Yes, I Know...

.:Slow-Blogging Week:.

As most of you know, this week is my Hades week. I really have no choice but to slow down on the blogging for my own sake...

But soon enough, I'll be sure to do some good ol' backblogging.

Owned, Owned, Owned.

.:When Idiots Attack!:.

Here's a series of Personal Messages sent between myself and one Mr. Yoso guy, who has got to be one of the most idiotic people I've ever encountered. His glaring lack of comprehension skills is just alarming and amusing at the same time.

I am writing in blue font. He is writing in red font.

In any case, this stemmed from a thread on The Story Circle, where he tried to stir up trouble over the forums, and I promptly shut him down. Other posters told his group to work on their English, and when he claimed to be an English major, I was quick to point out to him over PM that I somehow doubt that to be the case. The thing is, I wanted to take it to PM because I figured there was no need to embarrass him even further in the thread. This was his hostile reply:

having been an education student hasnothing ("has nothing") to do with what am i ("With what I am...") posting!?!

Kahit anu ("ano". I won't even bother insisting on correcting his Filipino as well, but he's far from perfect here, too.) nalang talaga gigagawan nyo nang issue,kaya di matapos tapos tong awayan na to eh!

My reply:

You said you're an ENGLISH major.

Your grammar is atrocious. Yet you claim you're an ENGLISH major.

Puh-lease. Hindi ko ito "isyu" sa Underground. At lalong hindi ako certified member ng TSC. Isyu ko ito kasi kung talagang "ENGLISH" major ka, ewan ko lang kung natuto ka nga.

His reply, which made me scratch my head:

Nag research ka pa ba maigi bago mo gamitin yung word na yan??? ?? (The Department of Punctuation Mark Abuse called. They want you to be kinder to the question marks.)

"atrocius" ("atrocious")-

grievous (Grievous - causes fear and anxiety by threatening great harm. i.e., "His grievous abuse of the English language endangers my well-being.")

heinous (Heinous - hateful, abominable. i.e., "The fact that he still thinks he can even begin to correct my grammar is a heinous crime of stupidity.)

monstrous (Monstrous - i.e., his grammar.)

evil (Evil - i.e., his English teacher. His English teacher played a cruel joke on him because Mr. Yoso genuinely thinks he's right!)

honestly speaking, i checked on that word, at eto mga synonyms nyan,i think its ("it's") not appropriate sa sentence... ... ... Tsk! tsk! Tsk!

Wag kang mag alala, di ku naman pinag mamalaki na English major ako before, and to think na 3 years ku lang kinuha yon. I was just forced to take that course.And Its a little bit impossible to think na sa loob ng tatlong taon wala akong natutunan. Siguro kung ikaw nasa klagayan ko, malamang ganun nga!!!

Npaka un-ethical mo (Unethical? Not only did he spell this wrong, I don't think the word means what he thinks it does.)... Dinadagdagan mo pa yung isyu, pwede bang tumahimik ka na lang??? (Ah, yes. The traditional argument of someone who can't take it the way he dishes it out.)

Anu bang problema mo? Pwede bang wag kna lang makialam, pinalalaki mu lang kasi yung problema!!! Di ka naman nkakatulong... ... ... OK!!! (After I gave five tips on street magic, he has the nerve to tell me that I didn't help at all. Ha!)

My reply:

Atrocious.

Hindi ATROCIUS!!!

Ahahaha!!! It means your English is HORRIBLE! HEINOUS! MONSTROUS! YES! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I DAMN MEANT!

Unethical? Hindi ako naghanap ng gulo. Pumunta ka sa teritoryo ng TSC. Ikaw ang naghanap ng gulo. Binibigay ko lang ang hinahanap mo.

Don't even try to cross me. Wala akong away kay Incognito. Hindi ko pa kilala TSC, kilala ko na siya, so wala akong away sa UM. Ang away ko ngayon, sa iyo lang. Kasi, eekstra-ekstra ka, samantalang nakipag-ayos na sina Incognito sa TSC two Saturdays ago.

At kung hindi ka rin naman TANGA, nakatulong ako. Nagbigay ako ng limang crashing tips dun sa thread, diba? Ano binigay mo? Sakit sa ulo?

Nakikialam ako kasi nagmamarunong ka. Papasok-pasok ka sa forums ng TSC, tapos ikaw pa ang may ganang maghanap ng away. Wala ka sa lugar.

Hindi na ang UM-TSC ang isyu. Ang isyu ngayon, hindi ka marunong mag-Ingles. Your damned English IS atrocious. Oo, angkop iyan sa sentence. Gamitin mo naman utak mo. Your damned English is MONSTROUS. It's an ABOMINATION. It makes my freaking eyes bleed.

So if you want to get owned some more, go on ahead. i'll be waiting. My fight was never with Underground Magos. It was always with your self-righteous, ignorant punk-@$$.

