Yeah, it's that Brad Kane/ Lea Salonga song! :D
by Brad Kane and Lea Salonga
Lea:
Be still my heart
Lately its mind is on it's own
It would go far and wide
Just to be near you
Brad:
Even the stars
Shine a bit bright I've noticed
When you're close to me
Lea:
Still it remains a mystery
Chorus (Both):
Anyone who seen us
Knows what's going on between us
It doesn't take a genius
To read between the lines Brad: ohh
And it's not just wishful thinking
Or only me who's dreaming
I know what these are symptoms of
We could be in love
Lea:
I ask myself why
I sleep like a baby through the night
Maybe it helps to know
you'll be there tomorrow
Brad: Lea:
Don't open my eyes Ohhh
I'll wake from the spell I'm under
Makes me wonder how Tell me how
I could live without you now
Both:
And what about the laughter
The happy ever after
Like voices of sweet angels
Calling out our names
And it's not just wishful thinking
Or only me who's dreaming
I know what these are symptoms of
We could be in love
Brad:
All my life
I have dreamed of this
But I could not see your face
Lea:
Don't ask why two such distant stars
Can fall right into place
(Repeat Chorus)
Both:
Oh, it doesn't take a genius
To know what these are symptoms of
We could be Lea: ohh
We could be, we could be in love
Brad:
Could be in
Both:
We could be in love
.:The Hot 10:.
Tried my luck with Chico and Delle's Hot 10 yesterday, and I got fairly lucky with it. The topic was “The Hot 10 Meanest Things A Girl Ever Did To You”. So naturally, I sent in an entry on the time I was a rebuffed by a girl, and after the rejection, she offered me a ride as consolation, only for me to find she wasn't riding alone, so she talked about my recent rejection inside the car with her mom, as though I wasn't in the car. Oh, well. Looks like Chico and Delle agreed how mean that was...
.:Out On A Limb:.
And so it was my last day of classes for the semester yesterday, and Dr. Miroy asked us to have this activity where we went to some trees in the school, and then picked a tree that best represented us. We would then explain to the class why it was the case. Amusingly enough, when Rochelle, one of my classmates, picked a huge tree with few leaves on top...
Dr. Miroy: Bakit naman walang dahon masyado yang pinili mo? Pero at least, ang kapal nung dahon niya sa baba, o!
I just turned to my groupmates, and they just laughed on cue. When it was my turn...
Marcelle: Doc, yung puno ko, parang puno ng Mulawin. Putol na kasi.
The moment I pointed to the tree stump I was pertaining to...
Dr. Miroy: Ta$4#7@do ka pala, eh! Ay, kaharap pala natin yung chapel...
Soon enough, a girl from the chapel walks out and tells Dr. Miroy to quiet down a bit as a mass was in progress. Dr. Miroy sheepishly tells the class to move out... heh.
Rochelle and I then talked about her paper, and apparently, she has a copy of Il Mare. Oh, I'd love to have that...
.:The Final Levinas Class:.
It was our final class on Levinas last night, and we certainly went overtime because of the fact that everyone spoke in turn. It was a symposium format.
In any case, what mainly happened was that we were mainly talking about what Levinas meant to us, and how his Philosophy was simply all about going into unchartered territory, the moment he decided to make a hyperbolic focus on the Other. The various stories people had to share, from the likes of “Superman: Red Son”, to their different experiences with immersion, to how useful the alcohol was in making the conversation flow better, and so forth. Personally, I found it amusing how TJ kept on telling everyone who was sharing, “Alak pa, alak pa.”
Amusingly enough as well, Dr. Garcia was curious about the picture I showed them of a certain person I was enamored of, albeit lightly...
Anyways, it turns out the only reason Cecille was in our class was because Dr. Garcia didn't want her to leave Dr. Garcia's class, so instead of taking the Philo 102 class, she subsequently transferred to the slightly more difficult Levinas class. Another student talked about God in a way that he was “intoxicating” us with His grace, and then the chants of “Alak pa, alak pa” ensued when he talked that way. A lot of the students read poems, too.
What I had to say was mainly the age-old complaint that people seem to be turning God into a vending machine, that he who prays more wins the UAAP championships, or that he who keys in GOD [SPACE] [THEIR PRAYER] and sends it in to 2299 will be blessed more. I just found Meister Eckhart's prayer so apt to the whole thing: “Oh God, rid me of God.” We've gone around our lives with preconceived notions of God that are not necessarily accurate. This is considering Levinas' point of view that God is a “weak” (Not in the literal sense.) God, in that whenever we ask where He is when we see suffering, His obvious response is “exactly why I created you”. When Superman acted like a manipulative god of sorts in “Red Son”, the only time he became “godlike” was when he decided to step back and let the humans do their work.
Moreover, it's ironic, but Battle Royale was quite an illustration of the responsibility to the Other. Shuya Nanahara's commitment to saving Noriko no matter what the cost. I think I'm going to make Battle Royale the crux of my paper... heh.
