Back On The Soapbox

.:Errmm... Yeah:.

It makes so much sense now!

So everyone’s talking about the John Lloyd Cruz and Shaina Magdayao “debacle”, and since I wanted to jump on the bandwagon, I guess I couldn’t help but feel very indifferent to the whole thing, except for the obvious and easy punchlines that one can come up with because of the situation.

Nonetheless, it’s great to see that the issue is slowly dying a natural death. Still, considering how the media managed to keep a lid on this stupid non-issue for a whole two weeks, it does make one wonder why they couldn’t keep a lid on covering Rolando Mendoza for one frigging day.

Priorities, beeyotches. You don’t has it.

.:Great Going, Pope!:.

The Pope likens atheism to Nazism. Brilliant, your Holiness. Just bloody brilliant. You mean we’re just supposed to forget about this?

Godwin called it.

As a pluralist Catholic apologist, your Holiness, you are giving me a lot of things to apologize for. It’s bad enough that you have gone ahead and regressed on the progressive work that has been set forth by your predecessor, John Paul II, but did you have to just really emphasize exactly why everyone who doesn’t drink your Kool-Aid is nothing short of wary of the Catholic leadership?

While you shove your beliefs down people’s throats, you go and insist on accusing other people of doing precisely what you do. You promote intolerance of homosexuality, other religions, and choose to denigrate women to uphold your patriarchal system, and even condone the numerous abuses of the clergy upon children instead of actively denouncing such practices.

As a Catholic, I choose to believe in what this institution stands for, not what it has turned into: a cesspool of iniquitous, overbearing men who are exactly like the Pharisees and Scribes that they lecture against every Sunday. A congregation of believers who don’t know what they believe and nor have any idea why they’re fighting for the survival of their dying ways, when it’s their very nature that is driving their own movement down into the ground, as they refuse to accept that they are out of time and out of touch.

I could’ve sworn Christ did what he did to save people, not so we could go out of our way to condemn people all over again.

I don’t know who made this, but this sums up how I feel lately...

The Popemobile: Nothing says "I have faith in God" like 3-inch bulletproof glass. - Bill Hicks

The End Of Many An Era...

.:More Bits From The POC!:.

I managed to have an article published again for Blogwatch, and this time, it’s all about sex education. The RH Bill brouhaha is still far from over.

Meantime, my good friend, Fabucelles, is starting a new series aside from his/her regular “Eh Ano Ngayon” bits. He/she’s tackling our soap opera stars, and the opening salvo is all about Kim Chiu. This ought to be good.

.:The End Of Many An Era...:.

The past couple of weeks, we have seen a lot of things come to a halt after years of having grown accustomed to them. It’s been weird seeing how these things just disappear right before our very eyes, but what can I say? I guess some things just can’t last for as long as we want them to.

Requiem In Pace

The past couple of weeks saw the demise of two great personalities in the entertainment industry: Gary Coleman and Dennis Hopper. I was never a huge fan of either, but I sure would miss both of them, especially Christopher Walken and his sheer insanity with whatever character he decides to portray. Gary Coleman’s passing was most unfortunate, though, as it seemed to be a result of an unfortunate accident that could’ve been prevented.

2009 was really marred by tragedies, so let’s hope that 2010 doesn’t follow suit, although after Francis M and Michael Jackson and Ondoy, it’s hard to think of a string of tragedies to top that. Personally, I hope to never have to find out what it takes to top that.

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

Recently, Mag:Net Bonifacio High Street has closed shop once and for all as well. This shocking turn of events has left a lot of Rockeoke and SPIT fans suddenly homeless and nothing to do on Mondays and Thursday nights. True, the Comedy Cartel still exists to perform on Mondays and Thursdays, but while Monday night in Spicy Fingers is okay for the people in the Fort area, the insurmountable trip on Thursdays to Votre may prove to be too much of a problem.

I was there during the last SPIT show with MarkPoa, Addy, and Wilson, so it was a pretty fun night. We even ran into Christian Silva, although he was with his other friends, and of course, SPIT was extra hyped that night. It wasn’t the last show for them by any means, as they still perform in Katipunan, but there was something about that night that simply made SPIT even more fun than it normally is, and I still cannot fathom how good these improve comedians really are.

