PARENTHESES

Nakakaawa kung tutuusin ang mga salespersons ng mga malls lalo na sa SM. Biruin mo naman, nakatayo lang sila buong oras ng shift nila. Kaya lang minsan nakaka-inis din kung matapat ka sa isang kupal na salesperson. Gaya nitong naranasan ko kanina habang namimili kami ng Mrs ko sa SM.

Ako:“Excuse me, Brod, meron kayong remote control na universal?”
Salesman: “Ano hong brand nyo?”
Ako: “Brand nang player ko ba kamo?…Samsung”
Salesman: (*tinuturo lang ang mga RC’s na nasa loob ng display shelf, habang nag-aayos ng buhok) “Ay, hindi ho puwede sa Samsung yan.”
Ako: (*nakalagay sa sticker ng RC na puwede sa Samsung). “Puwedeng pakibuksan ang eskaparate’t kunin mo yung RC nang matingnan naman natin.”
Salesman: (*saka pa lang kinuha ang RC sa loob ng shelf at inabot sa akin)
Ako: “O ayan ba’t nakalagay puwede sa Samsung.”
Salesman: (*tiningnan ang RC) “Ah, tinesting na ho namin yan, hindi ho gumagana sa Samsung.”
Ako: (*salubong na ang kilay)
Salesman:“Yun hong isa, gumagana yun sa Samsung”
Ako: “Asan yun?”
Salesman: “Ubos na ho ang stock namin nun.”

Here’s a comic strip I made through a strip generator. I’ll be making occasional strips as my commentary on what’s going on in our country today.

The other “pito-pito” quiz.

Seven Things That Scare Me

1. Having to be in a wrong place at a wrong time; 2. Murderous Akyat Bahay; 3. Salvaged/Assasinated; 4. Poisonous snakes; 5. To be “invited for questioning” by the military/police; 6. Being diagnosed as having a malignant ailment; 7. Harm or sickness that may come to any member of my family

Seven Things That I Like the Most

1. Football (a.k.a. soccer); 2. Travelling; 3. Singing and Jamming with friends; 4. Spicy foods; 5. Just being with my family; 6. Reading; 7. Sex

Seven Important Things in My Bedroom

1. The Bed; 2. Books and Magazines; 3. TV set and DVD player; 4. Closet; 5. Lampshade; 6. Table; 7. Chairs

Seven Random Facts About Me

1. I’m Piscean; 2. A football fanatic; 3. A social-activist-development-worker; 4. I am a member of the Order of DeMolay; 5. I love Japanese art, architecture, zen and Aikido; 6. Studied at Amsterdam, been to Paris (wrote my name on the wall of the summit of the Tour d’Eiffel), Belgium, Germany and Thailand; 7. My father is an Ilocano and my mother is of Maranaw descent

Seven Things I Plan to do Before I die

1. build my Japanese garden; 2. Write my biography; 3. Tour the Philippines and take my family to a vacation in Thailand; 4. Watch a FIFA World Cup Finals in the stadium where it is being played; 5. be an active Peace advocate; 6. Attend all important events in my daughter’s life; 7. Have tea with my wife in my japanese garden while watching the sunset.

Seven Things I can do

1. Sing and play the guitar; 2. Cook; 3. Talk; 4. Write; 5. Drink; 6. Read; 7. make love

Seven Things I Can’t Do

1. deep sea diving; 2. dance;3. act; 4. become a rightist; 5. become a politician; 6. become a member of any fringe group; 7. give up my rights

Seven Things that Attract Me to the Opposite Sex

1. Intelligence; 2. wit; 3. self-confidence; 4. Loves music and knows how to sing; 5. open-mind; 6. natural charm; 7. Candidness

Seven Things You Say the Most

1. Haynaku; 2. PI; 3. Paki; 4. Ha?; 5. Aba; 6. Sus oy; 7. Pastilan

Seven Celeb Crushes (whether local or foreign)

1. Monica Belluci; 2. Diana Zubiri; 3. Ashley Judd; 4. Jennifer Lopez; 5. Dawn Zulueta; 6. Martina Hingis; 7. Yulia Tymoshenko

Major Tom tagged me with this quiz on Books and Sevens. By coincidence, I was already starting to make an inventory of my book collections when tagged. So,here goes;

What’s in a book?

Written syntheses of the human experience, creativity and imagination.

Number of books on the shelves:

I lost count. I have many books now gathering dust in the shelves of my old room in my parents house. When Bambit and I started a family we keep moving from one house to another so books were not piled in a permanent shelf. Most of the books lined up in the shelves of our new house now are mostly Bambit’s. She has a wide array of literary books and a vast collection of novels.