On a personal note, this class was memorable to me. In fact, most three-hour classes I have always prove to be memorable, and mainly because of what happens after the classes. Last semester, I always looked forward to the “World of the 9 O Clock Bell On A Tuesday Evening”, although as I mentioned to the class, that setup has never been the same again. This semester, it was all about hanging out with TJ and company after class, although ironically, I didn't do that last night. Still, the point was clear: from the moment I could talk (About how I felt about Levinas.), I was old enough to listen (To what other people had to say.), which explains why though I recite a lot, I don't recite as often as I usually do.
This class was memorable as well because I managed to forge a good friendship with Cecille. She's been a great person, and though we aren't that close, we still managed to share some good times with each other, even for only a few minutes after each class we had.
Lastly, I still believe that Levinas did not understand Heidegger correctly when he made his Philosophy as a “reaction” to Heidegger. Despite his flawed perception, his Philosophy had its merit in and by itself, and should not be viewed merely as a reaction to Heidegger, but a whole Philosophy with value independent from that of Heidegger's. Dr. Garcia told the class how similar that was to how Fr. Ferriols may have misunderstood this or that concept in some Philosophical idea, but the ideas that he gleans from such misconceptions have their own merit as well.
Afterwards, I hitched a ride with Jack, my T.A. partner, as I wanted to get home a bit earlier last night, so I didn't bother going out (non)drinking again. Of course, I felt a pang of regret not going with Ray and TJ, but bonding with Jack was pretty good, all the same. I really think that she has what it takes to be a success in law or teaching, whichever career she'd be more fulfilled with.
.:Tolerance:.
The U.S. recently had a storm of complaints over a video on tolerance that is about to be sent to schools all over the country because the video supposedly had a subtext of tolerance to homosexuality, which conservatives in the United States found offensive.
I don't know about you, but I find this very annoying.
The video features various children's cartoon characters and muppets, including Miss Piggy and Spongebob Squarepants, singing along to the song “We Are Family”, and it is not just about tolerance to homosexuality. Just because Spongebob and Patrick are best friends and hold hands sometimes in the series doesn't mean they're gay. Hades, aren't sponges and starfish asexual or something? What's up with these conservatives being more malicious than the liberals?
Moreover, why are people so antagonistic of the notion of tolerance? Conservatives seem to be afraid of alternative lifestyles, and find any attempt to promote tolerance as taboo, when the lack of tolerance is precisely what could be a redneck, close-minded nation in the future, would need as early as possible (I'd like to think the United States isn't quite as redneck as people generalize it, considering how many people voted against Bush.). These conservatives seem to take pride in being as straitlaced and as “normal” as humanly possible, yet personally, that's nothing to be proud of. As Peppy would put it, “normal is weird”.
Tolerance doesn't mean you agree with a certain lifestyle. Tolerance means so long as it doesn't directly impinge on your own lifestyle, any alternative lifestyle that does not break any laws should be respected. Tolerance, in more specific colors, could mean that you may have a lot of homosexual friends, but inasmuch as you respect their preference, they likewise respect yours, such as “I don't mind you're gay, but know that I don't swing that way.”
Oh, come on! It's 2005! We don't judge.
.:The Phenomenological Series: Wanting Something So Badly:.
In the first installment on the Phenomenological Series, I talked about “Being caught by surprise”, and how this phenomenon manifests itself to us. I felt that the word “caught” in that phrase implies a certain kind of helplessness.
On the other hand, when it comes to “wanting something so badly”, it does make you wonder at times about the sheer power of desire over necessity.
Why do we want something so badly? Why is it that the stronger our desire is for something, the closer we approximate the adverb “badly”? Why can't we want something so goodly?
Whenever you want something so badly that you can almost taste it, it becomes a turning of almost all of your faculties away from yourself and towards your object of desire, or the person of your desire, even.
I know all too well how it feels when one wants something, or better yet, someone so badly.
That you'd be more than willing to go out on a limb for that person, no matter what price your dignity or your happiness has to pay, if only to give yourself a shot with that person. You have no guarantee that you'd he happy for the rest of life with that person, but that's irrelevant to you. All that matters is that you'd be able to meet that desire. You don't need that person, but in your choosing that person and by wanting that person so badly, you put yourself in a position where a healthier relationship is more possible, in spite of the seemingly overwhelming and blinding desire that comes over you.
Does that want have to be so bad? Why can't it be good? Is it really that destructive, or is it really just a lack of other adverbs to describe wanting something? Perhaps people can want something or someone so goodly, but exactly what does that entail? Exactly how different is it? Or is wanting something so “badly” merely a convenience of labels? Whatever the case may be, I can be quite certain you have felt how it is to want something or someone so badly before. I'm no different when it comes to that, save for the fact that I relish the feeling when it comes, mostly because I don't think it's so “bad”, really. At worst, I realize the difference between want and need, and that wanting something so badly is at least far better than needing it, lest my existence be incomplete by not having what I think I need.
That's not to say I'm immune to needing things so badly, unfortunately.
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