And this is the part where I get a laugh at his expense:

Pare (Hindi kita "pare".) Nang GagaGo ka ba??? Ano bang Problema mo??? Tigil tigilan mo ko baka di kita matantsa!!! (The Department of Punctuation Mark Abuse would like to request some mercy for the exclamation points as well...)

Bakit? Sino ka ba sa tingin mo??? (Get ready for it... get ready...)

Isa ka bang propesor para pag sabihan ako nyan??? (Ahahahahaha. Ahahahahahaha. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!)

para sabihin ko sayo, hindi ako nag mamalaki sa sinabi ko (Backtracking, aren't we? Didn't you say that you're proud that you "learned" something from your three years as an ENGLISH major?), Mahina ka lang talaga umintindi.... ok! tanggapin mo yan!!! Pinapaliwanag ku lang kung ano ang totoo! tagalog na nga ginamit ko, hirap na hirap ka pa din intindihin!!! pasalamat ka ayoko lang mag mura, dahil alam ko, may kalalagyan ka na sa mga pinag sasabi mo!!! At ayokong matulad sa yo na nag mamalaki na akala mo kung sino kang magaling mag english, AnG PANGIT NAMAN NANG UGALI MO!!!! pasalamat ka lang talaga, Dahil kung pwede lang akong mag mura, kanina ku pa ginawa!!!

Tsaka nag iisip ka ba??? anong gusto mo mag paka pormal ako sa mga pino-post ko??? Siguro naman nabasa mo yung tungkol sa pag po-post di ba??? Na hindi naman dapat ganun ka pormal ang pag po-post!!! (No, I wanted you to cut the BS, but clearly, that's outside of your intellectual capacity to do so.)

At tsaka sino ba may sabing kaya ako pumunta dito e nag hahanap ako nang gulo??? Ikaw ang nag hahanap ng gulo,Sino ka ba talaga? Anu ba gusto mong mangyari? ikaw ang sakit sa ULO!!! Tandaan mu yan!!!

Alam mu naman pala na nakikipag ayos na, nung isang linggo pa, E bat satsat ka pa din nanggg satsat jan??? Daig mu pa babae ha!!! Anu bang PinuPutak Putak mu jan???

Sabi ku na nga ba eh, kinakampihan mo yon dahil alam mo kung ano nangyari sa aming dalawa.. aNO??? sUMAGOT KA!!! MATAGAL MU NA PALA SYANG KILALA! para sabihin ko sayo, Di pa nag ma-magick yan, kilala ku na yan!!! (Huh? What is this guy smoking? Must be some pretty strong stuff. You mean, may "nangyari" sa inyong dalawa ni Incognito? Tsk, intriga iyan!)

"So if you want to get owned some more, go on ahead". -i check mu nga yan! Mahiya ka sa sarili mo, nag mamalaki ka tignan mu nga yang sinabi mo kung tamA!!!! Baluktot English mo Dong!!! (Oh. My. God. Did he just take the word "owned" literally? ROFLMAO)

"Your damned English is MONSTROUS. It's an ABOMINATION. It makes my freaking eyes bleed."- Masyado kang Exaggerated!!! tsaka Emo ka ba!???! Makes my freaking eyes bleed!!! pwede ba!!! You're A FREAK!!! Yan ang masasabi ko sayo!!! (I love how he gets worked up over this. He can't take it the way he dishes it out at all. Calling me a freak as a last-ditch attempt at a comeback is just so sophomoric, I almost pity him. Almost.)

Nga pala Bagay sayo yang costume mo, Muka kang Tang_!!! (Did he just mistake my avatar as my "costume"? Triple LOL.)

And here's the last part (so far), where he got served some more...


Ahahaha. Pathetic.

Why, yes. I'm an English PROFESSOR. So STFU, and go dunk your head in the water.

I sent my messages to you LONG BEFORE NAKIPAG-AYOS ang UM sa TSC. I took it to PM because I didn't want to embarrass you in public, but hey, if you want me to own you some more for all to see, I'll be more than happy to. Here you go!

Oh, by the way, yes, you got OWNED. It's net lingo for getting completely defeated, and quite frankly, the fact that you have NO IDEA what "owned" means pretty much tells me all I need to know: not only do you have a horrible grasp of English, you don't even understand the concept of slang!

Here, let me help you: here's the word in urban dictionary.

So please, I'll just keep owning you over and over again the more you show to me how little you REALLY know.

Madali magyabang kung may ipagyayabang. Graduating Cum Laude in COMMUNICATION ARTS from Ateneo de Manila University and being an English instructor in Reedley International School gives me EVERY RIGHT to correct your English as I see fit.

Keep digging, peon. You just prove my point every single time you try to respond.

And that, my friends, is pwnag3 at its most vicious...

OWN3D!

