Simply Tatang's

The last four years

2011-09-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

The first Monday of September in the USA celebrates the labor of the people. In contrast, the rest of the world celebrates labor on May Day. The US changed the date because it was too close to the whole communist celebration of workers on May 1. Time is flying by at an amazing speed. I’m now in my forties. Just yesterday, I was wondering how my twenties would be. Next thing you know, my thirties is already past me. And now, I’m settling into what used to be middle age. Funny, I don’t feel all that different. Sure, some joints are creaky, but I swear, I just finished high school last year. Life has been a blur the last 4 years. I stopped blogging simply because of my addiction to world of Warcraft. I found it more entertaining to level up a paladin and warlock instead of documenting how my life has been. Perhaps, it was a way to leave my real life worries and go into seclusion into an imaginary world, where I am always powerful, strong and handsome. I see many of my wife’s cousins reach their twenties now. The youngest of them just entered Grade 9, the first year of high school. I remember when she was barely two years old. It was one of my first parties attending the wife’s family. The little kid was chewing on a piece of meat. Somehow or the other, she looked like she needed something so I placed my hand in front of her. Out came a piece of meat that she had been chewing on. The last year, I wrote my attempt at my first book. It chronicles how I went from a deficit of money to getting on ahead. I credit Tuhan Joe Arriola for teaching me the way. I credit my wife for giving me patience and her energy to allow me to change myself. I reconnected to several high school friends. I feel nostalgic when I look at the photos of their children. Some of them are high school age now. Just like yesterday, I was in high school.For many of my friends, life has given its twists and turns. But the general theme is that of experiencing all the highs and all the lows that life has to offer. The things that remain the same are the death of parents, marriage and birth of children. It’s hard for me to reconcile that some of them have families and children who are also having children. It throws me for a loop.

My Search for Religion

2011-03-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, I saw an advertisement for Bill Maher’s movie “Religulous.” Having had disagreements in my head with the Roman Catholic church, I thought that this movie would be a fun watch. When I finally saw the movie, I was disappointed. I suppose my expectations were too high. What I wanted to see was the comedy of how religion messed up people’s lives. I did see that very much.

But what I also saw was the utter black hole that was in Bill Maher’s life. I would have thought that wisdom would have found him by now, but alas, it had not. Instead of being able to reconcile the multiplicities of how humans perceive God, Bill Maher simply refuted it and said there is none. And, as I recall, one way to annihilate the existence of God was to use the inhumanity of man.

After that movie, I could never watch Bill Maher again. How can I? I can not listen to someone who has simply given up in their search for the world to make sense.

Wow, isn’t that a bold statement for me to make? Yes it is. But it is only because I have gone through a journey in which I have made the whole cycle. I began as a child baptized into the Roman Catholic church and indoctrinated into the church’s teachings. By the age of 13, the age of reason struck my head and I began to leave the and question the church’s teachings. By the age of 22, I entered into graduate school in the biological sciences where I found even more evidence to contradict church teachings.

Then, an unusual series of events began to happen to me to reconsider. First, I had to give a church dispensation to my wife in order for me to marry her. I, who had not practiced in Church had to give dispensation to someone who had gone through Catholic school in high school. This was utter non-sense and was outlandish to me.

Then, I found my teacher Tuhan Joseph Arriola. Tuhan is a teacher of martial arts and financial responsibility. He commented that “If someone is truly a master, they are a master of all things in their life. Those who are a master of only one aspect is not truly a master.” This statement resonated in my whole being for the last 3-4 years. Each time I met an individual, this question always presented itself.

Third, I saw postings by Neil Shenvi. If a chemist can reconcile God and science, why could I not?

Fourth, and this is really that thing that spurred me on to come back to the Church, I saw that many individuals in the world were basically making fun and using Christianity as a punching bag for their otherwise sad, pathetic, Bill Maher-like life. Don’t blame religion for why your life sucks. Do something about your life sucking. Bwahahaha!

I already know that someone will challenge me to prove to them the existence of God. Being nice, I will simply tell you what I had to go through in order to finally be capable of understanding the nature of spirituality. I trained in a multiplicity of disciplines.

1. Seven years of graduate school and 2 years of post-doctoral research to train my logic and my scientific thinking.
2. Ten years of financial teaching from Tuhan Joseph Arriola from the Kamatuuran School of Kali. This taught me that men and women can be summed with respect to the physical, the intellectual, and the spiritual.
3. Six years of writing investigative reports for scientific products. This put into use my training in logic and my training in root cause analysis and corrective action.
4. Twenty years of curiosity and reading books on philosophy, religion, and metaphysics, physics, chemistry, quantum theory, statistics, mathematics, logic and history.

Now, if you have this, and you still have not reconciled in your head the disparate elements of life and God, give it seven more years. It took me 24 years.

Now, here's a message for those who would denigrate any religion because they can't figure their shit out.

But, if you make fun of my religion, or of any other religion because you have not taken the time nor the energy to understand life, you my friend are asking for trouble. You stand on one leg out of a possible three. When life takes his turn to smack your ass, you will fall. And when you fall, I will be the flaming hand of God (in all of his various forms of incarnations) ready to strike to finish your ass for not working enough to figure out your sad, pathetic shitty life.

I am not a passive, nice, religious, Christian. I am not an extremist Christian. (I accept all people as travelling a circle. Some are at the beginning, some are in the middle, some are at the end, some are starting their journey to the next level. I care not for you actual religion, sexual orientation, or racial history.) If you make fun of me or my religion and your joke is pitiful and does not make me laugh, I will pray to that part of God (in his multiple incarnations) to make you miserable by taking away your enjoyment of sex, food, spirits and tobacco.