I didn’t stay on for the Rockeoke swan song though, as I didn’t have anyone else with me by then. It didn’t seem wise to Rockeoke on your own, as that’s a pretty depressing thing to do.

The Schism

Standup comedy in the Philippines as I know it has forever been changed. I don’t really know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I guess we’ll just have to see in the coming months.

Last Friday’s show featuring Jon Santos and Tim Tayag was definitely a hilarious night, and with all the talks about big things coming up for the Comedy Cartel soon, everyone’s definitely excited about what could very well be an explosion for Pinoy standup comedy. Whether this is an explosion of the good or bad kind unfortunately remains to be seen.

For now, this situation bears watching.

Not Much Happened Today, But...

.:Where Do They Go From Here?:.

My new article is up here! I hope you like the look I'm taking on our Presidentiables after everything's been said and done. Maybe next week, I'll do one for the Vice Presidentiables.

.:Fabucelles Is Back!:.

More stuff from the inimitable Fabucelles. Showbiz and politics hopefully won't keep mixing for much longer.

.:I Have A New Phone!:.

Wheeeee!!!

Stuff On The POC...

.:More Stuff Published!:.

I wasn’t able to promote it properly due to stuff I had to do, but do catch my latest article, All According To Plan. There, I talk about the foibles of the Comelec, but remind people that we shouldn’t be too hard on them. They’re just doing their job, guys.

.:Fabucelles Is Back, Too?:.

Who is this guy? But damn, that latest Eh Ano Ngayon is pretty biting in its commentary, to say the least.

On A Hopeful Note...

.:Fabucelles Is Back?:.

Well, looks like another article from the irrepressible Fabucelles has been published. This is really turning into quite an interesting season of writing, to say the least.

.:A Matter Of Coincidence:.

That’s the title of the new article I wrote for the POC. Essentially, I was trying to prove how the current power crisis has nothing to do with benefitting our beloved president. It’s all a matter of coincidence, you see. Pure chance.

The links within the article seem to be missing at the moment, though. That might prove to be a bit of a problem.

.:Prelude To A Brand-New Day:.

One of my best friends is celebrating her birthday on Monday, and that would be Abby. We met up at the Fort, and she treated me to a lunch that involved roast duck, so I was a very happy camper. :D

Talking to her, it seems that our lives have been running parallel to each other a lot lately. Considering that she’s one of the friends I’ve known the longest, it’s not exactly easy to find new things about each other that we haven’t known before, yet it seems to be happening as of late with frequency. All things considered, that’s something to be majorly grateful for. Abby has always been the friend I could turn to no matter how bad things get, and I’m very happy that we managed to find some time to catch up with each other.

I think about how many years it’s been, and I realize that we’ve got it good. It’s very rare to have that one person who has been a permanent fixture in your life year in and year out, and I can’t thank Abby enough for being precisely that person. As we go through a lot of things in the hurly burly of daily life and understanding what life holds for us, I look forward to many more opportunities to see her, to thank her, and to be there for her like she’s always been there for me.

If eight years ago, the person who I am today came back in time and told the past me that I would be this way with Abby after all those years, I probably wouldn’t believe my future self. We’ve gone through so much over the years, and neither of us could possibly conceive how much we’ve learned and grown with each other.

Things are wide open for Abby and myself right now, albeit it’s fairly safe to say that the future holds the both of us still remaining very good friends as the years go by. As I close a particular chapter in my life thanks to certain circumstances that have beset me lately, I look forward to the journey, knowing one of the most wonderful human beings in my life is going to be just around when I would need her. As I think about my kids from Reedley who are graduating later, and my friends in ADMU who graduated yesterday, I see that while it would’ve been a wonderful moment to be onstage with all of them, it’s not really something that represents me, much less defines me, to begin with.

It appears that ship has set sail, and it took a realization that I’m not the only one who’s letting some ships set sail when it comes down to it. There’s so much more I have to do, there’s so much more I have to think about, and focusing on that is a lot more important than certain other things that shall remain unnamed.

Happy birthday to you, Abby. You know that there are better things lying in wait for the both of us, and our time will come as we keep working for it.

Published Yet Again!

