podcast<br>Sharon Olds: 2003, from LITTORAL: the journal of the Key West Literary Seminar

podcast
Sharon Olds: 2003, from LITTORAL: the journal of the Key West Literary Seminar

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Just When You Thought You've Heard it All

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I read this article today at PDI. here

Take your pick. How do you think ICRC Swiss kidnap victim Andreas Notter got away from the dreaded Abu Sayyaf's viselike grip?

A. He was rescued.
B. He escaped.
C. He paid (or his negotiators) ransom.
D. He followed the stars to escape.

Military officials and Senator Richard Gordons, current Philippine national Red Cross Chair, at first couldn't give a common answer. The AFP says Notter escaped, but was able to do so because of the military pressure applied against the Abu Sayyaf. Gordon, on the other hand, claim that he was simply released, without any aid from the military whatsoever.


But now, Notter's official answer is---you wouldn't believe this-D! Notter, before leaving the country, left a text message wherein he basically said that he "escaped captivity in the jungle by following the star." Richard Gordon seems to buy this theory by adding that, "“He (Notter) knows how to navigate by the stars. He knows where the North, South, East and West were. So he followed that until he came to the road.”


Unbelievable! After 3 months in captivity and intense military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, Nottter escaped unharmed by simply following the star's direction. At the moment, only one kidnapped victim is left in the terrorist group's hand, Italian Eugenio Vagni. Prior to all of this, a Filipina ICRC was freed after much negotiation and grumbling between the military, government officials, Gordon, Muslim leaders and the Abu Sayyaf. The Abu Sayyaf kept on giving a deadline and a beheading schedule for its victims, but never pushed through with its threat. As usual, the government's official mantra in these scenario is that no money was ever involved in their release as it strictly adheres to the "no ransom policy." But of course, people always speculate and know otherwise.

I could only pray that the last kidnap victim Vagni gets released soon. Accordingly, he has several medical conditions which need appropriate treatment. I doubt it if he could last more than a year of captivity like the Burnhams. And once he gets released, I really wouldn't be surprised anymore if Vagni's rationale for his escape is that he followed the cows or something. So his official statement would go something like this: "It was dark and I somehow lost my captors. By dawn I saw a herd of cattle and quickly followed their direction. It lead me to a quiet town. I walked several kilometers before I saw police station. I told them who I was and they brought me to the city's official. I was just lucky, I guess."

Where You Will Find Me

If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow,
Why, oh, why can't I? (video lifted from Jet David's blog)

How to Settle a Divorce

What to do when your husband asks for a divorce and wants to split your assets in two? If your wealth is mainly in terms of bank accounts, bonds and stock shares, it might be a bit difficult to split these shared assets without the attendant legal complications. But if your conjugal property consists solely of one standing house you both lived in for the past 18 years or so together, then the problem might not be that complicated. Solution? Follow this Cambodian couple's way out of a messy divorce. Simply split your house in half.

The husband, together with the help of his relatives, literally chopped off and carved out his share of their house. He took his allocated bits and pieces of the house to his parent's neighboring house, where he now "happily" resides. The wife stayed on her remaining share of the house, which so far, still remains precariously standing. Problem solved. A happy ending, indeed.

My Baby is Now Three!

Smug and happy to be three.

JK turned three last 11 Aug.

Blowin her birthday cake.

I can't believe my precious baby is now three years old. It wasn't such a long time ago when I held and cuddled her tiny frame in my arms. Now, she prefers to run and wriggle her out way of my hold. She can now choose to refuse my hugs, as she sometimes does, but she can now willfully kiss me, which she does even my without bidding. Moreover, at three, she now argues and reasons to get things to go her way, and sings and dances her heart out. My only wish for her is that she grows up with a passion for something. Whether she ends up as doctor, lawyer, philosophy professor is not as important as having a passion for something greater than herself. I do hope she grows up to become a joy to the world as much as she is now a joy to her family, and most especially, me.

8-8-08

2008 Beijing Olympics

At exactly 8:08 pm, China opened the 2008 Summer Olympics in its capital, Beijing. The show which lasted for three hours featured exactly 2,008 number of classical drummers at one point. I had wanted to catch the RP delegation walking at the newly-built Bird's Nest or Chinese National Stadium, with Pacquiao in tow bearing the national flag, but because had China arranged the countries in order of the Chinese phonetic alphabet, I wasn't able to do. The country listings were jumbled, and countries starting with letter A were suddenly followed with countries starting with letter P, and B to G and so forth. I couldn't really tell when the RP's turn would come next, unless of course I stay glued for show's entire duration. Which I didn't.

But what ever little I saw is enough for me to say that the Chinese opening ceremony was amazing. Others have said that it might even be the best ever. As for me, I liked the visual because it wasn't overboard, it was just perfect. It was creatively beautiful, and you could tell the Chinese exhausted a lot of brain cells conceptualizing the whole spectacle. I think that with this event, China has successfully relayed its underlying political message for the world to see, "We are a new force to reckon with." Indeed, China's slumbering dragon has now fully awakened. With a 1.3 billion strong people and an emerging economy, China is predicted to be another superpower in the very near future.

I'm hoping we win our first-ever Olympic gold this year. The government has promised at least Php 15M in prize money plus a brand new car to any of the 15 Filipino athletes who could bring home the gold. I hope somebody gets to drive a brand new car once the Games are over, and of course with surging oil prices, that cold cash would certainly come in handy. ; )

Way the Go Paris!

Paris Hilton's rebuttal campaign video against Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is over the top hilarious! Whoever wrote and thought about the Paris' campaign ad is a genius! The short video clip, which I linked above, shows a scantily dressed 'hot' Paris sitting in a beach chair reading a travel magazine and giving her views on how to solve the current global oil crises. She gives an intellectually acute advice on how to resolve this major issue, combining both the strong points of McCain's and Obama's stand on it rather accurately. Then she retorts, "See you at the debates, bitches." She further states that she is capable of leading America, and that if she gets elected she intends to paint the White House pink and make Rihanna as her VP. This video is side-splitting! Watch it.