is called formless. (TTC: ch.14)

Once a person hears the Force speaking to him/her, that person is well on the way to becoming a Jedi. Similarly,

          The superior man, on hearing Tao,
          Practices it diligently. (TTC: ch.41)

Since Tao is the backbone of Taoism, so is the Force the backbone of the Jedi faith. That is why it is spelled with a capital F.


CONCLUSION

There are actually more instances that show how George Lucas draws heavily from the work of Lao Tzu, and if I were to enumerate them all, it would take several dozen pages, and could in fact be a complete dissertation in itself. Star Wars, however, does not draw solely on Taoism. We can also see influences of Buddhist and Christian doctrines echoing throughout the story. What is fascinating however is that the dominant ideas presented are undoubtedly Taoist. And it makes us wonder then how the present generation of human beings, the generation of computers, the internet, and MTV, how they can have room to accept the centuries-old teachings of the sage Lao Tzu. For despite all our modernity, we seem to have a soft spot for the mystical, for the divine, for the things we cannot explain.


=========================

FOOT NOTES

¹Industrial Light and Magic is Lucasfilm's special effects arm.
²Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
³There really is no philosophy called Jediism, so I shall refer to it as "the ways of the Jedi".
⁴The chronology of the films’ release was only a matter of chance, and was not intended as a storytelling device.
⁵The word “Jedi” has the same singular and plural form.
⁶I have written passages similar to Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, to illustrate my point. This then is the Tao Te Jedi. Every line from the passages comes from actual lines in the Star Wars films.


END NOTES

Peter Otte. The Information Superhighway: Beyond the Internet. Indianapolis: Que Corporation, 1994. pp. 115-139.
Dan Skye. “Dawn of the Jedi.” High Times No.334 June. 2003. p.12
Paul J. Lin. A Translation of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching and Wang Ping’s Commentary. Michigan: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1977.
W. E. Soothill. The Three Religions of China: lectures delivered at Oxford (3rd ed.). London: Curzon Press Ltd., 1973.
Lin Yutang. My Country and My People. New York: The John Day Company, 1939.
Joseph Campbell. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973.
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Liam Neeson,
Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz. Twentieth Century-Fox, 1999.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Hayden Christensen. Twentieth Century-Fox, 2002.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Hayden Christensen. Twentieth Century-Fox, 2005.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Dir. George Lucas. Mark Hamill, Alec Guiness, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher. Twentieth Century-Fox, 1977.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Dir. Irvin Kirshner. Perf. Mark Hamill, Alec Guiness, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Frank Oz. Twentieth Century-Fox, 1980.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Dir. Richard Marquand. Perf. Mark Hamill, Alec Guiness, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Frank Oz. Twentieth Century-Fox, 1983.


*circa October 2005.

Tomorrow is my seventh birthday.
Papa will take me to Enchanted Kingdom.

Papa and Mama divorced before my first birthday.
Mama said Papa ran off and married a witch.

“Tomorrow your Papa has a surprise for you,” said Mama.
I asked her what kind of surprise will I get.
She said, “Tomorrow you shall meet your half-brother.”

I asked her what a half-brother looks like.
Is he all-left? Or purely right?
Is he like a manananggal, just waist-down? Or waist-up?

Mama laughed and explained to me that my half-brother was Papa’s son, but not hers.
“Who is his mama?” I asked.
She answered, “Why of course, it’s that witch your Papa married.”

I tried to imagine what a witch’s son looks like.
Probably a hunchback with one eye and a nose full of warts.
__________

Today I met my half-brother.
He wasn’t a one-eyed hunchback.
He wasn’t all-left or purely right.
He wasn’t like a manananggal.
He looked like me.

Today I spent my birthday in Enchanted Kingdom with Papa and my half-brother.
At the Ice Cream Parlor, we bought the same flavor.
At the video arcade, we played the same game.
At the Haunted House, we screamed in fright at the same ghost.

We both had the same smile.
We both had the same laugh.
And we both had the same tear in our eye when our day ended.

“Good-bye, Kuya!” my half-brother said.
“I hope you come on my birthday.”
__________

Tomorrow is my half-brother’s birthday.
His mama is not a witch.
His mama is rich.
Tomorrow we are going to Hong Kong Disneyland.


*circa 19 Jan 2007

(Isang katotohanan: ang isang bala ay hindi
nakapananakit sa labas
ng chamber nito.)

Ganito ang pagbuo
sa isang Amaru .357:

Una, pagsamahin ang bolt¹ at ang carrier^2
1bolt─ang isip:
tagapaglikha ng teorya.
na siya nating tesis
²carrier─ang laman ng salita;
binibigyang-katauhan bilang praktika,
ang antitesis

Ipasok ang napagsamang³ bolt at carrier, at itulak ang handle⁴ pasulong
³ang pinagsamang teorya at praktika
ang nagiging konkretong
kilos
⁴handle─ang susunod na tesis
ay kinakailangang itulak
nang pasulong upang mkalikha
ng isang panibagong kontradiksyon.

Ihanay ang hammer⁵ kasama ang trigger^6
5hammer─ang konsiyensya
nararapat ilinya sa
⁶trigger─ang pagpapasya
na lumikha ng mga moral.