Backblogging Lineup Again...

.:Must... Do... Work... First:.

Here's what I have lined up...

1. Last Saturday's prom.
2. Last Saturday's mentalism showdown.
3. Last Sunday's children's party show.
4. A post as tagged by Janette
5. My efforts to start jogging...

It's Prom Night!

.:W00t!:.

Well, it ain't my prom, and I'm just prefecting, but I'm genuinely excited for my students.

Break a leg, guys! It's your night.

Ridiculous...

.:X-Rated Movies?:.

Apparently, This is enough to get an X-Rating for a movie nowadays.

I'm just annoyed. Really. Posting more next time...

New Post Up At Magi-Kel!

.:Don't Miss Out On It!:.

I have a new post up at Magi-Kel, and it's a pretty fun romp into what I've been up to ever since I started the magic club in Reedley. There's also the little factoid that I purchased some new items so I can perform Russian Roulette at long last.

Yep. This is a pretty exciting time...

Randomicity!

.:Heath Ledger's Dead...:.

Yeah, the news has run its course already. It's sad, truth be told.

.:Sweeney Todd!:.

When you have a film with Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen, *and* Alan Rickman all singing, you just know you have a thing of awesomeness in your hands.

Watching this film with my Beloved and a few of my friends was just really made for an awesome weekend, to say the least.

.:Loaded Calendar:.

Four bookings in one month? No complaints there! =P

Work may be swamping me right now, but despite that, it's all good for me. I know my blogging's been taking a hit, as I've mostly been posting briefly, but I'm sure that would change once the schoolyear is over.

Still, I have some fun stories to share about my clubs. I ought to get around to that next time.

Addressing The Empire

.:Addressing The Empire:.

Malcolm Bull had choice words for the assumptions made by Hardt And Negri in “Empire” regarding migration, and he has a valid point. The assumption (p.224) that there is a “zero sum” relationship between distinct groups is ridiculous because “migration is not a zero-sum matter unless there is a mechanical solidarity” (p.224) At this point, we clearly realize that migration from country to country is not necessarily as revolutionary as Hardt and Negri would point out.

While migration from country to country is indeed commonplace, what about migration within the same country, i.e. from city to city? The ramifications of this effect, mainly the fact that it is not a revolutionary motion in terms of an “uprising” of sorts against a status quo, but rather a means of fulfilling a particular desire would mean that it is rather ignorant for anyone to just assume that migration is a revolutionary reaction rather than merely an economic or pragmatic concern. In Hardt and Negri's haste to peg anything and everything as signs of the revolution (p.225), they gleefully overlook the fact that migration doesn't work that way at all.

Similarly, Jodi Dean was less than impressed by Hardt and Negri's assertions regarding the ways the multitude would communicate through the network. It was asserted that the multitude would use the network as a weapon against Empire, but as Jodi Dean was quick to point out, the persistent prevalence of politics instead of its decentralization was more than enough proof that Empire is far from being displaced (p.279) through the network of communications. That being said, Dean's doubts are rather clear-cut, albeit simplistic.

Hardt and Negri's stand on the multitude's ability to use these networks in order to combat Empire is not as unfeasible as Dean would paint it, although it's not as simple as Hardt and Negri would have us believe. The truth is, the network is there not exclusively for the prevalence of the Multitude, but for a mutually assured conflict between Multitude and Empire, one that is clearly highlighted by the usage of the network by both “factions”, as it were.

To ignore this is to ignore the fact that the Empire has put the network in place unwittingly long before the Multitude was even aware of itself.

I Wanted To Post Something Else, But This Is Urgent...

.:Don't Put Off Watching This!:.

Grumble...

.:Meeting Viking:.

Viking is quite the character. After having met him with Nomer and the other members of P.E.N. a couple of times, I have to say we're all the better for having him on our side rather than against us.

That being said, he's been really fn to hear from, to say the least. No question about it, in my opinion: he's one heck of a guy, if last Friday's and Sunday's meetings were any indication.

.:Fume, Fume:.

I got into a huge argument with my Uncle over the weekend because he decided to take offense to my asking him for directions.

Well, gee whiz. How can I not ask for specific directions when our conversation went something like this over SMS...

Me: Hi there! How's uncle Terence? Will you be guys just be home tonight?

Him: Hi, Marc. We're having dinner at 7PM. Join us.

Me: At your house, right? Great! I'll be there.

Him: No, at Gulliver restaurant.

Me: Where is that? I need directions...

Him: Formerly Aberdeen Court.

Me: I'm really not sure where that is. Is it in Timog? Eastwood? San Juan? I need to know the general area...

This is the part where he promptly blows up at me.

