in pursuit of sensible sanity

Oct 6, 2009

Sep 8, 2009

I first saw these TV ads by Pokerstars while watching reruns of the Filipino Poker Tour. The ads are sooo amazing, I had to share it with fellow Triplejack addicts.

This one is my favorite. It's called SAMURAI featuring Isabelle Mercier. I'd like to dedicate this one to friends from Clan GRDO specifically to the head honcho bossing and other clan pioneers shaun, nakedEYE, chakkie and wakas. (Bagay na himuon ug GRDO Godess si Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier kay hangol kaayo siya! Hahaha!)

Here's another video called HOCKEY featuring my favorite Daniel Negreanu. This one's lovingly dedicated to all TJ clowns who are too hangol for their own good. Mwahahahaha!

enjoy!

Aug 11, 2009

NIN in Manila Setlist

I was in a roller coaster of emotions as I anticipated going to the Nine Inch Nails concert right here in Manila on August 5, 2009. Ever since I found out about it, I knew I had to do this one selfish thing for myself: enjoy the concert, feel the blastin’ beat in my chest and bleed my ears to death.

And so the ache began…

I scouted for old old friends who used to enjoy deep, dark and heavy music as much as I did back in the days. I contacted friends who watched Rage Against the Machine and Pearl Jam with me. One by one, however, they backed out because of work commitments…

Nine Inch Nails was not particularly in the shortlist of my all-time-favorite rock bands. But they were a pretty hard rockin’ band – the type that gave me a natural high. And I DID love a lot of their more popular songs like Piggy, Hurt, Head Like a Hole, Dead Souls and of course the wild and haunting Closer. Soren, another old friend who already had tickets, gave me a copy of the complete NIN discography. Listening to NIN music in full blast speakers and louder-than-loud earphones slowly drew me in, making me want nothing more than to witness the pure music of NIN live.

But even as I was willing to pay for the quite-expensive ticket, logistics just didn’t seem to work.

And so on that 5th day of August, I resorted to sulking and distracting myself with just playing online poker. But then Soren suddenly texted me: “You’re in luck! My friend can’t make it because of the heavy traffic in Las Piñas. So tag along with us, I have a lower box ticket with your name on it!”

It was already 7:00 PM and I was far away in Novaliches. But who’s gonna keep me from going?! NOBODY!!!!

And so I arrived just in time for the first NIN song, had a blast and bled my ears! Hell, yeahhhhhh!!!

I’m no expert and this is not a concert review. I’ll point you instead to interesting reads:

Inquirer: Nine Inch Nails still a formidable force
NIN Forum (comments and photos from fans who actually saw the show --> kakaadik basahin!)
Nine Inch Nails in Manila! (by Pau Araos, includes some concert photos)
Nine Inch Nails Live in Manila (a few more up-close photos)

Aug 10, 2009

these are the words

and they're MY words now...

you in the dark, you in the pain, you on the run
living a hell, living your ghost, living your end
whatever you say, it’s alright
whatever you do, it’s all good
whatever you say, it’s alright
but silence is not the way, we need to talk about it
if heaven is on the way, we’ll wrap the world around it

i don't want to be the one who has to fill the silence
the quiet scares me because it screams the truth
please don't tell me that we had that conversation
when i won't remember, save your breath, what's the use?

won’t you save me from this world of mine?
before i get myself arrested with this expectation
you are the one, look what you’ve done, what have you done?
this is not some kind of joke, you’re just a kid
you weren’t ready for what you did

i’ll have to try to find my way back to sanity again
though i don’t really know what i’m gonna do when i get there
take a breath and hold on tight, spin around one more time
and gracefully fall back to the arms of grace

i was hanging on every word you say
if you don’t want to speak tonight, i can't just sit outside heaven’s door
cause i don’t want to keep waiting for the scraps to fall off your table

this is not the way i'll let my story end...

