Words and Signs

It was Saussure who said
that words and signs are not
always one.

Random is their relationship
as he had it defined.
A word is what it is by being
what it is not.

Just as the word
man is by being what
it is not—woman.


But it is this world of
construct that we are
born into.

We have to relate to
each other using
our words and our signs.

These words and signs
that mean what they mean
and mean what they do not mean.


In this imperfect world,
I have to relate to you.
To say what I want to say
only to say what I do not want to say.

I have no other choice
than to be this:

Born in this imperfect world,
using these imperfect words and signs,
I cannot help but be
who I am
by not being you.

And not be who
I am by being
who I really am.

MRG

Discovering Sharon Olds

True Love
by Sharon Olds


In the middle of the night, when we get up
after making love, we look at each other in
complete friendship, we know so fully
what the other has been doing. Bound to each other
like mountaineers coming down from a mountain,
bound with the tie of the delivery room,
we wander down the hall to the bathroom, I can
hardly walk, I wobble through the granular
shadowless air, I know where you are
with my eyes closed, we are bound to each other
with huge invisible threads, our sexes
muted, exhausted, crushed, the whole
body a sex—surely this
is the most blessed time of my life,
our children asleep in their beds, each fate
like a vein of abiding mineral
not discovered yet. I sit
on the toilet in the night, you are somewhere in the room,
I open the window and snow has fallen in a
steep drift, against the pane, I
look up, into it,
a wall of cold crystals, silent
and glistening, I quietly call to you
and you come and hold my hand and I say
I cannot see beyond it. I cannot see beyond it.

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

Posted using ShareThis

Just When You Thought You've Heard it All

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV"



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.

The US$14 Million Baby Pics

Helen's face may have launched a thousand ships but I bet those ships' worth are nowhere near the amount People magazine paid to have these pictures taken. The three-week old Jolie-Pitt babies' pictures are worth US 14 million dollars! Roughly estimated to Philippine peso, it amounts to 616 million! That's twice the take home pay of Manny Pacquiao in a single Las Vegas boxing fight. But all of that money will not go to the already bulging coffers of the A-list Hollywood couple Angelina and Brad, otherwise known as Brangelina. The perfect-looking do-gooders will donate the money to their foundation which is committed to helping other less fortunate children the world over. Moreso, I read in one article that Brad gave away hundreds of stuffed toys to the children confined in the same hospital where Angelina stayed in. What a guy! I love this couple. I'm crossing my fingers, I hope they stay together forever.

The Brangelina boy and girl fraternal twins. Two little angels. They must be so proud.

Viv and Knox (Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon, named after Angie's mother and Brad's grandfather, respectively.)

Blond-haired Shiloh. So cute.

The Jolie-Pitt clan. 6 kids all in all. 3 biological, 3 adopted. 3 boys, 3 girls. Must be some household.

For more of their family picture, click the link below.

here

What is Happiness?

Happiness is...

A warm caress

and a cold yummy treat!

Ohh, I just love it!

Helen

A storm named Helen.

The rain is at it again. For three straight days in a row, it has been raining steadily in the metropolis. The gloomy weather is exacerbating my equally gloomy, if not gloomier, disposition. The clear evidence of which is that, I have stopped reading books for almost a month now. The books are piling up, but I seem to have lost the passion to pick them up. I would normally read two books at at a time, but for the longest time now, I don't have the energy to read. Something is amiss.

I hope the sun comes back this week. I need that 'sun-shiny' feeling again.

Proud Mom

JK's sweetest smile.

My pride and joy will soon turn three. My once sweet cherub is now a fast-talking, argumentative, but thoughtful pre-schooler. All of her babyness is now gone. My only consolation is that her smile is still the same. She still has the same angelic smile, a smile that radiates an unblemished happiness from within, a smile that comes from the depths of her being. I hope she doesn't lose this ever.

So Funny

Jim Carrey and girlfriend Jenny McCarthy

Jim Carrey is so funny. He shows his toned bod by wearing his girlfriend's swimsuit. Who says guys should wear the pants all of time? Why choose the pants when you can wear one of these?

LOL.