I don't know about you, but it's not my fault if I had no idea where Gulliver is, if the only "directions" I received is it was "formerly Aberdeen Court". I asked for directions, not a history lesson. If I came off as "obnoxious" or "arrogant" or whatever else complaint he may have had about my last message (Which bore no ill will. I had no idea where the place was!), I think it's fair enough for me to call his answer to my request for directions as an act of idiocy.

Sorry, I really can turn out to be quite the jack@$$ to idiots.

Interesting Weekend...

... Tell you guys about it next time.

New Post Up At Magi-Kel

.:New Post Up!:.

So as not to be redundant, I have a new post up at Magi-Kel. I had fun writing it, because it was about last Saturday's show at West Greenhills. As an aside, sir Wan Lu was really cool, and his puppet show was to die for. He's one of the funniest magicians I've ever met!

Read here!

Multitude: Finale

.:The Democracy Of The Multitude:.

For the most part, I've been rather accepting of Hardt and Negri's ideas about the Multitude in the book, and it seemed to me that despite the seeming lack of cohesiveness to their ideas, or at the very least, a unifying thread where we can glean a cause for action. Truth be told, Hardt and Negri's ideas didn't seem new at all, and merely repeats of some intelligent commentary you'd see on “The Daily Show”, sans the witty sense of humor and personality of a Jon Stewart.

Now, in this last segment of their book, “Democracy of the Multitude”, I'm utterly flabbergasted. In here, they attempt to piece together the reform suggestions they bandied about in the previous segment, and all under the guise of this being how the multitude would form their democracy. While I took most of their ideas in with little resistance, I find their ideas about a sovereignless multitude (p.330) or their attempts at reformation as a matter of using unconventional “weapons” to throw off Empire (p.347) as bordering on ravings of utter ludicrousness.

Quite bluntly, there is a huge gap between this seeming wish-fulfillment book and the reality of the situation, because the reality of the situation is that we can't expect these proposals purported in the book as even remotely “feasible”, so the picture of the Democracy of the Multitude that is being painted by this book, is unfortunately a false, blatantly, hopelessly, untenable dream envisioned by Hardt and Negri. The true democracy of the Multitude *cannot* be found in this book. All we can see are hopes and dreams that will never be met by a Multitude that is coming into reality.

The real democracy of the Multitude comes in its ability to overturn the triangle of power. As the power of the sovereigns steadily seeps more and more into the citizenry, the Multitude becomes a stable source of assurance: we no longer feel the crunch of having to worry about consolidating power in a select few. This unfortunately comes at the price of accountability, and as we see the Multitude persist and attempt to struggle against Empire, what we see, barring a revolution of Utopian proportions, the same old song and dance we've had during the other revolutions of history.

Perhaps, the Empire will no longer be the ones to drive our dignity to the ground. But one thing will always be certain, even in the democracy of the Multitude: *something* will certainly take its place, whatever it may be.

I Received The Weirdest Evaluations...

.:So, Mid-Year Evaluations Are In...:.

I really can't go into the details, but while I know I'm not exactly the perfect teacher, and while I know I have a lot of room for improvement, it's a bit funny at times.

I have a lot to say about this, but I'll leave it at one thing...

A student asked me to stop: reading minds.

I'm at least touched in their confidence in me. =)

Multitude Once More...

.:When Democracy Just Isn't Enough:.

America would have us believe that there is no better system of governance than democracy. It's easy to fall for this, when we look at how countries practicing alternative forms of governance seem to be falling to the wayside, but clearly, this is merely being facetious. Despite its inherent advantages, democracy's shortcomings are glaring, and to ignore them is to gloss over the facts and to buy into what apologists for democracy would have us believe.

You see, it cannot be ignored that democracy fails on four counts: representation, rights and justice, economics, and biopolitics. Clearly, these deficiencies are glaring and inexcusable. For one, democracy's “rule of the people by the people” is counter-intuitively being negated by having a very small minority represent the people on the local, national, and global scales (p.272). As fewer people represent a greater many, the interest of the representative tends to supplant the interest of the represented, to the disadvantage of the latter.

Consequently, rights and justice are difficult to uphold because quite bluntly, there is “no adequate institutional structure” (p.274) that exists to enforce them. When “moral persuasion” (p.274) is your only tool, you are quickly relegated to a “rhetorical device” rather than a “legal framework” (.275) whenever you mobilize, thus lessening your potential impact for your cause.

Thirdly, economics as a system appears to be concerned with how much money is being made, but not who makes how much money (p.278). The rich do get richer, and the poor continue to have nothing. As the rich-poor gap continues to widen, the very economic structure of democracy ensures that the status quo will persist.

Lastly, biopolitics is becoming a touchy subject in democracy. Because of the constant call for development, we have ecological, economic, even sociological systems being overrun in favor of “progress” (p.283). Democracy's checks and balances aren't stringent enough to prevent wanton disregard for their biopolitical structures already in place, throwing us into a state of global war.