.:Oh, Mikey, You're So Fine!:.

In line with the upcoming elections, here's another article for the POC. This time, it's me throwing my support behind Mikey Arroyo. Hope you like it.

.:The Day Of Reckoning:.

Can't believe it's come to this, but in the end, some things are just not meant to be.

.:This Is By A Good Friend...:.

Fabucelles is also a pretty good writer. Maybe she should write more.

Random Thoughts On A Busy Day...

.:The Mike Defensor Meet And Greet, Straight Up:.

Decided to write a bit of a note about the whole thing out of character, and just say that for the most part, I can see where Mr. Defensor is coming from. It’s really difficult to overlook his ties to the president at the moment, but he does make a compelling case to not just accept Herbert Bautista’s candidacy without so much as giving him a closer look.

Also, the roast beef was awesome. I should’ve mentioned that in the article and devoted an entire paragraph to it, because it really was wonderful. Now I’m craving for it again. Mmmm...

.:DK’s Dynamic:.

There seems to be a big change happening with one of the hosts of the Disenchanted Kingdom. Not that there’ll be a changing of the guard, but the host himself/herself will be undergoing quite a change, to say the least.

This situation bears watching.

In the meantime, today’s DK, even without Logan, was incredibly showbiz. We were throwing a whole bunch of blind items at the listeners, and I loved how we kept on making guess after guess in between every single commercial. Marf handling the board today just resulted in a very fast-paced show once the showbiz segments started happening. It was just good, insane fun.

Barking Up Only One Tree... And The Wrong Tree, At That!

.:Barking Up Only One Tree: The Law Applies To All, Otherwise, To None At All:.

First of all, as a guy known for the straight edge lifestyle, let’s face it: I’m not a patron of Flesh Asia Daily, as I honestly don’t have much use for their material.

However, I believe in the saying, “Walang basagan ng trip!” While I may not be a patron of the fine arts of FAD, I do not hold it against anyone who does, and given how my understanding of the entire Hayden Kho hoopla has resulted in me being far more sympathetic to one Maricar Reyes than one Katrina Halili, I do have a certain stand on the issue, albeit it mostly boils down to this: we’re spending too much energy on this.

Suddenly, piracy busts have been exclusively for the extermination of the scandal videos. Never mind the stacks upon stacks of pirated DVD’s they’re rummaging through, but the minute they find one scandal vid, it’s gone.

Why is the law being selectively enacted now? Why the special treatment? Quite frankly, I find that this only underscores the politicking and grandstanding at work nowadays, what with everyone trying to jump on the “Lynch Hayden” bandwagon, never mind that there are other pressing issues that need to be addressed.

The recent attempt to pretend that something’s happening has resulted in Mike Chanco’s residence being raided, and subsequently charges being prepared against him, all the while ignoring the pressing issue: why are we seemingly ignoring this man’s rights? Why the sudden arbitrary enactment of a law that is, currently, at best, only vaguely tangential to what has truly transpired?

I don’t know Mike Chanco. I don’t owe him anything, nor does he owe me anything. But as a fellow Filipino, I see that his rights to due process are obviously being trampled upon, and I look at that and feel: dammit, that could be me, next time. I don’t think I wish to be in a country where caprice and arbitrariness determine the law of the land. I honestly feel that is dangerous to the rights and liberties our forefathers have fought and had board meetings about.

I can’t help but facepalm over the trolls over at Jester’s and One Tamad’s blogs who are acting with even less morals than Hayden Kho, resorting to a stream of four-letter words, and internet tough-guy posturing from behind a computer.

Newsflash, kiddies: “lust” is but one of the seven deadly sins. The way you’re frothing at the mouth right now, you’re pretty much guilty of “wrath”, “pride”, and by the looks of how you talk so big only behind an anonymous nick, probably “sloth” and “gluttony”, too. Nothing makes you look more of a hypocrite than hiding behind anonymity, hurling invectives, all the while pretending to be guardians of morality. Thanks for completely missing the point of Jester’s post: it was never about saying porn is cool and okay. It was the fact that someone’s rights were apparently trampled upon, and we cannot allow for shortcuts in due process just because we don’t like somebody. Justice is supposed to be blind.