A Love Poem by Neruda

Stan Rice's Red Tulip

The highest form of literature is poetry. Poetry's language is exact, precise, lyrical, and never superfluous. Though I couldn't really write a poem, and have never really tried doing one to be honest, I do know how to appreciate a great poem when I see one.

Just saw this Neruda poem this afternoon, and couldn't help reciting it.

I just love it.

Sonnet XVII

by Pablo Neruda

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Force Majeure

Typhoon Frank.

More than 800 people still missing and feared dead from the ill-fated ship, MV Princess of the Stars. This is apart from the 598 estimated dead or missing all over the country, out of which is the 143 confirmed dead and over 100 missing in my province of Iloilo alone.

Typhoon Frank is a force majeure alright, an act of God for better or for worse. Still, the sinking of the ship is something that could have been and should have been averted. De Quiros was right, the typhoon was a natural disaster but the sinking of the ship was an unnatural man-made disaster.

PGMA is now receiving condolences from US President Bush when she should be here directing orders on how to speed up the process for the recovery and search of possible survivors. Where is she when her country needs her most? She is in the US of A and is scheduled to hobnob with the Washington elites, including potential new US president, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. While she wines and dines there together with her entourage of 59 congressmen, one senator, 10 cabinet members, excluding her family members and the family members of her group, the Visayan region, Iloilo in particular, is battling mud and loss of properties, crops and ultimately income in the wake of the disastrous storm.

The Typhoon Frank lashed out its fury in almost the entire country. From central Philippines, it made its presence felt both in Visayas and Mindanao. Not contented, it hit Manila and neighboring Luzon provinces before finally going out of the Philippine territory. This is the first time ever that a storm displayed a deadly magnitude that reached all three geographical regions of the country. Typically, storms just hit one portion of the country and affect neighboring provinces, but the other regions are mostly spared of its fury. Storms that hit the Visayas region are normally not felt in Manila. But this storm is different because after taking its toll on Iloilo and dumping heavy rains in some parts of Mindanao, it changed its course and rampaged Manila and other Luzon provinces as well. It was everywhere.

This event really makes you realize how deadly climate change can get. We need to accept that doing our share in saving Mother Earth is now a necessity and a not a matter of choice. Ours is a dying planet and if we do not act now, we will die with it. Storms as strong and even stronger than that of Frank will soon become a reality of our daily life.

I heard from some relatives in my hometown of Janiuay, Iloilo that it is the first time their place was ravaged by a flash flood. It was all so sudden and unexpected, they say. As a result, critical bridges were destroyed, and those living near the river were caught unaware by the onslaught of the raging water that some even lost their lives. This also happens to be the first time ever that my rural, sleepy and verdant hometown, the place where I could trace my roots and see hundreds of people bearing my maiden name, made news on national TV. Unfortunately, it was because my town was among the hardest hit of the disaster.

I fully well know the impact of such a storm in my townsfolk livelihood. Just this early June, when I went there for a family event, I saw the early rice seedlings already sprouting from the ground. If nonstop rain brought about by a massive storm flood the ricefield, all that hardwork and capital will go to waste. The farmers, the simple folks in my dirt town baranggay, with faces always ready with their genuine smiles, will scrimp and save and still go hungry for the remainder of the year.

Such is the hard fact of life in the province. You toil the land and hope and pray that no storm or other natural disaster comes your way. And if it does, you just do this process all over again. Yet, this they do happily and contentedly. Surrounded by the riches and beauty of the farmland, they spend most of their time communing with nature, and harvesting and partaking of its seemingly inexhaustible bounty. Regardless of their poverty, they live simple and happy lives.

One day, when I am gray and old, I will spend the remainder of my days in this farmland. And when that day comes, I too, will be able to enjoy the simple and happy life that they have on a daily basis.

Relief

Looking very harassed.

Free at Last

Ces Orena Drilon, the usually polished and sophiscticated ABS CBN news anchor, looks very harassed in this photo. Who wouldn't be? After nine days of captivity in the deep jungles of Sulu, with Abu Sayyaf bandits threatening to behead you unless your family chokes up PHP15M in ransom, I would look worse than that. Thank God, they got out of this ordeal alive.

Prayers work, indeed.