Hilahin ang lock-on spring guide⁷ na siyang nagpapahintulot sa ‘yo na mailagay
ang cover⁸ pabalik sa chamber⁹.
⁷lock─on spring guide,
upang panatilihin tayong naka-linya
⁸cover─pagpuna
patungkol sa ‘yo,
inilagay ang sa itaas ng
⁹chamber─ang pagpuna
sa sarili: ang iniisip mo
patungkol sa sarili mo.

Tapos, ipasok na ang isang punong magazine¹⁰, tanggalin¹¹ ang safety¹² at ikasa¹³ ang handle
¹⁰magazine─puno
armas ng mandirigma ng mamamayan.
Upang masundan ito nararapat na
¹¹tanggalin─ibukod:
ihiwalay ang sarili mula sa
¹²safety─ang pamilya, ang paraan ng pamumuhay
ay nararapat
iwanan nang hindi
lumilingon.
¹³ikasa─ihanda ang sarili
para sa susunod na kontradiksyon

Ang Amaru .357 ay regalo
bigay ng Cuba sa Pilipinas (mula kay ate para kay dite)
dalawang hija ng Inang Espanya.
sapilitang pinakasal
sa mabahong G.I. Joe
sa halagang dalawampung milyong dolyar.

Ito ang siyang armas na ginamit ng Cuba upang barilin ang kanyang asawa,
ang siyang nagpatupad sa diborsyo.


*narito ang bersyong Ingles

To every person
There is one true spaghetti

To some people
Spaghetti must be sweet
Like those served at children’s parties
Where little boys and girls meet
With tomato ketchup instead of tomato sauce
Smeared around the mouth

To others
Spaghetti must be salty
Like those at the American diners
Where teenage girls meet teenage boys
With meat sauce and meatballs
Staining their skirts and shirts

And still to other people
Spaghetti must be just a little bit sour
Like those at the five-star restaurants
Where the gentlemen date the ladies
And where we find traces of real tomatoes
Creating kiss-marks on the napkin

While to other people
Spaghetti must be pure Italian
Like those served in Milan and Roma
Where honeymooners stroll and old couples date
The aftertaste of Sicilian olives
Still fresh in their mouths

The true spaghetti is made
With a secret spice whose main ingredient
To this day
Remains a mystery

I am

"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

-Ieshua ben Yosef, The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, verse 5

It is the unexpected

Let
U = Euphoria
X = Ecstasy
T = Time

(Defintion-"Ecstasy": The intensity of a positive emotion.)

U=XT

Euphoria equals Ecstasy
times Time.


Ecstasy is inversely proportional to Time.

Greater Ecstasy times
lesser Time
equals
lesser Ecstasy times
greater Time.


An intense,
romantic, one-
week affair is
greater than or equal to
a dull, predictable ten-
year marriage.


*Old poem, circa 27 Aug 2009

He opened her wardrobe
expecting to find
that skeleton
from her freshman
college science lab.
But he found it empty
(then he suddenly remembered
she already
cleared her closet)
save for
one, single
bone, the longest in the body,
a femur ─ thigh bone ─
and he doesn't know if it's left
or right.

It bothered him,
for the bone stank
like bacteria-
infested cat feces.

With surgical gloves,
he picked it up,
and saw that the bone
was made of plastic,
which made him wonder
"How can
something synthetic stink so?"

He wanted to take a shovel
and bury it, but
he didn't want to
burn that many calories
for a fake bone
that's not even good enough
for a dog to chew on.

So he went outside,
drew back his arm,
and launched the bone like a projectile,
hurling it like a home run
fired from a cannon.

And the bone landed
in a garbage dump,
with the other trash,
where it belonged.

If there is background noise
on both ends of the phone
then you are really, really lucky
              for there is nothing more sickening than
              the sight of two people in love
as they let each other know
their X and Y coordinates

              You want her to know where you are
              because you want to know where she is

If there is background noise
only on your end of the phone
(highly unlikely, considering she’s
              a very, very nice girl) she could be
              in a hotel room in Paris
while at home you are thinking
she’ll spend the weekend at her sister’s

              You want to know where she is
              because you want her all to yourself

Now if there is background noise
on just her end of the phone
then you should reflect on your actions:
              A girl like that doesn’t deserve to be left
              in the dark, alone and clueless
when you told her you had to work
overtime (with your secretary)

              She wants to know where you are
              But you don’t want to tell her

But if the background noise disappears
on both sides of the phone
then maybe it’s about time.
              You failed to notice her
              noise faded a long time ago
while you were giving her lame excuses
and she doesn’t give a damn where you are at all


*Old poem, circa May 17, 2005

This is the override code for the Tear Duct Control System.

The code uses additional security protection, and must be entered exactly. The code is case-sensitive, line break-senstitive, and font-sensitive.

The font used is "Personal Penmanship Small Caps".

---

She is a warrior,
invincible at first glance,
but still human--scarred.

Little tinkling bells
Like the sound of your laughter
Music to my ears

More beautiful than
the sunrise, you are brighter
than the light of day.