Those that I own or bought:

Most of the books I owned were given as gifts. Some were bought while others were borrowed and never returned. I collect mostly political books, started collecting when I was in College taking up Political Science. There are also few literary ones and a motley of books and booklets on various interests.

The bulk of my collection are books on Marxism. These are volumes of books written by: (Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, V.I. Lenin, Rosa Luxembourg, Mao Tse Tung, Leon Trotsky, Herbert Marcuse, Nguyen Giap, Che Guevara, Antonio Gramsci, John Molyneux, Ernest Mandel, Thomas Borge, Carlos Fonseca, Daniel Ortega, Humberto Ortega, Jaime Wheelock,Duncan Hallas, Leopold Labedz, Amado Guerrero,etc.)

Other Political Books: Among this pile are valued collections – The Prince – Machiavelli; The Autobiography of Malcolm X – Alex Haley; Dead Aim – Conrado de Quiros; Anatomy of War – Gabriel Kolko; Exposition of the Juche Idea – Kim Jong II; The Green Book – Muammar Al Qathafi; The War of the Fleas – Robert Taber, etc…

I have also some Classics: The Republic of Plato; The Aenid of Virgil; The Illiad of Homer; Sun Tzu’s Art of War

My Literary and novels stack: Pulang Hamtik; Pilgrims – Dahlia Castillejos; Bukal ng Tubig at Apoy – Levy Balgos de la Cruz; Sa Labi ng Iba – Nena B. Gajudo; The Poems of Dylan Thomas; Pablo Neruda Selected Poems: A bilingual Edition; Revolutionary Poems of Pablo Neruda; Bertolt Brecht Poems 1913:1956; Ezra Pound Selected Poems 1906-1969; Salvaged Poems – Emmanuel Lacaba; Kiss of the Spider Woman – Manuel Puig; Diary of a Mad Old Man – Junichiro Tanizaki; The Subterraneans – Jack Kerouac; Dr. Sax – Jack Kerouac; Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes; The Wild Swan – Jung Chang; Life and Death in Shanghai – Nien Cheng; Pauwi – Levy Balgos de la Cruz; The Templar Revelation – Picknett and Prince; The Temple and the Lodge – Baigent and Leigh; Shibumi – Trevanian; Philippine Collegian Literaray Folio; etc…

A selection of books about Mindanao and the Bangsamoro: The Aristocrats of the Malay Race – Nasser Marohomsalic; Under the Crescent Moon: Rebellion in Mindanao – Marites Vitug and Glenda Gloria; Bangsamoro Society and Culture – Jamail A. Kamlian; Into the Mountains: Hostaged by the Abu Sayyaf – Jose Torres; A Study of Muslims in the Philippines – Peter G. Gowing; Rebels, Warriors and Ulama – IPD; A Nation Under Endless Tyranny – Salah Jubair; Booklets by Ustadz Hashim Salamat.

And a mixed bag of assorted books: Aikido and the dynamic sphere – Westbrook and Ratti; Simon and Schuster’s Guide to Bonsai; Amnesty International Reports, etc…

Last few books that I bought:

The Political Economy of Permanent Crisis in the Philippines – Walden Bello

Book that I’m reading now:

The Political Economy of Permanent Crisis in the Philippines – Walden Bello

Last few books read:

Life and Death in Shanghai – Nien Cheng; The Templar Revelation – Picknett and Prince; Earthly Powers – Anthony Burgess

< -the seven quiz next entry>

I was tagged by Alan to answer these questions in threes a long time ago. My apologies Alan, pero huli man daw at magaling…late pa rin.hehehe..

Here goes…

Three names you go by:
1. Cris, 2. Criocksz, 3. Bay

Three screen names you have had:
1. Samuel Bilibit, 2. Heztas, 3. Pulp Fiction

Three physical things you like about yourself:
1. eyes, 2. hands, 3. ankles

Three physical things you don’t like about yourself:
1. beer belly, 2. feet, 3. legs

Three parts of your heritage:
1. Ilocano, 2. Bisaya, 3. Maranaw

Three things that scare you:
1. Rejection, 2. Assassination/Ambush (hehehehe, you don’t know…) 3. Snakes

Three of your everyday essentials:
1. Pack of cigarettes and a lighter, 2. Kiss to my wife and baby Maia, 3. coffee and news

Three of your favorite musical artists:
1. Bob Dylan, 2. Sting, 3. Laura Fygi (Maria Callas, Bach, U2, marami pa sana…)