Reforms have been suggested, but their feasibility remains to be seen. Global representation has been suggested to be remedied by simply removing veto power from a mere five permanent members in the United Nations Security Council who can veto despite a majority vote (p.292). This is done in turn to increasing the power of the General Assembly to make the member nations have a greater say on matters than the elite five of the Security Council.

In the realm of rights and justice, proposals have been made to make “new institutions of justice independent from the control of nation-states” (p.296). By making these institutions more independent, it is hoped that we avoid partisanship in the carrying out of justice.

Economic reforms have been bandied about as of late, mostly in favor of debt cancellation (p.299), with the likes of U2's Bono heralding the call for the IMF and World Bank to cancel these debts. It is actually more feasible than it seems, but standards must be set so that there would be no need to do this again in the future.

Lastly, biopolitical reforms are necessary to alleviate us from our current state of global war (p.303). The first step would of course to ratify and enact more international treaties in order to make nations willingly fall in line with a better way of resolving issues, as well as independent agencies for other biopolitical concerns such as water.

Can it be all done? Can all these changes help change democracy for the better? Well, in the end, both yes and no. Yes, the changes can be done and will certainly work well for the betterment of all if they were enacted. It will take decades, possibly even centuries, but eventually, it can be accomplished. But no, if the question is whether or not democracy will benefit, then it will not. These reforms are not meant to make the world a more democratic place. These reforms are meant to make the world a better place, regardless of extreme political alliances, through a more egalitarian, almost undemocratic outlook and paradigm.

What Happened Last Saturday

.:PTC Props And Slops:.

I was touched to hear from some parents about the influence rubik's cubing has imprinted on their children. Last Saturday's Parents-Teachers Conference was quite an eye-opener for me as I heard two parents tell me how rubik's cubing has really changed their child for the better.

An especially endearing moment was the fact that one of the children actually had ADHD, and I never even knew about this. All throughout, I was genuinely surprised because this student never showed me any signs to make me think that this student had ADHD. To be told that through my help, as well as the student's classmates, that the kid was finally living up to their potential was a huge shot in the arm, and a very heartwarming reminder to me of why I teach, to begin with.

Teachers touch lives. Through circumstances beyond them, they are given a great power and an even greater responsibility to help their students become the best that they could be. For the opportunity to have done that for this schoolyear thus far, I cannot be grateful enough.

Unfortunately, I'm also receiving a slap on the wrist (A painful one, at that.) for a goof-up at work. I think I deserve it though, because I'd hate my teacher for sure if it happened to me and it went uncorrected. It's just fair, I guess...

Extremely Tired, But Whaddaheck...

.:It Was A Fine Effort...:.

Columbia may have not won in their debate, but I am still very much proud of them. However which way their debate turned out, I'm certain that they worked hard on it.

That being said, that's two out of three classes under me that have managed to advance beyond the first round. Here's hoping this keeps up!

.:Schoolwork Swamp:.

I don't know if I'll ever overcome it, to be honest.

.:Red Kryptonite Again...:.

... especially painful, given what transpired this morning...

I know, I know. I'm not saying much of substance. I really have a lot of ground to cover, but let a guy grieve, okay?

Isn't This The Way My Luck Just Runs?

Yep. It's a rotten day again.

My Students Won! Wheee!

.:Congratulations!:.

Congratulations to my students from Yale, who won the first round of their debate as the Negative side on "This House Believes That We Should Not Allow Filipino Nurses To Migrate Before Three Years".

Congratulations as well to my students from Carnegie, who won their debate as the Negative side on "This House Believes That The MTRCB Should Ban Advertisements Aimed Towards Children".

I'm proud of you guys!

Celebration!

.:Happy Birthday!:.

It was my uncle's birthday last Friday, and I was nothing short of chuffed about being able to really do well as a host for the festivities back there, as I had some pretty good zingers interspersed in the spiel, such as when they saw Uncle Raymund's music video, and I pointed out that he composed, arranged, and even shot the video for this. Amusingly enough, I mentioned that even the people in the video were also him, repeatedly shooting himself against a chroma wall.

When my grandfather was about to speak, I kindly pointed out that he should keep it only to five minutes, to the amusement of the audience, but it was all taken in stride, as the people I ribbed while I was onstage were all really good sports.

I must say that his birthday celebration was a really good one. I even got the chance to perform a bit of my walkaround routine upon request of the family, and I certainly did my share of entertaining them outside of the hosting bit. It all worked out for the best, since I know for a fact that the people definitely enjoyed the party, what with bands like Biv, Southwind, and Metafour in the fray, among other things.

It's been a great start for my year, so far. With two bookings this month alone, and a lot of other promising stuff coming up, it just might be one of my better years yet.

New Post In Magi-Kel!

To avoid post duplication and all those shenanigans, I'd like to direct you to my alternate blog for whenever I discuss magic a bit... Magi-Kel.