I have come into this world ready to accept people. But if I find that you are part of a war against my religion, understand me when I say that I will lay waste to your existence, crush you as my enemy, drive you before me, hear the lamentation of your women and the silence of your children. (Reference to the author of Conan the Barbarian. That’s right, we co-opt all the best there is in other people’s cultures. It’s a proven method to convert heathens and non-believers into rightful, sheepful subjects of the Crown of God).

I was not a person who could accept God based on faith. I asked the universe to give me the insight to understand God beyond the way of faith. I have received what I asked for when I was thirteen years old. I envy others who could accept God on faith alone.

So if you’re life is f*cked up beyond recognition, go do something about it. Don’t blame religion. Don’t blame others. Only you can change your life, dumbass!

Associate Justice Clarence "Mandingo" Thomas

2010-10-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

Alleluiah! Finally, I can point to Associate Justice Clarence "Mandingo" Thomas as a person who shares in the joys of the flesh! Free wheeling sex and a breast fetish!

I admit that Associate Justice Mandingo is very different than the civil rights standard bearer Thurgood Marshall. But this points to the beauty of American democracy. Even a sexual pervert with a breast fetish and predilection for the light skinned woman can rise to become a part of the Supreme Court. All a person has to do is become a RepubliCANT!

Not Guilty!

2010-10-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

A Playmate of the Year can't possibly have done anything wrong. Not guilty!!!

Political Correctness

2010-10-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

I think this is taking political correctness too far. Juan Williams was expressing his feelings.

To tell everyone the truth, I feel nervous everytime I see people in airports. I'm just paranoid about 9/11. But then I suck it up and trust the US government.

That's all.

Now this is interesting

2010-10-21T05:36:00.001-07:00

They have to make agriculture attractive by using women as pinup.

Dang! I thought just getting free food was enough.

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20101021-30663.html

Crazy, Buang, Gaga

2010-10-12T08:10:00.001-07:00

Crazy white people

I always thought that Caucasians had a hard time dealing with race. But now the Village Voice is reporting it.

Hmmm….

How to be Rich!

2010-10-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

TatangREtong: You want a better income distribution? Finish high school. Go to college. Finish college. Don't diddle-daddle. Get a job in an industry that pays you money. Don't go into jobs that will not pay you anything. Don't go into a job for the "love" of a job . Don't say "I don't need all that money" and then complain years later when you are not making money. That's how you get better wealth distribution. Oh, learn how to save and invest money! DUH!

One other thing. Don't blame rich people because you did not have a plan, made monumental mistakes and screwed your life. At the very least, be honest with yourself.

Americans Like Wealth Distribution Like that of Sweden

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RB: I have trouble with this article, because the article cites that people like the results of Swedish wealth distribution, not necessarily the system. Nevertheless, the current income inequality in the US definitely strains our democratic system, and I don't think the simple mantras of "get better work skills" or "save and invest" alone will change that. If that were true, the richest people in the world would be PhDs and the best investors. While some are, many aren't.

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TatangREtong: Nope, nope. Getting a PhD (piled high and deep with sh*t) will not teach you how to save or be rich. I've been there and done that. Being smart does not have anything to do with being rich. The premise is wrong, so the argument falls apart.

Being rich is a skill that can be learned. But just like math, it can be hard to learn because it requires dedication. Being rich also requires sacrifice.

Very easy calculation.

Learn to be Rich Way #1

Learn to be Rich Way #2

The key is no one is going to do it for you. YOU have to do it for yourself. The choices you make today affect your tomorrow.

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RB: The trouble with that logic is that a nation's economy is generally a closed system. If one person saves and gets rich, that money has to come from someone else. If the assumption that if people learn to save and invest, then money from the rich will go to those who save. But if the rich are also saving and investing well, then they won't lose money. Which means the money has to come from the middle class and poor people, but that only exacerbates the inequality. While the government shouldn't impede the market, it should play a role in regulation and assisting in proper wealth distribution.

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TatangREtong: There are two ways to be rich. Save money in a bank. Invest in bonds or stock in a company. In the current system, the redistribution of wealth is occurring in two ways. First, banks lend money out to small businesses. Second, the money invested in companies go out in the form of dividends or reinvestment into the company. This circulates the money to the whole economy.

The error in analysis is that the rich don't lose money. The money is not lost as it is recirculated. Money that is stagnant does not help anyone. That is why everyone keeps citing Reagan's revolution of cutting taxes from Carter's years. In addition, interest rates went from a crazy 17% to the lows of 1990's and 2000's of 5-7%.

And I would have doubts about a close economy. Just looking at how imports and exports can affect the US economy, I would have to disagree on this statement.

And in the final analysis, the government will penalize the rich (people who can save and invest) because the poor and middle class can't save. With that logic, the rich will begin investing in other companies from other countries. Then, you are left with the poor and middle class. You see this already with athletes who live in other countries for tax purposes. Imagine doing this in world wide scale.

The key here is to get the rich to invest in America. Not to drive them away.

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JVC (friend from high school): abolutely right!

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RB: If our goal is to eliminate wealth inequalities, then a combination of two things have to happen:

1) The poor must increase their wealth, and
2) The rich must decrease their wealth.

If we are making the assumption that the rich are rich because they subscribe to saving and investing, and therefore will not lose wealth, then option #2 comes off the table. So the poor must increase their wealth without the rich losing theirs.

How would saving, creating small businesses, and investing help the poor gain wealth if the rich don't lose it? If it's not the American rich, then the money must come from foreign investment, as you stated.