[listen here]

Aug 15, 2008

on october 15th, change the conversation

Jul 3, 2008

spot the difference II

jaime and i were watching wanted last night when i first saw the trailer of the dark knight. as soon as i saw heath ledger as the joker, brandon lee as the crow came to mind. here are a couple of videos paying tribute to both actors.

Heath Ledger (1979-2008)
as the Joker in Dark Knight (2008)

Brandon Lee (1965-1993)
as Eric Draven in The Crow (1994)

Jun 12, 2008

Balik U.P.

I’m almost 30 and I’m proud to say that I’m still a student. Perhaps I should’ve finished my master’s degree a long time ago, and I should be holding a supervisory position by now. Yet I have no shame with the work I have now, and I feel a tingle at the thought of being enrolled right in time for UP’s centennial year celebration.

A lot has changed in the UP Diliman campus since I graduated in my bachelor’s degree in 1999. But young or old, the heart of an authentic UP student doesn’t change. I immediately felt the familiarity when I enrolled last week. From the feel of pretending not to be a little lost while riding the TOKI jeep, to making sense of the unspoken rules in the confusing University of Pila at the new Registrar’s office, the feeling of being a UP student has not really changed.

Proud that I am not only for being a true iskolar ng bayan but also a SOLAIR student, I am hopeful that I could become a worthy labor rights advocate and a valuable contributor to this country’s development.

And so I share this remarkable and haunting text that I found in a comic strip at the back page of the Philippine Collegian (No. 29-30, 14 May 2008).

PA’NO

Pa’no kung biniyayaan ka ng magandang tahanan
Na hindi mo naman kayang alagaan.
At ang paborito mong pasyalan?
Kahit sa’n basta ’di dito sa ’Pinas.
Pa’no kung si John -- na dating si Juan,
Ang idolo’y si Lebron, Superman at si Jackie Chan
Na kundiman ang pinakamadunong na bata’y ang pinakamabait naman!
At may tunay na pangarap: “Ang maging samurai!”

Pa’no kung may dugo ang bawat pagkaing nakahain?
Pa’no kung ngiti na lang ang maisasagot mo sa iyak ng ’yong sikmura?
Pa’no kung nagkakasakit ka na sa kahihithit ng “pag-asa”?
At pa’no kung ang iyong madrasta ay puta ng iba, pati ng iyong tito-tituhan?

Pa’no na?

Pa’no kung ikaw si Oble at dinig mo ang hiyaw ng pagpapatiwakal?
Lalagapak na si John, anong balak mong gawin?
Isang rebulto ka na lang ba na simbulo "lang" o bababa ka sa iyong pedestal at pangangatawanan ang iyong ipinopustura kung kailan ito kailangan?

Ano na?

May 22, 2008

Today is International Day for Biodiversity!

The United Nations proclaimed May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

This year’s theme, “Biodiversity and Agriculture,” seeks to highlight the importance of sustainable agriculture not only to preserve biodiversity, but also to ensure that we will be able to feed the world, maintain agricultural livelihoods, and enhance human well being into the 21st century and beyond.

Below are the Key Messages from the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Biodiversity is the basis of agriculture. Its maintenance is essential for the production of food and other agricultural goods and the benefits these provide humanity, including food security, nutrition and livelihoods.

Biodiversity is the origin of all crops and domesticated livestock and the variety within them. Biodiversity in agricultural and associated landscapes provides and maintains ecosystem services essential to agriculture.

Agriculture contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity but is also a major driver of biodiversity loss. Farmers and agricultural producers are custodians of agricultural biodiversity and possess the knowledge needed to manage and sustain it.

Sustainable agriculture both promotes and is enhanced by biodiversity. Sustainable agriculture uses water, land and nutrients efficiently, while producing lasting economic and social benefits. Barriers inhibiting its widespread adoption need to be reduced.

Agricultural producers respond to consumer demands and government policies. To ensure food security, adequate nutrition and stable livelihoods for all, now and in the future, we must increase food production while adopting sustainable and efficient agriculture, sustainable consumption, and landscape-level planning that ensure the preservation of biodiversity.