Thanks!

Sleepy...

... so I guess that'd make for an interesting entry tomorrow.

Man, I'm gonna hit the sack already. It's almost two.

This Is A Surprise...

.:No Internet?:.

Except for this computer I"m using right now, it would appear the entirety of Reedley is currently offline. It's a bit annoying, to say the least, but hey, what can I do? I guess I ought to just be thankful that at least, I have this particular computer to work with.

That sounds like the bell already, but I think I can hack a few minutes regardless, before I head off to my class.

I'm a bit stoked at the moment because I finally made a walkaround wallet for my walkaround routines. The walkaround wallet is perfect because it has all the tools I need for a full-blown close-up mentalism show of five to twenty minutes, depending on the level of interest that I manage to attract from my spectators.

With lots of pockets to help me out, I was able to contain a few playing cards, a pack of ESP cards, a few sheets of paper, some coin envelopes, calling cards Blindsight, a Sharpie, and a host of other tools that any mentalist worth his salt would be wont to leave home.

I'm pretty happy having this little handy tool on my side. It keeps me organized, and it ensures I have everything I need for when I approach anyone to perform.

It works. It really does.

I Am Actually Hopeful...

.:There's Hope For Television Yet!:.

Well, despite the grating, annoying feud between ABS-CBN and GMA-7 at this point, the appeal of the new shows GMA is coming up with in the next few months is actually pretty high to me.

Sure, I might find myself disappointed in the end, but I honestly think that the new soap opera starring Robin Padilla looks promising, and he's always a guilty pleasure to watch, what with his unapologetically smarmy personality coupled with his inherent nice-guy goofiness, despite being formerly known as the "Bad Boy" of Philippine Movies.

While that's entertaining, I really am more stoked about the prospect of a Darna + Captain Barbell crossover. I know it's not going to be the case that I'd see Angel Locsin and Richard Gutierrez together, but crossovers never fail to make me mark out, seriously.

.:But Then, The Clunkers...:.

I'm seriously disappointed in Marimar right now. While watching it, I feel my intelligence being insulted by the way they try to use the most contrived twists I've ever seen.

You see, Angelika, Katrina Halili's character, was inadvertently shot while trying to save Marimar from a drive-by shooter. She suffers a coma and nearly dies, but recovers soon enough. The problem is, this was all apparently her plan, making me completely throw my suspension of disbelief down the drain. How could someone plan to be shot non-fatally in a drive-by?!? It just defies logic and common sense, and truly makes an opportunity for character development a complete waste.

Meh. I've about had it with this already... I'm watching Marimar with a lot of trepidation from now on.

.:Catching Up:.

Thursday's class with Dr. Kaelin was very interesting. We had a lot of amusing discussions, and the repeated use of the "f" word in our class by one of my classmates was cause for amusement.

Equally amusing though was when I stepped out to ask some noisy passers-by to keep quiet, because seeing me in a uniform made them think I was definitely a teacher in Ateneo as well. Amusing, to say the least.

.:It's The Best Time To Buy From E-Bay...:.

... well, particularly if you're like me.

You see, I still play Magic: The Gathering, and I do have my eyes set on some Power 9 for myself. Needless to say, I certainly would like to get my hands on a few moxen and the like, and even if the dollar price of the cards haven't risen at all, these cards get cheaper by the day.

When I bought my Black Lotus, it was around 50 to a dollar or so. This was a bit over a year ago. Now, the peso is fast approaching 40 pesos, and the trend is the Peso is still getting stronger and stronger. This means that my Black Lotus, purchased at $600, is practically 6,000 pesos cheaper now, if I bought it today, which is pretty staggering when you think about it.

And there are lots of ways to transact for e-bayers now. There are many ways to Send Money to the Philippines Online, and this is one of the best ways to do it, for sure.

No Wonder Spider-Man Had To Lose His Marriage!

.:Now, The Apple Falls:.

Guys, guess what? It's a Brand New Gay! (Not that there's anything wrong with that...)

Okay, fine. Maybe you're going to complain and tell me that this is just CPR at the worst possible angle.

Well, you know what? We can fix that. Photoshop is our friend!

With much credit to evilgiraffe, here's a sight you may never, ever, be able to unsee...

Comics. They scar you.

Golden Globes Are Canceled!

.:Boom!:.

Yes, you heard it right, there will be no Golden Globe Award Ceremonies this year. Instead, it will be replaced by a news conference to announce the winners, as the actors, in solidarity with the writer's union, has decided to no-show the awards, resulting in a gaping black hole for the ceremony's guestlist.

This shouldn't really come as a surprise to people who've been following the progress (Or lack thereof) of the WGA strike, although admittedly, I'm not too broken up over missing out on another chance for the industry to fellate itself aggrandizingly and pat itself on the back for "a job well done", particularly since this was a horrible year for movies. I seriously cannot think of five good movies that came from 2007, and for the most part, even the movies I personally found good are films I'm sure would never win any Oscars, like, say, Blades of Glory or 300.