But now we get into foreign trade, where the discussion gets more complicated. Essentially, when foreign investment comes in, the host country's currency increases in value due to higher demand. However,this also means exports become more expensive. This depresses the demand for exports (which the poor would rely upon to gain wealth). This would then cut down the amount of foreign investment, the currency would drop in value, and export demand would increase, repeating the cycle. [For a better understanding of this principle and how it applied to Mexico in the 80's and early 90's read http://www.pkarchive.org/trade/company.html]

Assuming that the poor increase their wealth during periods when foreign investment is strong, would this strategy alone close the wealth gap to a respectable level in, say, 30 years? And could foreign investment make a strong enough impact on a wealth gap as large as the Americans have? It could make a difference, but without help from government intervention to support improved schools, more affordable health care, better financial regulations, and (as much as you hate hearing it) taxes to pay for it all, I doubt foreign investment alone could solve the wealth gap problem.

I'm not saying that saving and smart investing are poor strategies for individual wealth. On the contrary, I strongly encourage all my friends and family to make smart decisions with their money, to spend less than they make, and to use the money they save to invest wisely. But when we try to espouse individual mantras as solutions for systemic problems, the extra constraints and variables within the system limit that mantra's effectiveness, no matter how well it may have worked for the individual.

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KT: There are basically two reasons for why Sweden is wealthy. First, during the latter half of the 19th century beginning around 1860s-1870s, Sweden saw industrialization and deregulations coming as a relief in the economy. Now and up until the turn of century many Swedish inventors and entrepreneurs successfully started firms and companies that exist still today. Sweden was in a latter "wave" of the industrialization, meaning they could look at industrialized countries and learn from their mistakes, which made the progress much faster. Jumping ahead in time, after WWII most of Europe lay in ruin, and so was the majority of the European economies. Sweden, which was officially neutral during the first and second world war, could now with a perfectly viable industry produce many goods that were needed throughout Europe as many countries needed repair. This production from Swedish companies to help the European economies stand on their legs lasted until the 1960s-1970s.
So it was industrialization and deregulation in the latter half of 19th century and the distribution of goods and commodities to the European countries after WWII.

It's a similar story for the US but with a twist. Before the US entered WW2 it massively focused on production of goods, especially goods needed for the war, and sold them to the world until Japan dragged us into the war. The US was in a good economic position to go to war at that time, they also had built the infrastructure needed for a massive war effort, and they did not really fight the war on local US soil and thus did not suffer the destruction of Europe and Asia. By wars end the US had all of its factories and infrastructure in place. The US made the best quality goods and in the most abundance. Like Sweden it was a production and export machine.

While there are many factors that have changed the US economy since then first and for most is that years without viable competition allowed many Americans to become accustomed to a way of life which provided by fantastic economic prosperity. As soon as other nations rebuilt and returned to production there was an opportunity for them to gain economic strength. Globalization became a two way street, and American consumers were attracted to what they belied to be quality and value which was not necessary made in the USA.

American manufactures either did not respond to this, or they found ways to cut labor costs. More jobs that pay the equivalent income to have the American dream of the 50's today require more education, and the demand of education drove up the cost of getting it. Before you even consider the notions of "good debt", credit cards and how minimum wage did not keep up with inflation, just consider what US industries export the most over seas and what is the nature of what it is they export and where is it actually produced. That is why we have a huge income gap, everything just made it much worse

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TatangREtong: "RB: If we are making the assumption that the rich are rich because they subscribe to saving and investing, and therefore will not lose wealth, then option #2 comes off the table. So the poor must increase their wealth without the rich losing theirs. "

There is a fatal flaw in the 2 statements above. We know from public records that the rich can become poor really quickly. 1929 market crash. Madoff ponzi scheme. A scion's failure to take care of business. Because of the fatal flaw, the subsequent statements are false.

"RB: How would saving, creating small businesses, and investing help the poor gain wealth if the rich don't lose it?"

The answer has always been innovation and technology.

Wozniak & Jobs: Apple Computer, currently #2 company in world

Gates & Allen: Microsoft

Larry Ellison: Oracle, 28th riches person in the world

Li Ka Shing: richest East Asian man in the world, #14 overall (plastics, banking, construction, etc)

Henry Ford: Ford Motor Company, the Big One which did not file bankruptcy
Gates & Allen: Microfsoft

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TatangREtong: ‎"RB: But when we try to espouse individual mantras as solutions for systemic problems, the extra constraints and variables within the system limit that mantra's effectiveness, no matter how well it may have worked for the individual."

Without the ability to control one's mind with respect to desire and fear, one will never succeed in life. This is a not-so-well-kept secret from all the ages. This applies universally to all the poor people out there.

Any system that has tried to resolve poverty in wide scale has failed. The key is that people have not tried to understand it through root cause analysis. You can solve poverty if you remove free will and free choice from people. Reference USSR. There was no poverty there. But was living there worth it? No. It fell apart.

In the end, I don't really care about world-wide poverty. I will leave that to Bill Gates and the billionaires. I know the solution. I would rather not implement it like the USSR.

What I do care about are the individuals out there who are seeking a path to prosperity and being rich. 25 years ago, when I was searching, I had a hard time finding the way. I aim to share with everyone one way. Tuhan's way.

How do you get prosperous?

2010-10-03T09:44:00.001-07:00

To become rich, you must overcome yourself and your fears. Backed by scientific study and a 2002 Nobel prize!

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Are you rich when you make $350K???

2010-10-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

The Financial Comments of a Lawyer

I had to laugh at this following article’s advice to a lawyer and a physician with 3 kids. Most of it is poverty mentality.

Advice #1: Adjust your expectations.

This is not such a bad idea. However, if you go to the original post, all the lawyer wants to do is put away money for retirement, put his kids in private school, pay off their student loans, and have a mortgage on a house. It’s really the American dream.

Considering that the lawyer and physician combined for nearly 10 and 14 years of education at the professional level, it seems that they should be afforded the American dream.