BIODIVERSITY IS THE BASIS OF AGRICULTURE.

Biodiversity, at all three levels – genes, species and ecosystems – is the basis for the sustainability, productivity and resilience of agricultural systems, and is the foundation of ecosystem services essential to agriculture and human well being. Biodiversity is the origin of all crops and domesticated livestock (species) and the variety within them (genes).

Agriculture is an integral part of every person’s life as it provides us with food, raw materials for goods – such as cotton for clothing, wood for shelter and fuel, roots for medicines – as well as incomes and livelihoods for many. From the earliest examples of the domestication of plants and animals, farmers and their communities have used a rich diversity of wild species to facilitate agriculture and in the process have modified the diversity of domesticated species, landscapes and environments.

Source:
Convention on Biological Diversity
DENR Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau

May 19, 2008

my replies to yesterday's denreu blog comments

as far as i'm concerned, blog commenters are a blogger's treasure. and although some avid bloggers might be against inserting a tagboard in blogs, i'm glad i did it in the DENREU blog which i am currently maintaining. this post is lovingly dedicated to those who posted their comments to the DENREU Blog Tagboard. ..

Salamat sa mga nag-message sa Tagboard ng DENREU Blog! Magalang, mapangahas o medyo malakas man ang dating ng inyong mga mensahe, ok lahat yan para sa amin! At dahil masarap sagutin ang inyong mga komento, gusto ko sanang sagutin kayo dito sa blog ko...

19 May 08, 15:44
carlos ramirez: sana naman yun mga naibuto na board of directors ay magtrabaho para sa union hindi parang mga Panginoon turing sa sarili when dealing with ordinary members, PWEEHHH

hmmm.... nacu-curious ako sa kung sino ang pinatatamaan mong "panginoon." (Lord, sana hindi ako yun!) Naiintindihan ko ang ganyang sentimyento. kasi tulad ng sabi saken ng isang dating professor ko, ang pinaka-karapat-dapat na kumakatawan sa isang manggagawa ay iyong tunay na nakakaintindi ng kanilang hinagpis at damdamin. (ang lalim ano?) tingin ko ang ibig sabihin nun, kapag mataas na ang kondisyon mo sa buhay o kapag mataas ang tingin mo sa sarili mo, hindi mo na naiintindihan ang tunay na pinagdadaanan ng mga ordinaryong manggagawa. sana lahat kaming board na binoto nyo ay hindi naman tumaas masyado ang bilib sa sarili...

19 May 08, 15:42
carlos ramirez: nice idea na magkaroon ng ganitong site para ma voice out ng mga members hinaing nila kasi minsan nahihiya or natatakot sila magsalita kagaya ko

yun nga talaga ang punto ng blog ng denreu. maliban sa venue ito para ma-update ang mga members sa mga nangyayari sa unyon, ito rin ay magandang venue para mag-comment ang mga empleyado. meron at merong mga hindi matapang magsalita, pero meron din silang mahalagang masasabi. dito, pwede nyo sabihin ang mga gusto nyong sabihin ng walang takot. (mananalangin na lang kami na sana hindi naman abusuhin ng iba at bastusin lang kami nang hindi nagpapakilala.) thanks sa feedback!

19 May 08, 15:04
nitz: okay ang mini-olympics kaya lang sana ibalik natin ang mga laro nuong araw na talagang pagpapawisan tayo at makakasali ang lahat ng empleyado. tulad ng patintero, relay, etc. para masaya

uy, magandang idea yan! sige, i-suggest natin na lagyan ng pinoy games or relay games yung mini-olympics! thanks!

19 May 08, 08:50
phil_eagle: Sana ang bagong leadership ngayon, wag tularan ang nakaraang liderato na ang pakiramdam nila sila ay mga ARTISTA, ELITISTA at NEGOSYANTE na mahirap maabot...

artista meaning puro pa-cute lang, wala namang gawa? elitista meaning mataas ang tingin sa sarili or pro-management? negosyante as in mas inaatupag ang sideline? o nakikinabang sa pera ng unyon? hmmm... may mabibigat na paratang dyan. sana nga wala sa aming masangkot sa ganyang mga eskandalo. in fairness sa nakaraang board, meron naman sa kanilang maituturing na mabubuting leaders.