As an ethicist as opposed to a moralist, I have no say on the nobility of FAD’s site. I wouldn’t know, it’s not my cup of tea. It’s not my place to judge, but let’s face it: the rain falls on the just and the licentious alike. If for some reason they believe Mr. Chanco is guilty of whatever they’re trying to trump up against him, why are they barking up only one tree?

Oh, right. Because it’s posturing, more than actual action. While we still don’t know who killed Nida Blanca, we already know who sent the first video to FAD. Doesn’t this seem rather off to you?

Stop making it an issue of morality, when it is primarily an issue of due process. Even if it were an issue of morality, since when did being immoral guarantee you jail time? Erap had how many mistresses again? Even from a Christian standpoint, Christ didn’t come down to save the righteous. They don’t need saving now, do they? He came down to save the sinners. It’s funny how these zealots thump their Bibles so much, they forget to read it from time to time.

We worry so much about the immorality of one website, when the gross immorality of our current dispensation should alarm us more. The Puritanist values should really be given a rest already.

Unless the NBI people are willing to play nice, and willing to give this due process, then I guess it’s obvious what the cry has to be... FREE FAD!

Random News Bits

.:Tah-rayyyyyy!!!:.

Maybe this isn’t true at all, but I find it amusing that Rain is rejecting Megan Fox’s advances.

The young star, who’s had many people comparing her to Angelina Jolie, has supposedly expressed interest in the Korean superstar, only to be rebuffed because he’s apparently “not interested”.

Well, when the running joke about Ms. Fox is that she’s more charitable than Angelina Jolie because while Jolie does Unicef stuff, Ms. Fox is getting it on with Brian Austin Green, I suppose that’s a mildly dubious distinction for Rain to earn. That, and hey, look, Megan’s taken, and possibly, so is Rain!

I seriously doubt it’s because Rain is gay, or anything like that, because I personally can say “no” to a date with Megan Fox, not because I think I’m too hot for her, but simply because I really only ever date Chinese or Korean girls. It’s a simple matter of preference.

Having said that, if this report is indeed true, I wonder if Megan would keep on pressing the issue? Will she get Rain to yield to dinner? Only time can tell.

Then again, I think I know now why Rain isn’t going for Megan at all...

... it’s because Megan isn’t black!

Shocking, huh?

.:Lady, I Got News For Ya...:.

A woman is suing an Egyptian hotel for supposedly getting her daughter pregnant via stray bodily fluids in their pool.

It doesn’t get any dumber than this, folks.

I hate to break it to you, lady, but unless your daughter still has her hymen intact, there is no way you can possibly prove that this pregnancy was caused by stray bodily fluids in a pool when chlorine and simply being exposed to air can kill those little tadpoles in a matter of minutes. Unless there was some really sick stuff going on in the pool area, it’s a safe bet your daughter got pregnant the traditional way.

Picard, take it away.

Pacefalm!

.:Bravo! Bravo!:.

There are no words.

The aftermath of this idiotic Hayden Kho scandal extends beyond the unfortunate situation one lady doctor not named Vicki Belo finds herself in.

Quite honestly, when I think about it, I find next to no sympathy for the sexy star involved in this scandal, given how she did this knowing full well Hayden was in the middle of a relationship. I think it was a wasted opportunity when she, of all people, played the poor victim card, because she could’ve struck a blow for women had she asserted herself and stood up for the doctor lady instead.

Of course, that’s just me. I mean, what do I know? I’m just a PR guy, and obviously, a lot of this situation, sad and unfortunate as it may be, is certainly a matter of PR.

It’s easy to play the victim card, even though this may just be instant karma striking out at the sexy star. Despite that, if she came out strong, and asserted herself and shrugged off the scandal as if it were nothing, sympathy would still be with her, but this time, they would know that she’s definitely in charge and will not just allow people to judge her solely because she starred (unwittingly, so I heard) in a sex scandal video.

Had she instead stood up for the lady doctor instead of playing the victim card, I’m sure the mood of the entire affair would’ve turned on its ear, chastity advocates be damned. Sometimes, no-selling a controversy could do you more good than making it obvious how affected you are.

.:Embarrassing:.

No witty captions needed.