Advice #2: Refinance your mortgage

This one, I don’t know how reasonable as an advice it is. This is because the jobs of the lawyer and physician are in Chicago. This is a very expensive place.

Advice # 3: Think about relocating

Are you kidding me? Lawyer in Chicago and physician at Univ of Chicago, and one of the advice from the Wall Street Journal is to relocate. Have you lost your mind? Do you know what it means to be a faculty at a medical school in U of C? This one really got REtong going because this advice is just silliness. It’s not really meant for the lawyer and the doc. It’s meant for everyone else. Fluffer.

Advice #4: Rethink the schools.
Believe it or not, REtong is a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District, a public school system not reknowned for its prowess in educating children. What I’ll have to say about that experience is that 90% of the time, it is up to the kid to figure out what he wants, go get what he wants, and work hard for it.

Being an immigrant from the Philippines, I knew that I was in a different place in the US. The facilities were better than the private school in the Philippines. Therefore, I either make an effort to be good at school, or my shitty life can be blamed on myself not pushing myself harder.

And this is where I have to laugh about parent’s expectations today in 2010 about schools. We expect teachers to be inspiring, eye-opening, and figuring out how to mentor our children. AMERICA, wake up. Your 80% of children are apathetic, slow, don’t give a damn and lazy. Don’t blame teachers for student’s sucking. Blame the children.

Now, as for sending kids to public school, the issue here for the doc and lawyer is safety. They just don’t want to deal with drugs, gangs and other forms of danger present in public school. And sometimes, REtong does not want to either.

Advice #5: Go after all the little costs
This is poverty mentality if I ever heard of anything. The assumption here is that this family is leaking money all over the place. Most people have to do this if they have no financial control. But, since the guy can make retirement accounts, I would say he’s pretty good in this area.

Advice #6: “Never, ever, ever again blog about how hard it is to live on $300,000 or $350,000 a year at a time when one middle-aged man in four can't find a full-time job, and one in five can't find any job at all.”

This was the saddest part of it. The lawyer has earned the right to blog about how hard it is to live on $300K or $350K because he went to school, sacrificed and is paying his student loans.

He’s only looking for sympathy. As for the other people not finding jobs, welcome to capitalism where your incorrect choice in career can have a deleterious effect on your life.

The fact that most of the people who commented on the article can not give him sympathy, shows you how much they are in poverty mentality. They can’t even give anyone something that is FREE! Sympathy is an emotion.

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Having said that, these are the comments in facebook. I post it because it outlines what I really believe about prosperity and being rich.

TatangREtong: You know what really pisses me off about this issue? The lawyer spent 7-9 years of school/training and the physician spent 14 years of school / training. Their prize for that sacrifice and hard work? $100K in taxes!!! Just to support the people on welfare and the BIG guv'ment by Oh-BIGGUV-ama. You might as well become a business major, be a CEO and make $30 million dollars!!!! Oh wait, that already happened to CITI right? LOl!

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JM (a cousin of the wife): So apparently I'm "insecure and have no sense." It's my trophy dammit! (He’s referring to the part where the article dumbly suggests to pay off the loan and not put away money for retirement besides the 401K.)

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TatangREtong: Oh, and the other SH*T that goes unsaid is this:

By the way, WE, the poor, unemployed, and can't save $$$ for sh*T will now tell YOU (a lawyer and a physician) how to F*cking live your life and HOW to spend YOUR hard-earned $$$.

Talk about ...CLASS warfare. (Just a reminder: the poor and dispossesed actually don't have internet. So don't YOU dare post anything if you are a middle class pseudo-proletariat). I will send the Tea Party and Sarah Palin!!! Hehehe (J/K), I had to get that in there for dRaMa!

But to be fair to the poor, it's actually the Demo-Whiners who are doing this in behalf of the poor and dispossessed.

I love America!

KT (a friend of the ours): WTF? " Buy used. Pay cash. Run it till it dies." Under $10K? He left out car won't start so you can't get to work, and car dies and leave you stranded. And oh by the way since the car is crap you can get sh*t to trade it in so when it do...es does you keep shelling out money to keep the sh*t box running costing you more the long run then that new car you wanted.

Man I really need to disagree what he say on education. Parents should get their kids the best education they can afford. Not the most expensive, but best. A good public school may be fine. But it may not, or it may not stay that way. Same in collage. You need to focus on the quality of the education, and the learning habits an institution can foster, as well as the networks of people you will meet.

You also need to bare in mind the importance of earning money and investing in your own prosperity. A good educational institution can make the difference in how good a job one can get fresh out of school. In a bad economy it can make a difference in how employable you are. It can also make a difference in how much smarter you work verses how hard you do.

Oh and the school loan thing? If you actually do do the math, you can easily earn a higher rate on your money in the stock market then you are charged interest on your school loan. What's more should you find yourself on hard times suddenly or with a unique opportunity you will have assets to leverage rather then a school loan you have already gotten all your use out of.

I wish I had met Tuhan fresh of school. I'd be much richer. :)

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RB (Brother-in-law): Michael O’Hare did some calculations
and showed that paying $100k in taxes on an income "not much higher" than $250k is unlikely. If they did pay $100k, their income would be closer to $340k.

The S&P 500 has averaged about 10% return annually over its lifetime. If the APR on loans is less than 10%, then investing would be a good idea, but Prof. Henderson never specifies the rate.

Lastly, if Prof. Henderson's household income was "not much higher" than $250k, then the impact of letting the Bush tax cuts expire on those making $250k and above would be minimal. The US tax system uses are marginal tax rate, which means the top rate, which would be 39.6% if the tax cut expires, would only apply to the income beyond $250k. All other tax calculations applied to the first $250k would remain the same.

In the end, WSJ is correct: don't blog about how hard life is when you make more than $250k.