Well, better luck next time. Maybe if we're lucky, the Oscars this year can get canceled, too.

When You Want Something But Can't Have It...

.:Just A Few Quotes That Swarmed Me For The Day...:.

Ah, yes. The power of the sourgrapes.

From a poem by Klaus J. Gerken:

It always comes down to this
The woman seated in the corner of a restaurant
with another man
is always the woman that you want
but cannot have.

Jealousy is a terrible affliction.
A poem may speak of love
but jealousy writes it.


From Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 in the Bible:

7 All man's efforts are for his mouth,
yet his appetite is never satisfied.

8 What advantage has a wise man
over a fool?
What does a poor man gain
by knowing how to conduct himself before others?

9 Better what the eye sees
than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
a chasing after the wind.


And of course, one of my favorites, from Law 36 of the 48 Laws of Power:

"Disdain Things You Cannot Have: Ignoring Them Is The Best Revenge"

By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often worse and more visible when you try to fixit. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

It's inevitable that one would encounter obstacles along the way, and let's face it, you can't get everything you want.

Sometimes, there is no better option than to simply sourgrape, lest instead of being sour, you find yourself being bitter.

Wow, Schoolwork

.:In My Haste...:.

... I forgot that I'm not just a teacher, but a student as well.

You see, I've been up to a lot of work as of late, doing stuff for Reedley, particularly since we're launching the intra-school debates. It's already the fourth quarter, so I'm really trying to make a genuine go at finishing this schoolyear with a bang.

That being said, I ended up leaving my schoolwork to the wayside as a result, and I figure I haven't been giving ample effort in my Philosophy classes. I didn't do particularly well for Dr. Angeles' first quiz, so I definitely need to remedy that situation, but fast.

There's also a few reports, a few papers, and a few articles I need to accomplish or read. I've been finding myself lacking so much time lately, but I have to manage. That's really the challenge of the issue. I was never the king of time management when multi-tasking, after all, though I still somehow manage to get things done in time.

.:Hey, You Never Know.:.

As a favor to a friend, I'm letting you know about a Singapore Franchise Opportunity. Do check it out, as you never know. Singapore's really on the rise economically lately, and if my applications there have been any indication, Singapore is rife with chances to go places.

.:Playtesting A New Deck:.

I've been heavily testing a new combo deck for Magic: The Gathering lately. I feel very confident about the way the deck runs, although a few card choices remain to be discussed, mainly the inclusion of two cards that I sincerely want in my deck: Mind's Desire, and Fact or Fiction.

You see, the main problem with the deck I'm testing right now is it doesn't have nearly as many bombs as Grim Long or Pitch Long, since the deck runs Force Of Will, Duress, Thoughtseize, and even Misdirection, not to mention many good 1CC draw spells that are only marginally good when flipped over by Mind's Desire.

Mind's Desire is a great card, nobody doubts that. The problem is, in this deck, there doesn't appear to be too many good bombs to unleash with Mind's Desire, which is mainly why I'm rooting for including Fact or Fiction in the deck to at least add one more threat in the deck that Mind's D could potentially flip over.

Unlike most combo decks I play, this deck averages a storm of 4 before being able to cast Mind's Desire, which is just an abysmally low number for Mind's Desire, to begin with. The fact that I can only count 10 genuine bombs in the deck, as opposed to 12 genuine bombs in Pitch Long, and 15 genuine bombs in Grim Long, the lower threat density means less opportunities to flip a game-ending card to Desire. The fact that the deck doesn't run a full set of Power 9 also means that it will inevitably play slower than either PL or GL.

Well, what can we expect from this deck in the future? We'll find out soon enough. I'm continuing tweaking and testing it, and unfortunately, I'm still more confident running Doomsday than this new deck, which is really a crying shame, when you think about it.

Finally, Done...

.:Finally, Accomplished!:.

Doomed To Failure

Admittedly, despite our immersion in so-called democracy, even locally, we can’t really say that this is democracy is at work. In the Philippines alone, we have very subtle vanguards of the status quo, ranging from the police and the military, all the way to the MTRCB. Our pitiful excuse for “democracy” has been little more as a simple means for the government to placate the masses with the illusion that this is a free country when really, it’s quite far from it.

Democracy is supposedly, in its most distilled form, “the rule of everyone by everyone” (p.240), and in this very simplified way of looking at democracy is a good rule of thumb to determine the progress we have made in realizing this dream. Is democracy today truly “the rule of everyone by everyone”? A cursory look at the way things are then and especially now yields an empathic “no”. Democracy has always had the intrinsic problem of enforcing how it is for everyone to rule everyone, and at the time, modern democracy’s elegant solution was simply representation (p. 238). With representation, we had democracies being ruled by a few people, but these few people actually represent the rest of the populace, thus seemingly solving the problem. Alack and alas, this is certainly not the case at all.