In what can only be termed as “embarrassing”, the sex video brouhaha disrupts an Iloilo council session.

First of all, why do we even need to have a resolution to condemn Dr. Kho’s actions? Do we really need to waste taxpayer’s money on a tautology? That’s like saying we should spend a session to declare that water is wet. I don’t know about you, but I find this terribly unproductive and even annoying.

What makes this article absolutely lol-worthy, though, is how these supposedly honourable councillors jostled to see the video that they were intending to condemn. The sheer hypocrisy just emanates from the whole setup.

Guys, as Fritz succinctly put it, we didn’t pay taxes for our politicians to watch porn. Seriously. If you want to watch those videos, don’t do it on the taxpayers’ dime. You’re making a mockery out of governance.

Are these the stellar examples of Filipino leadership that we can muster? Or do we have more honourable leaders we can look up to, like, say, our senators?

Oh, just you wait.

.:Yes! Let’s Make What People Do In The Bedroom OUR Business!:.

In a fit of knee-jerk reactionism, Senator Pia Cayetano has drafted an Anti-Voyeurism Bill for the Senate to debate on. It’s a bit funny that it wasn’t Senator Revilla who drafted the bill, considering how much noise he’s been making, but whatever. Of course, notwithstanding rumors that the good Senator has his own video scandal, you'd think he'd be rushing to make a law over an issue he initiated via a privilege speech, right?

The thing is, the way the bill is currently worded is incredibly lopsided and it reeks of loopholes. The priority on this law is clearly misplaced as there are more important matters to make time for, one of the least important being the book blockade (We of course assume legislation in aid of addressing the more primal needs of our nation, such as food, clothing, and shelter, should also be in the wings.) that has conveniently been left ignored by our lawmakers, except for Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

The undue attention this scandal has been getting has been ridiculous and a monumental waste of time. I wish I didn’t have to write about it, but hopefully bringing up the sheer inanity of it all would make people realize that there are more important things to shell out our tax money on. Really, there are. Do we suddenly spring to action only because some top TV star is affected? What about us lesser mortals who don’t have high profiles to railroad our agendas with? Do we just throw these crusades under the bus?

What about those other girls who had their sex scandals on the internet? Why do we seem to not care about their plight? Is it because they’re not celebrities? As one of the guys who strongly believes in the saying, “I may not like what you have to say, but I sure as Hades would fight for your right to say it,” I’m already put off by the fact that Congress has or is in the process of banning hentai, without even knowing what “hentai” really is, and completely leaving alone other forms of pornography.

I cannot, by any stretch of imagination, figure out why so much time is being wasted on this by the Senate. I’m sure this issue should be addressed. There is no question about that. However, I believe that there are more appropriate departments that should be able to deal with it. Hades, Edu Manzano and the OMB seems better-equipped to handle this issue than Sen. Revilla, and maybe they should leave the issue in his hands instead. The Senate has more pressing matters to deal with than this.

Dear lawmakers, what’s up with that? Why should we care about what people watch or say or Hades, draw, when they’re of proper age? I know our concept of “freedom of expression” in this country is quite “less” free than that of the United States, but sometimes, I don’t think this is really a case of “restricted freedom” as it is a case of “mildly liberal inquisition”.

What other people do in their bedroom should be none of our bloody business. Ironically, the more repressed our society is, the more we concern ourselves with it.

Deplorable! Absolutely deplorab... w-ait... lemme rewind that again... yeah! Deplorable! Absolutely deplorable!

.:In Other News...:.

... Dr. Hayden Kho is not related to my batchmate, Darn Kho. Lol.

FML? No. More Like FMC.

.:They Have Successfully Wagged The Dog:.

Thanks to Mr. Hayden Kho’s shenanigans, suddenly, people have forgotten about the book blockade.

Hooray! They have successfully wagged the dog yet again! Ever noticed that nobody cares what’s going on with Jun Lozada now?

Congratulations to our great overlords! They have proven yet again that the Filipino people have the attention span of a goldfish! Onwards to first world status in 2020!

I am soooo glad that my taxes are funding porn-watching in the senate. Not.

.:Being-Unto-Mirth:.