2nd Comment: Oh, and Cal economic professor Brad Delong ultimately explains it like it is:

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KT: You may be rich, poor or somewhere in between. If you are rich but don't feel rich, then the problem is you and you need to fix it. Rather or not you are poor, if you don't feel poor, congratulation you have found true prosperity.

It doe...s not matter who is president, if you feel/think rich, you will always be able to adjust. If you always feel/think poor though, you never will.

Good to remember, poor is not having any money, broke is not having any money right now. The richest man can be broke every now and then but confusing that with poverty is a self fulfilling proficiency.

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TatangREtong
The calculations are off bec the professor (Attorney Henderson, the guy who put the original post about living with $350K salary) put taxes, social security and medicare all together. For most intelligent folks, 50% of money goes to gov't due to soc security and medicare and taxes. Interesting that the responders did not know this.

But really, the biggest critique these people have is that theChicago professor has too much money and so it should be redistributed.

If money is a resource, then time can be a resource too. How about the govt now starts telling you that you have to spend 5 hours after work volunteering at the hospital or clearing the roads. Gov't suddenly got too big, eh?

The arguments quoted above are specious because they are logical fallacies (Referring here to the financial analysis being GUESSED at for Attorney Henderson). They are red herrings in which they point to some minute critique of what someone has written. This is silliness of liberal intellectuals. They don't know how to argue. Sad, quite sad.

The truth of the matter is this. All the rich people will find ways to get around the taxes. We *always* do. The middle class and the poor will be stuck with the taxes.

The next question is "What side does one want to be on?"

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KT: " They don't know how to argue." Ya that's pretty true. A lot of conservative don't argue well either, but they make up for it by also fighting better and working as a team ;)

The poor are poor, they pay the least taxes of all. I have me...t people who are "poor" who live very very rich. They find different ways to make and hide there money. They are in the minority of people who while not believing life is fair also don't believe it can't be unfair but in their favor.

It is all about the side one wants to be on.

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Tatang REtong: Yup. Life is NOT fair. It is very brutal, unforgiving and without remorse or logic.

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RB: I read most of the responses, and while some are directed at Prof. Henderson's large income alone, there's more to it. Most of the anger comes from the Professor's own sense of entitlement and self-victimization, pleading for sympathy when... he himself has not gone through the necessary belt-tightening and sacrifice to justify receiving any. If the professor had to support a large extended family, or was burdened with huge medical bills from a disease, very well. But when you whine that you have to cut your $60k in retirement investing when most households don't even make $60k, you certainly won't get sympathy who get by with far less.

Say what you will about whether the government deserves our money, but don't delude yourself into thinking you're suffering like most Americans when you have a house, two cars, a six-figure income, three kids getting private-school educations, cable TV, a gardener, and a babysitter. Most Americans would dream about suffering like that.

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TatangREtong: Lawyer and doctor. Both paid for it with their sacrifice of schooling. Most people are not educated or skilled enough. Capitalism at work. That's life doing a S&M job on everyone.

BTW, it's a sad day in life when !!!sympathy!!!, which is free because it is an emotion, is to be withheld from a lawyer and a physician who are professional successes. Both are asking for sympathy because they are taking steps to take care... of themselves through retirement accounts. I'll give them sympathy, my fellow rich people, lol. (Gosh, the first statement I wrote is so ridiculous! If that is truly the reason for their criticism, they suck.)

Most Americans can only dream of suffering but when the pain really hits them, they cower and buckle. That's why they could not finish high school or college or do what herr professor did. They simply lash out at his ridiculously rich life.

It's too bad all the critics can't see their faults for their current state of being unemployable and out of work and being BITTER. Funny at worst. Sad at best. Life doing a S&M marathon.

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KT: I may empathize with the real pain someone is feeling but I don't have sympathy for anyone who does not seek to change a situation they are unhappy in and prefers to look for someone else to fix it for them and or blame for it.

I have been i...n positions were I was very unhappy, and people in what they believed to be a worse circumstance resented me for being "ungrateful" when really I was just unhappy. See they could not see that what I have was meaningless if I could not be happy and what I needed to do was make a change. Because they were comparing their own situation to mine and thinking they would much rather be in my shoes they could not be very supportive or helpful. In fact they thought I should suck it up, be glad I was not them and accept an existence of misery.

They could not appreciate that I had worked for something fulfilling and that currently I was now stifled; goal not yet reached, and feeling that without a new direction it never would be. Later I realized, how could they. They did not put in the same time, money, and energy to get where I was. They did not make the same sacrifices to delay immediate gratification so that may be more accomplished later. They did not take the risk of giving up something good and safe so they may challenge themselves to achieve more.

See I had worked so that I would not be in their situation, but they had not worked so that they could be in mine. If they were in my position it would have been a gift, not something they had earned. They could not relate to my point of view because they were not on the same level. It's the difference between given a sports car for your 16th birthday and working that paper route since you were 12 to buy your first used car.

The kid that spent all his money on cigarettes and video games just sees the car you have and thinks you should not have any problems giving them a ride. And by the way since it's your car, why they should they pitch in for gas, not like you were not going to the same place anyway.