Three of your favorite songs:
1. Times they are a changin (Bob Dylan), 2. Imagine (John Lennon), 3. What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)

Three things you want in a relationship:
1. Understanding, 2. Communication, 3. Romance/Sex

Three lies and truths in no particular order:
(lies) 1. A new world is not possible, 2. The Moro people are troublemakers/ Muslims are terrorists, 3. Social inequity is fate and the main cause of poverty is indolence

(truths)
1. Life is beautiful, 2. Nothing is absolute and no one is infallible, 3. Football is the Beautiful Game

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you:
1. Lips (pout), 2. Neck (throat, nape and the hollow between the collar bones), 3. Arse

Three of your favorite hobbies:
1. Singing, 2. Reading, 3. Travel

Three things you want to do really badly now:
1. Find a new job, 2. Vacation, 3. Early morning walk in the park with my Maia

Three careers you’re considering/you’ve considered:
1. Journalist, 2. Missionary, 3. Archeologist

Three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Thailand, 2. Europe, 3. Anywhere in the Philippines (except Metro Manila)

Three kid’s names you like:
1. Himaya Amarantha, 2. Saad Phoenix, 3. Xavier

Three things you want to do before you die:
1. Build my Japanese (Zen) Garden, 2. Write my Autobiography, 3. Have tea with my wife in my japanese garden while watching the sunset, 4. (hirit: See my grandchildren :))

Three ways that you are stereotypically a boy:
1. Impatient, 2. Mischievous, 3. Hot tempered

Three ways that you are stereotypically a girl:
1. Intuitive, 2. Vain, 3. Charming

Three celeb crushes:
1. Diana Zubiri, 2. Monica Bellucci, 3. Ashley Judd

There you go. You’re next.

Linggo, day off ng aming mga kasambahay. Wala rin masyadong gawaing bahay maliban sa pagluluto at pag-aalaga ng aming baby. Hindi na kami lumabas para mamasyal o mamalengke. Pinalipas na lang namin ng Partner ko ang araw sa panunuod ng DVD at kwentuhan over a cup of coffee at yosi. Samu’t saring topiko ang kwentuhan namin, mula sa planong mamili ng mga tanim para sa garden, diapers ng baby, hanggang mahagip ang usaping blogging. Kapag usaping IT na si partner ko ang aking Wizard at ako ang kanyang masugid na apprentice.

Nag-umpisa kwentuhan namin hinggil sa blogs nang tinanong ko siya, “sa tingin mo ano kaya ang naghihikayat sa mga tao na mag-blog?”. Parehas kami nang pagtingin na karamihan sa mga nag-bablog ay mga taong naghahanap lang ng alternative outlet para daluyan ng creative juices nila. Makapag-interact sa mundo sa pamamagitan ng pag-ambag ng kahit anong nasa isip at saloobin nila. Parang isang therapeutic activity, mailabas mo pagtingin mo sa isang bagay o di kaya iyong karanasan sa buhay at malaman din kung anong reaction ng mga mambabasa hinggil dito. After all, may totoong buhay ka namang haharapin pagkatapos mong mag-blog.

“Ang hindi ko lang kasi maintindihan bakit may ibang tao na para bang ginagawang career ang pagba-blog, na para bang ito na ang buhay nila.”

Patawa akong sinagot ng parner ko, “Meron ngang ganyan at totoong career na nga nila ang blog”. Dagdag pa nya, “alam mo bang pwede kang kumita sa blog?”

“Ano?” muntik akong masamid sa iniinom kong kape.”Papaano?”

Eto na’t nagbigay na ng lecture ang aking mahal na partner. “Ang blog ay isang makabagong publishing medium, talo pa nito ang desktop at offset publishing. Dahil sa blog hanggat may internet may constant readers ka. Anytime kahit sino puedeng silipin at basahin ang mga pinublish mo.”

“So, anong connection nito?” tanong ignoramos ko.

“Ang internet ang nag-introduce ng mga makabagong paraan para mas mapabilis ang takbo ng commerce, marketing at advertisement,” patuloy nya. “You the consumer get the product shoved right in your face. Pagbukas mo pa lang ng browser mo babahain ka na ng mga advertisements.”

“Hmmm, so anong connection?” pagka-ignoramos ko lang talaga.

“Take Yahoo, for instance. Hindi ka ba nagtataka kung paano sila kumikita gayong libre naman ang ipinamimigay nilang email accounts?” Honga ano. “Sa advertisement at sponsors sila kumikita, binabayaran sila for displaying ads. So habang dumarami ang nagpaparehistro sa kanila lumalaki kita nila. Some advertisers kasi, imbes na gumasto ng bilyon-bilyon para sa one-shot ad in another medium, say television, thought it better na magbayad na lang sa mga gaya ng Yahoo—mas nakamura na sila, mas malawak pa masasaklaw ng advertisement nila.”