19 May 08, 08:48
phil_eagle: Dapat lang isara ang gate sa mga TAMAD pumasok ng maaga.Lalo ng pag Chief ka ng isang unit/division.DENR Management should not tolerate bunch of BRAT officials and employees.

indeed, DENR should not tolerate those who violate office rules -- kesyo empleyado o opisyal. kaya nga meron tayong Personnel Division na dapat ay nagmomonitor nito.

dapat pahalagahan ng bawat public servant ang trabaho nila. but the management need not resort to punitive and non-democratic means para mag-attend ng flag ceremony. yung mga incentives ni secretary, yun ay isang magandang paraan ng pag-encourage sa mga empleyado. pero ang mga arbitrary punishments ay hindi nababagay sa isang demokratikong bansa na tulad ng sa Pilipinas.

19 May 08, 08:45
phil_eagle: rhea, buit-in ang page nito using CMS technology.Hindi DENREU ang gumawa nito.FYI.

you probably didn't intend to belittle my efforts in maintaining the DENREU blog, pero allow me to clarify. credits to the creator of the blog template is shown at the footer of the blog. at syempre, blogs in general are based on already established technologies. perhaps that was the CMS technology you were referring to. ( i never insinuated na ako ang mismong gumawa ng XML template or widgets na nilagay sa denreu blog. unless the creator requires it, i don't declare credit to every widget to avoid clutter)

i 'd like to think that when rhea showed her admiration for the denreu blog, she was referring to the overall presentation/layout and the quality of posts. (she's an avid blogger herself so i think she understands blogging technology) and fyi, hindi misd or denr or private company ang gumawa ng blog na yun. ako ang nag-open ng blog account, ako ang sole contributor at ako ang nagmmaintain nung blog, so i think i could more or less say na ako ang gumawa nung blog. (unless you wanna be technical about it)

19 May 08, 08:43
phil_eagle: Magtrabaho kayo para sa kapakanan ng mga myembro!Puro kayo dakdak! Nasan na ang para sa CNA?

marami ang interesadong malaman kung makakatanggap tayo ng cna incentive. pinag-aaralan ng ilang board members ang nakaraang budget para makita kung may savings para sa cna incentive na yan. lahat po kami ay atat na ring malaman. babalitaan namin kayo asap

May 11, 2008

Zoobic Safari: A Prison by Another Name

Why should animals live like prisoners for their entire lives, just to suit curious humans?

“The saddest thing about zoos is the way they drive animals mad. Much of the behavior we take for granted in zoo animals – repetitive padding up and down, head banging, obsessive paw swinging, or just plain moping – is actually psychotic, the sort of thing humans get driven to when they are kept in solitary confinement.”

Bill Travers – Star of “Born Free” and co-founder of Zoo Check

Check out the photos from our office teambuilding in Zoobic Safari. It seems obvious how I and the rest of my co-workers were having so much fun watching the captive wild animals. The monkeys, the ostriches, the goats, the camels, the guinea pigs, the oh-so-amazing tigers were just there for our entertainment pleasure!

A wild animal confined in a restrictive, artificial zoo environment is a sensitive being condemned for the rest of its life to a deprived existence. Where it sleeps, what it eats and with which other animals, if any, it interacts are all decided for it. Its inherent value is denied and the respectful treatment to which it is entitled, dismissed.

From Animal Rights Africa

In general, the zoo industry has been justified for its conservation efforts for endangered species. This means that the zoos supposedly conduct research, teaches the public about wildlife and environmental conservation, and provides entertainment through the spectacle of captive wild animals. Animal Rights Africa debunks these conservation and education justifications in zoos.