Whether you're high or low you have to tip on the tightrope ;)

~~~~~~~
TatangREtong: Well said KT. Yup reading those comments about the lawyer and doctor were very painful because I could see the commenter's denying taking any responsibility for their sucky life. It doesn't take a genius to see that they are transferring ...the responsibility for their happiness from themselves to the government.

Jesus, at least all these illegal immigrants get it. They are crossing water, desert and all kinds of danger to get to America because they hear there are jobs here for hard-working people. What do Americans do? They wait for the government to tax the rich so that they can get unemployment, instead of taking up the low-paying jobs.

Question: Butch and Fem

2010-09-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

Why is "butch" and "fem" politically incorrect terms when referring to lesbians?

An acquaintance mentioned and took me to task for saying these two terms. Exactly why is it politically incorrect? I've beeen trying to analyze the last 3-4 weeks and I've come up with zero.

TatangREtong

2010-09-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

Patrick Rosal on Luis Francia's book "History of the Philippines."

"I've just started it. It's the sort of book I wish I had when I was growing up. As a writer, I admire the project: a survey of the history of the Philippines for a popular American readership.

I've spent my whole adult life tryi...ng to learn through family stories and friends' family's stories about the history of the country where my parents emigrated from.

I remember, eleven years old, I was in the Metuchen library and looked up "Philippines" in the card catalog (yes, real cards!). Not one book.

Certainly, I know more about the Philippines now because of the internet, but I wonder if the technology hasn't done as much to read our history in fragments. Leaping from one discrete piece of information to another.

Francia's history, as an alternative, is a book, which is to say, it acknowledges how much we still don't understand about our history, but suggests a trajectory through the fragments.

And I think it does, so far, a good job of drawing together a lot of formerly abstruse literature to cohere the archipelago into a story (while, at the same time, affirming the literal and figurative waters that separate its peoples).

Bottom line is I'm happy to read an account that is well-researched and articulated without condescension to its subject. It is filled with facts, but the facts are imbued with the feeling (however unsayable that feeling is) of what it means to be Filipino. I'm looking forward to the rest of it."

Quoted from Mr. Rosal's facebook wall on 9/17/10

Placido Palitayan

2010-09-14T22:26:00.001-07:00

http://www.bigmedicalsite.com/about-health/psychic-surgery-in-the-philippines-part-3-placido-palitayan.html

Here's an example of a healer. He's an extraordinary one because he does not seem to have gone through any sort of training.

Peace in the World

2010-09-14T20:29:00.001-07:00

One thing that has been following me around is this thing about world peace. I seem to be getting messages from just about everyone that they want to pursue world peace. From the newspapers, to blogs to facebook, I can’t escape it. Personally, I don’t believe that world peace is ideal because it would not be a balanced system. It’s like the Jedis ruling the universe. That’s why Anakin had to bring balance to the universe. There has to be light and dark. (I know, I know, getting a little too deep in the philosophy there.)

This rumination into the philosophy of world peace and balancing systems reminds me of this story. A group of practitioners of a particular religion had this grand idea that they would purify the ills of the world through their religious devotion. They essentially inhaled into their bodies the accumulated poison from the world, and removed said poison. Wonderful news! Great job! Wonderful act of compassion and sacrifice! The world thanks you!

Lo and behold, after several years of doing this, members of said group begin suffering from cancer, cancer, and accidental deaths. Hmm, what could be going on in here?

I’m a scientist. I’m gonna throw a hypothesis out there. You see if it sticks to the wall. First thought that comes to mind is this. If the body became the filter, how was the poison removed from the body? If the poison was not removed from the body, could that explain all the paradoxical bad luck occurring with the group?

I’m thinking, yes, this would explain the unfortunate events. I’ll cite the Law of Conservation of Mass. Per Wikipedia, the mass of a closed system will remain constant over time. One really needs a depository for the poison from the world.

But now, let’s get back to world peace. What does that literally mean? Does it mean that human beings stop killing each other? If so, let’s make it simple then. What actual scenario would precipitate man from not killing each other? I can come up with one scenario: Man no longer exists on earth. That’s one scenario where man is dead, and every man, woman and child on earth is dead. That will assure world peace.

But, if it is truly peace we want, then we would have to include all the animals in there. Animals can’t be killing other things. That means that animals should not kill plants. So this brings us to no more animals on earth. That would get us to peace on earth at least for another 1 billion years or so until those pesky eukaryotes once more evolve and create those damned animals and eventually another hominid.

My suggestion is if you are asking for something from the divine spark, please ask for something that will not cause the end of the world. It’s just me. I want to see my 80th birthday.

Babaylan

2010-09-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

Babaylan

Leny Strobel posted a question on the alleged abuse of “babaylan.”

http://kathang-pinay2.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-alleged-abuse-of-b-word.html

I must admit that the use of the term also surprised me when I began seeing it all over the internet. The term was mostly used by Filipino-Americans.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, I felt that originality of custom belongs to those who own the custom / tradition. Thus, I could not understand the necessity of performing Pilipino Cultural Night when all of the performers were Americans and had no cultural connection to the Philippines or to the specific region / tribe.

As I have matured, I have also gathered enough grains to figure out that what the Filipino-Americans were doing was to create a cultural bridge between America and their parent’s homeland. They were creating a culture within the vacuum that they held in their existence. In one sense, they were taking steps to decolonize themselves. Who am I to stop them?

Now apply this paradigm to the use of babaylan and I can see somewhat the same context.

The major difference that I would propose, however, is that the energy of being a babaylan is entirely different than that of a PCN. And here, I must admit my ignorance of the whole babaylan tradition with respect to its actual detail. Suffice it to say that in my experience in the Philippines, there are levels. There are the healers (hilot). There are the albularyo (medicine man). And there are those who deal with the spirit world (I don’t know their name, for convenience call them spirit talkers). Where the babaylan fits into this simplistic notion of a hierarchy, I don’t know.