I really like Ces Crilon. I often watch the late night news and marvel at her poise, intelligence and wit on camera. I remember her undaunted coverage of the Peninsula Coup and how she managed to keep her composure despite the unexpected turn of events. She is a tour de force.

Admittedly though, Ces says it was her own brazenness that put her and cameraman colleagues in harm's way. Her unrelenting pursuit of the hottest story almost costed her her life. Now, she says she values her life more and knows what is truly important is her loved ones and family.

Ayoko ng TAX!

Yesterday, 18 Jun, PGMA signed into law Republic Act No. 9504 or the tax relief act. This law exempts minimum income wage earner from paying income taxes, which amounts to a couple a hundred bucks of savings every payday.

This law also increases tax exemption to Php50k regardless of the person's civil status. Where before, married and head of families earners usually had a bigger tax exemption and as such bigger take home pay, this law places everybody in the same playing (taxing) field. Moreover, this law also raises child tax exemption from a mere Php10k per child to Php25k per child.

This ought to mean a bigger tax exemption for me and yet, I expect it to barely make an impact on my daily living. These days, prices of every consumer items increase at a much faster rate than one's monthly income. In a family with one child and double incomes, I still feel that we are only eking out a living. Though my salary is more than double the income of daily wage earners, I still feel that we are living on a hand to mouth existence.

If I had a choice, I would never pay taxes at all. Government says they are estimated to lose Php14.2 B annually from these tax exemptions. I have always thought that those who earn say 10k or less, or even up to 50k, should not be taxed at all. Where do these taxes go anyway?

You guessed it right. Straight into their own pockets. Government claims the taxes fund vital health, education and infrastructure projects. Yeah right. Just imagine, how it was supposed to fund the ZTE broadband deal until every ordinary Juan and Pedro in this country learned the story about its multi-billion kickbacks. The price of almost all government projects are as big as the kickbacks required to get those inferior and thoughtless projects going. They enter flawed and disadvantageous contract, sometimes even with foreign governments and lenders, precisely because their share of the loot money is so lucrative.

It is estimated that a normal government project always makes room for a 25% kickback for officials responsible for pushing through with that transaction. So the bigger the price of the project, the larger your kickback pay becomes. This is one profitable business venture for most officials of the land. And the most amazing thing about this is that, no matter how ludicrous and hopelessly useless the outcome of their project becomes, they never get sued for it. They are never held accountable and do not feel personal responsibility over the misuse of public resources because they are not spending their own money in the first place. They figuratively get away with murder with no more than a tap on the back as their punishment.

Now, why would I want to shelve my hard earned pesos on that. If I were to give taxes, which I'm perfectly willing to do under different circumstances, I want to be given the right to choose exactly where my money goes. I want to know exactly what foundation or project my money is spent, and to make sure its not getting wasted. Or just used to further enrich these government officials with multiple secret dollar accounts abroad.

Do they really need the money more than us?

17 on 17th

Boo hoo! The LA Lakers should have just handed the trophy straight to Pierce and company's arms. A 39-point advantage in an NBA Finals Game, come on! They should have saved themselves from the embarrassment by choosing not to play at all.

But at least it was a fitting end to the Celtics, who after two decades of drought, got their 17th NBA trophy on the 17th of June.

What the Celtics fans chanted to Kobe Bryant, vaunted best NBA player at the moment, maybe harsh but oh so true, "You are not (Michael) Jordan."

Indeed, he was not.

Amazing!

Subterranean River, also called the Underground River, in Palawan

Some months back, I heard from the news that two natural wonder sites of the country are competing for the title of New Seven Wonders of Nature, namely, the Tubbataha Reef and Subterranean River National Park, both from Palawan.

I have been to the Underground River myself, an experience I could only aptly describe as unforgettable. We boarded this small engine-propelled banca, strapped our necessary orange life-jackets on, entered the mouth of this cave (as seen above) and saw the most amazing of stalactite and stalagmite formations. Some of these formations were named after what the stones sort of resembled like, i.e., The Pieta for what seemed to be a monument of Virgin Mary holding his dead son, and others that already escape my memory. But another vivid memory though, and one which will never escape me, is of sea snakes happily swimming alongside the banca as the boatman carried a tune in his wooden flute. Our friendly guide/boatman was actually calling on the snakes to come to our sides. While others wanted to jump out of the boat at the sight of the slithering snakes on top of the water, I calmly reminded myself of the fact earlier stated by our very thoughtful boatman, the river is at least 10 feet deep and freezing at that.