The World Wildlife Fund likewise has a Policy Statement on Captive Breeding:

Captive breeding is the process of breeding animals outside of their natural environment in restricted conditions in farms, zoos or other closed facilities. The choice of individual animals that are to be part of a captive breeding population, and the mating partners within that population, are controlled by humans.

WWF considers captive breeding of rare, threatened, or endangered species, with the aim of eventual reintroduction to the wild, to be a “last resort” strategy. It is exceedingly difficult and must be part of a scientifically-based management plan for the species, working closely with the range country government authorities. It is also expensive, and should not be seen as a substitute for in-situ efforts, except in rare circumstances.

While I allowed myself to enjoy the company of friends and co-workers in this very entertaining field trip, I kept a silent but watchful eye and ear to the conservation and education efforts of Zoobic Safari. And unfortunately, I was terribly disappointed. I don’t recall our tour guide making any conservation related statement, nor did I see or hear anything that would suggest scientific efforts towards conservation by the owners/operators of Zoobic Safari. He did throw us some interesting trivia, though, like the intelligent guinea pig appearing in the local soap “Super Twins.” f course I wasn’t hanging on to every word that my tour guide was saying because he obviously couldn’t handle the 30+ strong audience that he had.

I disabled the flash function in my camera and kept from knocking on glass cages or taunting the wild animals. But so many others did, and nobody from Zoobic Safari cared. Some furiously knocked on the glass cages of snakes and lizards, daring them to strike. Some were whistling and taunting the chained and the caged aggressive monkeys. A co-worker splashed the remaining contents of his bottled water on the catatonic crocs. A few insisted that I use my flash, but I refused to add to the stress of the animals. The tour guide warned us that he’ll lose his job if we insist on reaching out to the crocs and get our hands bitten off. I almost laughed.

The zoo was filled with competing noises from the megaphones of different tour guides, the chatter and gleeful comments from the visitors, the music from the blasting speakers. I got an earful of what I assume is not close to the naturally calming sounds of the wild.

I was awed by the giant tigers. I touched their tails and whispered my “lambing,” daydreaming that I could take one home as a pet. (Til that day, I only wished to own a life-size stuffed tiger.) But then you realize how pathetic their lives must be in those small cages. Tigers are meant to run and hunt in the wild, not get irritated and stressed by onlookers daring them to growl and show their ferocity.

Sadly, Zoobic Safari is obviously profit-oriented.

By confining and exhibiting animals in a manner designed to entertain, amuse or satisfy curiosity requires that they be trained and/or confined in ways that suppress their natural behavior, drastically limit their living space, deny them the opportunity to choose their mates and companions and make them totally dependant on their “owners”.

When, from a young age humans are conditioned to the sight and experience of animals under the total control of humans for trivial purposes, as is the case in zoos, circuses, dolphinaria and aquaria, this contributes to the general human attitude that animals are “here for us”. The integrity and dignity of each animal are totally undermined.

The pleasure people take in viewing animals in zoos and laughing at them in the circus is not good enough reason for keeping the animals there. That this constitutes a flagrant disregard for the rights of the affected animals is of no concern to the “owners” and exhibitors, who exploit the curiosity, indifference and ignorance of the public.

Animals in Entertainment, Animal Rights Africa

I do not ask anyone not to visit Zoobic Safari, or the Ocean Adventure or Manila Ocean Park. I simply encourage everyone to take a critical view of such industries.

I initially had the view that I should refuse adding to the profit of such industries by NOT visiting these zoos. Now, I prefer the challenge of learning more about animal cruelty and animals in entertainment, and critically examining our own zoos, aquaria and dolphinaria.

Here are a few great articles for further reading:
Animal Rights Africa -- Animals in Entertainment
Animal Rights Africa -- Zoos: A Prison by Any Other Name
What's Wrong with Zoos?
Are Zoos Cruel?
Zoos: The front line in the battle against extinction
Time Magazine's feature on the dolphin entertainment industry
Me.Find.Home: Why I’m against the Manila Ocean Park (includes PETA statement)