What I do know is that it requires a lot more training to go from one stage to another (hilot to albularyo to the other kind). If I were to guess, a hilot would need to know physiology / anatomy / massage. The albularyo would have to know herbalism, along with physiology / anatomy. And the spirit talkers, they go to certain locations to commune with spirits and learn from them. Spirit talkers have the ability to open doors and more importantly to close them. If I were to guess, spirit talkers are capable of being in multiple locations in different dimensions. This by definition would have to be the realm of metaphysics. (Again, I am trying to translate what I know about this topic into scientific jargon that most of us in the US would be able to understand.)

Getting back to the term “babaylan,” the discomfort for me stems from wondering whether or not the people who are using the term are getting trained or are not trained in the use of the mystical / psychological / unexplained powers. In the Philippines, the trainees are chosen by the experts. In the US and outside of the Philippines, how are the trainees coming forth and being selected?

As I see it, there is a fundamental need to be trained as in all disciplines. Not all people can handle the energies that will come with being a babaylan. As I recall the stories of my childhood, they call someone who lost their way in the training as “crazy.” Literally, the mind could not handle the psychological and metaphysical strain such that the person became unhinged. (Aside: Now, as a scientist, I should by today totally discredit what has been said from my childhood. The problem is that my personal experience is so strong that I know this type of power is real, though I can not explain it in precise physics, chemistry or relativity theory.)

From what I know of spirits, they like to hang out and chill out in the neighborhood. However, spirits don’t like to be disturbed, to be used, to be ogled, to be prodded, or to be experienced as some sort of carnival or theatre experience. Thus, if you have lost your way in life, don’t go poking spirits, they don’t like unbalanced people on the edge of survival. They tend to push them across the tipping point.

If you are from that region or were introduced as a relative of the property owner, you might have a chance of not offending the spirit. If you have offended a spirit, usually, what happens is some unexplained disease, malady or death happens. If the spirit is ticked off, usually this happens to one person. If this happens to 3 or more, something else happened that truly offended a spirit.

And let me just clarify that I am both Catholic and a scientist who believes in evolution. However, I also happen to believe in spirits and spirit talking and all the above discussion. Yes, hard to believe that all that can marinate in my head. But after all, I am a fusion of Ilocos and Nueva Ecija. That should explain that.

So where are we with respect to babaylan? I believe that Filipino-Americans can use the term all they want. They must take responsibility for the power they wield. For example, I read into an account in the babaylan conference something about making offerings to “Buwaya.” I must admit for a moment, this scared the living crap out of me. But then again, there has not been any unexplained deaths, maladies or sickness among the participants so I can only assume that this procedure was done properly with the proper offerings, gifts and subservience to spirits that are so much a part of Philippine culture.

What I am scared of is that one time, I saw a product in which the story of a babaylan was told and recorded in a CD. It was an oral history. But the literal translation of what she said raised the hair on my back. It was the story of pain and death and oppression. Now, if it were just an immigrant story, that’s fine. For me, it was so scary because she was telling her story in the backdrop of her spiritual power. Sorry folks, at this point this becomes a metaphysical weapon / bomb. May your ancestors protect you when that bomb goes off. I skidadled away pronto from that website.

In going back to our roots, we seek the power we have lost. We must understand that to wield that power, to even come close to that power, we take the risk of physical harm, insanity and death. We materialize into the western world the power of the spirits, then we must be willing to pay the price.

Use of the word babaylan without referencing the spiritual power behind it is fine. Use of the word babaylan with the spiritual power and a lack of understanding results in a very focused center of sickness, maladies and death.

(These are my opinions. I have not received training in any hilot/albularyo/spirit talk traditions. I do have training in BBQing, biology, WoW and money.)

The 2010 Manila Hostage Crisis was a no-win situation.

2010-08-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Manila Hostage Crisis was a no-win situation.

The terrorist was a former senior inspector (equivalent rank of captain) from the Manila Police District. This is not someone ignorant of police procedures, strategy and tactics. The planning of this event was flawless because of his experience and training.

The following were the things I noticed:

1. Isolation of the bus from the garage. Advantage of viewpoints in all directions for the terrorist

2. Closed windows to block views.

3. Darkness is a vulnerable time against him.

4. Mobility is present.

The mistakes were as follows:

1. Full light upon the situation. Generally, to take a bus, it would be isolated in darkness with the military in night vision goggles. To differentiate between terrorist and hostage would be almost impossible.

2. Flashbang grenades would be used before entry. In this case, the windows would have to be penetrated and flashbang thrown into at least 4 sections.

3. Hostage mediation would have been continuous.

My intent is not to criticize the Philippine gov't. Simply put, the Philippines can ill affor an FBI like Hostage Rescue Team, when the military wants to have a coup d'etat every decade or so for the express purpose of some military leader becoming a senator.

My Pin@y brothers and sister have nothing to be ashamed for this unfortunate incident. It was the act of terrorism by a mad man just like any other act of terrorism by mad men.

In my opinion,

Rhett V. Pascual

New Beginnings

2010-06-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Recently, several events have occurred which have created new opportunities for the SO and I. Looking back, I don’t have to analyze so much what happened since I understand that some things are written in the fabric of the universe. There is no other way for it to happen than how it happened. It happened exactly for the right reason. I paraphrase Morpheus from the movie Matrix.

When leaving the sphere or influence of someone you have trusted and has taught so much for you can be hard and difficult. But if one has truly learned the lessons, then one should be ready for the adversities which life is going to be throwing.

The one positive with the SO and I is that we define our friendships beyond the current time. Our friendships with people do not necessarily need the constant coming together or meet-ups. In some ways, we have chosen people who are so deep that even when we pick up a friendship 5 years later, it is as if 5 years was just a day or a night.

Of course, the great fact about life is that tomorrow always brings you new things. It is going to be exciting to see just what life has in store for these two masters. I know that at the very least, the journey will be interesting. At the most, the journey should be fun.