“Timpla muna ulit ako ng kape bago mo ituloy. Hmmm, interesting na to pagpunta mo na sa blogs.” Pagbalik ko may bagong kape na’t bagong sindi na akong yosi. “O game.”

“Same concept kung gusto mong kumita sa blog,” dugtong nya sabay higop sa kapeng tinimpla ko.

“Papaano?” pangungulit ko ulit.

“Pwede kang maglagay ng ads sa blog mo. You just have to sign up with one, gaya ng Google Adsense at iba pa, o magpa-affiliate link ka sa mga marketing websites… bawat click ng mga readers mo sa ads na to meron kang commission. Kahit hits o impression lang, o pagbukas mo pa lang sa page ng blog na nandun ang adds may kita na ang may ari ng blog.”

“Wow,” ang tangi kong nasabi. “Ibig sabihin, bawa’t bisita ko sa blog na may ad, kumikita na may-ari nun? Tsaka dollars pa ang kita?” Pastilan! “So anong gagawin para kumita nang malaki?”

“Simple lang,” dagdag ng partner ko, “ayusin mo blog mo at skills sa pagsusulat, gumawa ka nang mga critical o controversial na commentaries sa iba’t ibang issues at topics para may kiliti at marami ang reaction, at mag-maintain ka nang sandamukal na masugid na readers para may regular hits ka. Importante sa mga blogs na ito ang traffic, mas marami mas masaya.”

“Hmmm, ah kung ganun,” dagdag ko, “kung mas popular ka dahil sa dami ng bumibisita sa blog mo, mas malaki ang kikitain mo”. Lumalaro na ang malikot kong isipan. “At dahil ganito, iba’t ibang gimmicks ang maaring pakuluin kaya kung bakit nagiging parang showbiz na ang bloggosphere. Kaliwa kanang intrigahan at gamitan kasi the more may kontrobersya, the more na maraming interesadong makiusyoso, the more na may kumikita!” Parang telenovela, maienganyo kang babalikbalikan ang mga blogs na ito dahil gusto mong malaman ang kasunod na kabanata.

Ah, hindi malayong sa kabila nang mga akala mo’y mga blogs na may integridad at kredibilidad at kunwa’y purveyor ng mga virtues in blogging, maaaring sa likod nito ay isang malaking racket lang din pala… maaari, maaari. Tsk, kaya pala ang iba ginawa nang career ang blogging.

“O baka naman maisipan mo pang i-career ang blogging?” pabirong tanong ni partner. “For more info tungkol dyan, i-google mo na lang ‘earning from blogs or blogging for profit’.”

“Hindi na,” sagot ko, “buti pa ang i-google ko na lang e si Super Chona… yung blog na walang himala. Buti pa yun, enjoy ka.”

“Hahahaha,” sabay kaming napatawa.

Haay kinabuhi! “o siya, ubos na kape ko, magsasaing na muna ako,” sabi ko, sabay patay sa yosi.

Here’s one good read for all bloggers. Pinoy blogger Bing eloquently presented an article about an existing reality in pinoy bloggosphere. A reality that perhaps everybody is already aware of but hasn’t took the time, found the exact words, or perhaps mustered enough guts to express it. Bing’s article “Some Popular Bloggers” presented a clear, straightforward, critical and I should say, correct assessment of some popular blogger’s tendencies to behave like “Superstars”. Kudos Bing!

Yesterday I had a conversation with my Dad about relatives whom I recently met in bloggosphere. After tracing some links in our immediate family tree my Dad told me that he and Teacher Sol’s grand father are cousins. This confirmation makes Teacher Sol a neice of mine.

My team in the English football league, Arsenal, won the 2005 English FA Cup in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against their arch-rival Manchester United. Arsene Wenger’s Gunners humbled the loud and flamboyant Sir Alex Fergusson’s red devils. HURRAH ARSENAL!!!

Last night Bambit and I went to Onstage at Greenbelt to watch a Broadway musical Guys and Dolls. It was a graduation presentation of the 2005 Repertory Philippines Summer Workshop. One of the actors is our blogger friend Ralph. We met (for the first time) Ralph briefly after the curtain call. The actors did well and Ralph literally nearly broke his leg. He showed us a scratch in his left leg -an injury he got while moving the props on stage. Encore Ralph!!