Feeling compelled to do my patriotic duties, I then googled the site and voted for the two lone Philippine entries, coupled by other equally enthralling entries from the Asian continent, such as Mt. Fuji, Mt. Everest, the Ganges River and others. I would have voted for the Philippine entries alone but one internet vote cast actually called for seven different choices, and of course, being Asian, I stayed close to home and limited my choices to the other Asian wonders of nature. Not content, I linked the add of the website and sent it to my entire Yahoo mail network so they could also promptly do their share and vote for the Philippines' entries as well.

Having done this, I mentally crossed my fingers and hoped that at least one of our national entry will make it to the final judgment. At that time, only the Tubbataha Reef seemed to be in the running, playing consistently between spots 7 and 8. As I understood it before, only the top entries will get the chance to proceed to the next level of elimination which will be determined by the group's panel of experts by next year, Jan 2009.

That was a couple of months ago. Just today, I read in an article at a travel forum, Four RP Sites in Top Ten of Nature Wonder Search, that the country now has four entries. The Chocolate Hills in Bohol, and the perfect cone-shaped Mayon Volcano in Bicol have been included on the list. Not only that, the ranking of all the Philippine entries have skyrocketed to the top spots. All four of the national entries are included among the top ten, with Tubbataha coming in at number 2 after a famous beach in Vietnam. What can I say? Amazing. The power of Filipino internet voting/blogging is undeniable.

I know for a fact that Filipino accounts as one of the top, if not the top, Friendsters user in the world. We have also consistently voted our Ms. Philippines candidate as the Most Photogenic in the Miss Universe competition for several years in a row. (We can't exactly claim pride in this though.)

Now, if we could only harness this focus and power into changing the course of our national economy and government, that would be more than amazing. It would actually be life-changing.

Dreaming of Coron

Coron, Palawan, Philippines

This picture says it all. Who wouldn't want to set foot in such a beautiful place, in such a paradise? One certainly wouldn't mind dying if eternity meant living here forever.

I have been to Palawan twice. I was fortunate enough to have visited the beautiful Sabang Beach and its adjacent haunting Subterranean Underground River. That was almost a lifetime ago. I was 16 then, a kid fresh from a stressful high school stint, when I got invited by relatives residing in Puerto Princesa to visit them at their place.

We went to Sabang by jeepney. The ride was interminable and exhausting. After almost a quarter of the day of enduring a bumpy and dusty journey, we arrived at our destination---paradise. It was worth all the ache and pain of my tired and beaten body. I must have cried when I first saw the place. It was my first and only time to see such a pristine and majestic beach complete with towering green mountains as its backdrop. As I enjoyed the sun and gently watched the crystal-clear waters lap my feet like the tongue of warm and loving puppy, I said to myself, "I will go back to this place."

But I never did.

Almost one lifetime forward, at 28 years, I still have not forgotten my promise to go back to paradise. Constrained by time, family, career and financial obligations, it seems almost impossible to do so. Until I stumbled upon this travel website one lonely and quiet afternoon. Byahilo.com revealed to me the secrets of this once-in-a-lifetime chance of visiting Coron, Palawan for free.

SEAIR, a premier airline traveling to scenic vacation spots all over the country, is giving away 6 tickets for free to Busuanga, Coron, Palawan. For more details simply log on to the Seair website which I also separately posted in this blog, or read Byahilo.com instructions on how to join this contest.


To go to Coron via SEAIR for free would be a dream come true for me. Flying, if one could afford it, is definitely the best way to travel. I learned that going to Busuanga, Coron by Seair takes only a mere 35 minutes. That's even faster than traveling to Makati by my place in Pasay. Imagine flying against the vastness of cloud and space to arrive in paradise in a little over half an hour. That is what this SEAIR ride promises. Paradise at the snap of your fingers.

I have previously seen paradise. I want to see it again, this time, in the guise of Coron. If I could get it for free, it would be most lovely.

Fly Seair Link

Click here for the Fly Seair Link

Seair Website