Last night was my second foray into stand-up comedy, and I must say that I am still far from being worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as a Stanley Chi or a Noel Gascon. These guys are amazing comedians who know what they’re doing, and know what it takes to get their desired reactions.

Despite that, my standup last night was snappier and less meandering than my first effort. I have to say that it was significantly more straight to the point, but I still don’t know how to give those subtle hints that I said something funny. I don’t think I’m too aware of my facial expressions, or my gesticulations, which are all very important parts of a successful standup comedian’s schtick. In fact, I believe they are so integral that most good comedians don’t even realize that’s exactly what they do, but last night, I think that really shone to the forefront.

While I was observing the way Stanley Chi was doing his performance, there were certain nuances in his voice, certain subtle dips and peaks in the tone of his voice that tipped you off he was telling a joke. It wasn’t an overt kind of signposting, but it was fairly telltale when they’re going for a laugh. Plus, Stanley’s laugh is almost as funny as his jokes. LOL.

Anyways, with all that being said, I’m fairly happy about my set that night. It was a marked improvement over the previous one, although I know I still have a lot more to develop and hone before I can feel even the least bit content about my output...

I’m a being-unto-mirth. Slowly, but surely, I know this will all lead to something good, and if it’s any indication, the very promising prospect I’m cooking up with them is just the start of something excellent for everyone involved.

Let's Talk Politics...

.:James Yap, All Set To Endorse Ping Lacson?!?:.

Apparently, the philandering husband of Kris Aquino, James Yap, is most likely going to endorse Ping Lacson in his bid for senator.

This is reportedly because James believes in Hope, and according to Lacson, “Kapag may Hope, may pag-asa.”

Lacson's platform is right up James' alley. Eh diba, “SiPing ang kinabukasan?” Di ba, dyan naman magaling si James? Sa pakikipagsiping?

I don't know about you, but there's just something ridiculous about all the hoopla over Kris and James and Hope. It's an overblown domestic situation that we could've done without. Well, now that it's out in the open, Senator Lacson gets all the added exposure that he needs.

.:A.S.O.:.

I find it laughable how easy it is to forget favors and grudges when people decide to cross party lines.

I am not a fan of Angara, Sotto, and much less Oreta. Despite that, I find it amusing how Rez Cortez's FPJPM group made a jingle lashing out at the trio for moving to the administration. This senatorial race has all the makings of a kcuf-up, I swear.

You have the three people who used to vow to bring down GMA now being endorsed by the latter. You have a senatoriable who has no clue what he's doing in Cesar Montano. You have a guy who uses a lousy pun and advertises so much yet no one still knows who the Hades he is in Pichay. You have Mr. Aloof himself in Defensor. Then, you have the stalwart opposition people and guys like John Osmena who love jumping back and forth whenever it's convenient for them to do so.

This is going to be one mess, and you don't need to be a fortune teller to know that.

.:Pick, Pac, Boo!:.

Well, well, well. Looks like people are a lot smarter than we give ourselves credit for.

In the recent boxing extravaganza in Cebu featuring Jaca, Gorres, and Bautista, Manny Pacquiao, who came to watch his contemporaries, was met by a presumably jarring chorus of boos, expressing displeasure over his decision to run for public office.

I'm highly amused that he's surprised this happened. Look at him. He runs, then expresses his intention to focus on his training for his next fight. It's rather obvious that he simply isn't prepared to serve his country politically, and I am not in the least bit surprised this is happening to him.

Pacquiao is a successful boxer who is overrated, in my humble opinion. He's no sacred cow, and now, he experiences how it is to be anything other than applauded, which is what he should have anticipated the moment he threw his hat into the political arena. I relish in having people prove to be smarter than he thinks and simply not let him win. He's not ready, and I don't think he should be meddling in politics when he has no idea what to do in the first place.

According to him, his intent is only to attend sessions and vote “yes” or “no” whenever he has to. That doesn't sound like a guy who has a definite plan to help his city out. It's ridiculous for him to think that good intentions are enough to carry him through. He could've instead used those massive campaign funds by helping people find work or something more worthwhile than just this.

I know a lot of Pacman haters have wanted to see him get knocked out in a long time, but I think this is the loss I'd rather put my money on.

Of course, if he wins, then General Santos loses. Big time.