It’s ironic that this “solution” also ensures that democracy in its purest form will never happen. Representation ensures that the leaders will have some measure of separation from the people they represent, thus causing a situation of alienation that is inevitable, and ironically, this “solution” actually stands contrary to the notions of democracy, thus meaning that for as long as we use it as a means of remedying the problems of democracy, we further prevent ourselves from ever achieving the ideal (p.244). This is but one facet of the problem.

The other facet is how democracy in the age of globalization needs to be reimagined, the way they reimagined it in the age of modernity, and they haven’t figured it out, thus making the dream of fully realizing democracy an unfinished one (p.237). Given the constant state of war, and the gradual destruction of borders in globalization, democracy may indeed never be truly realized…

Why Are We Going Through This Again?

.:Politics Can Really Get On My Nerves Sometimes...:.

Apparently, Erap is still mulling over running for president in 2010. To that, I have to just throw up my hands in the air. This is a brand new air, with the same old crap going on.

Seriously, I don't even know why I get surprised anymore. After making a mockery of the justice system, spending millions of pesos trying to detain Joseph Estrada, they let him go almost immediately after conviction. If people in comics fandom were complaining about twenty years of continuity being thrown down the drain with Spider-Man's "One More Day", this so-called retcon of Erap's transgressions, and the subsequent debacle he's doing now, from doing much politicking, to apparently writing a book, is just another day in the life of the politician.

The Weekend Update...

.:Something Cami And I Noticed About McDonald's...:.

Their R&D apparently didn't take angles into consideration...

.:When Old Friends Collide...:.

Couldn't come up with a snazzier title, so this will have to do. Had a very nice Saturday in the company of Cami, as we just hung out in Megamall for most of the afternoon and a bit of the evening. It was great because she ended up running into my friends in TSC, and it was pretty funny because Nomer was his traditional lascivious self on the go. Heh.

The TSC meeting was all good, as we even ran into people who knew how to do cold-reading, and the rest of the Psychic Entertainment Network were also present. As far as that goes, it was a great, productive night, to say the least.

I was glad to have been able to hang out with Cami, really. And after a small crisis hit me that same night, I was really grateful that she still stayed up quite a bit to keep me company while I was being a complete, well, wreck.

Posting tomorrow... sowee!

One Sentence...

Ito ang unang araw na wala ka na...

Dropped By WAVE Last Night...

.:Good To Be On Air Again, If Only For A While:.

So I dropped by WAVE last night after hanging out in Galleria for a bit. Ran into a few old faces, and Jada even asked me to chat with them a bit on the air while they did their show. Well, I did, and it felt great being on air again after about six months of being away from radio.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I'm still nursing a deflated ego more than a broken heart, really...

Rejection Sucks...

... and that's all I have to say about that. :(

Thoughts On Work...

.:It's Deliberations Today...:.

... well, quite frankly, I can see the end of this schoolyear, and the outlook is a bit bleak. I figured at some point the illusion that I am "well-liked" was going to wear off, and the disdain was going to start rearing its ugly head. I guess the more events like these happen, the less bad I feel about not coming back next year anymore.

It's the fourth quarter, so I'm going to pull out all the stops. I want to do well for the last quarter, but if the time simply isn't enough for me to override initial notions about me, well, I guess that's all there is to it.

I Noticed Something About Sky Cable...

.:Oy, Vey!:.

... There's no more JackTV.

Arrrrgggghhhh!!!

.:Sometimes, I Wonder About Myself...:.

To be honest, I feel at times that I'm really underachieving. That I could do so much better than what I'm doing right now, but I mentally cripple myself from ever really reaching for the brass ring. It's always been a matter of letting opportunities pass me by, and at the end of the day, I really don't have anyone to blame but myself.

I guess after this schoolyear, I really ought to think over carefully what I ought to be doing after all has been said and done. I'm at another crossroads in my life.

Especially considering the very... complicated status my lovelife finds itself at right now, well, I guess there's a heckuva lot of thinking to go over at this point...

.:Back At Work Already:.

It's pre-deliberations for Reedley already, so yes, I'm back at work, and I haven't fully recovered from my asthma attack yet.

I'm So Sick...

Darn it, I wish I won't be going back to work tomorrow, but it must be done...

So Stressed...

1. Happy New Year, everyone. A million thanks to Tita Harvey and Krisette and Hrbs for adopting me for 31 and 1. It was awesome, although ABS-CBN taking potshots over ratings on the New Year party no less was in bad taste.

2. More thanks to Tita Harvey for the very interesting conversation we had. I really enjoyed it, to say the least.