Thank you Tuhan for the opportunity to be your student. I have learned much.

As for those who follow the path that Tuhan has set, simply step into the path already walked. Life will be easy. But choose your partner well, grasshoppers. For your choice will decide the next 40 years of your life, whether it be that of prosperity or famine.

PAA 40th Anniversary

2009-03-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

The wife and I went to the 40th anniversary of the UC Berkeley campus organization Pilipino-American Alliance at the International House last evening, March 7. The event for me was just like my college experience in all of its shortcomings and eventual payoffs. It was a mixed bag of triumphs and to a certain extent all of the items that I found so difficult to accept and understand while I was an undergraduate at Cal.

Triumph and Sundering
Perhaps the greatest triumph of PAA is the fact that over the years, it allowed Filipino students to meet each other and form other groups and associations. Last I heard, there were nine such groups that were formed through Filipinos meeting other Filipinos: PCN, {m}aganda, PASS, PAHC, PASAE and others. The opportunity to lead a student group allows a student to develop leadership skills, communication skills and social networking skills which are so important in one’s life as an adult. It is one of the greatest gifts that an organization like PAA can give to students.

Of course, having said that, I am chagrined to remember that in my years as a satellite rotating the body of PAA in 1986-1990, one of the split that occurred was between Filipinos born in the Philippines and Filipinos born in the United States. The Filipinos from the Philippines created a group of their own whose name escapes me at the moment. An assembly was called to discuss the necessity of such an act. The concern, as I understood it from the PAA officers was that the university would not know which Filipino group to deal with. PAA wanted one umbrella organization. The newly migrated Filipinos wanted their own.

On the other hand, retrospectively, I am sure that those Filipino immigrants were not comfortable with PAA as much as I was uncomfortable about PAA. From a Filipino immigrant’s perspective and my personal perspective, PAA did not make sense. First of all, I knew what defined me as a Filipino. I was born in the Philippines. Secondly, it seemed like PAA was purely a social organization. There did not seem to be any meat or substance at all. Third, I was unaware of why the organization focused so much on the Agbayani village. The issue of the Filipino immigrant workers from the 1920’s was unknown to me and frankly, I really did not care. One can say that such an attitude belied the historical context of colonization within a person. And one would be right. I am a colonized Filipino.

The wife Michelle Bautista also pointed out that the splits between PAA and other subsequent organizations were more of a defining point for the existence of PAA than anything else. During the early 1990’s, the literary magazine {m}aganda became its own shining beacon to disaffected Filipinos at Cal who could not find a space for themselves within PAA. The maneuverings of the PAA officers were to state that {m}aganda did not file its own documentation and paperwork to become a campus organization. Therefore, {m}aganda was a sub-group of PAA.

It is fascinating to examine such events in PAA history to understand the politics of power. Those who have power such as PAA want to hold and to integrate power. Those who do not have power want to obtain and wield power. For the most part, many Filipinos who wanted their own organizations were able to create them.

Thinking about it now, the debates that were so important about PAA are the minutiae when compared to daily life. As a forty year old, who cares about issues such as organizational splits, funding from the ASUC, and the food that be served for PCN? But as a young adult, with hormones raging through everyone’s body, it is a miracle that anything was done at all. Of course, there was drama all over the place. PAA members were always pissed off about this group or that group leaving. Young women were crying all the time because someone was so mean. Young men were always plotting how to get X to date them. Twenty years later, it is easy to see it as the call of evolution to reproduce placed within the context of organization and group theory. But at the time, it was life, and it was a young adult’s life.

As the wife pointed out, one reason that the 40th anniversary was not as well attended was because many former members of PAA do not have such a high opinion of the group. Some Filipinos never felt comfortable within the spaces created within PAA and were never able to fit in. Some would much rather attend their own organizations reunion to celebrate their own triumphs and travails.

Pilipino Cultural Night
If there was drama to be had, drama was to be always found in PCN. One of the speakers last night mentioned that she was giving her all to PAA the organization. She was giving her time, her energy, her physical health and her grades to the organization. Such overwhelming dedication and sacrifice is one characteristic of the students who become “hard-core” PAA. Such display is understandable in the context that it is proably the first time that an adult has finally found something worthy of their sacrifice.

However, taken to an extreme, sacrifice and dedication can lead to a drop in grades. Maintaining the balance between extra-curricular activities and maintaining the ever-important grade point average (GPA) is key. Some students were unable to balance themselves. Some had to resign their position in PAA Core because their sacrifice and dedication were so extreme.

Nowhere is the sacrifice greater than in PCN. A whole semester is spent in preparation for one night of glory. As a student, I never understood how my fellow cohorts could sacrifice so much. Many of them were in the pre-medical track when they entered into Berkeley. The amount of time they spent practicing for PCN was a detriment to their educational goals. By the time a student had participated in two PCNs, they usually had to leave the pre-medical track.

Previously, I had mentioned that I was a colonized mind. It is interesting that my process of decolonization began with my questions about PCN. My good friend Paulette Villanueva became the 1989 PCN chair. I had met Paulette in my biology class and I had seen her sing at Pauley Pavilion in the 1988 PCN. I remember speaking to her at McDonald’s still amazed at the fact that she wanted to become PCN chair. It was a staggering undertaking. Not only was Paulette going to take on PCN, she revealed to me that she wanted to hold it at Zellerbach Hall.

I was astounded. For a decade or so, PCN had always been in Pauley Ballroom at the Martin Luther King building. Paulette wanted to hold PCN on the same floor where world-class performances were sung, danced and acted. My jaw dropped to the floor. How can a student-run organization like PAA compete with the likes of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Marcel Marceau, and Alvian Ailey dance company?

Such audacity, such nerve, such wonderful vision. Even now, twenty years later, tears well up in my eye when I truly understand what it took to move PCN from Pauley Ballroom to Zellerbach Hall. I am sitting here kicking myself for not participating. There are few regrets in my life. This is one of them.

I was in the audience when the very first PCN was performed at Zellerbach. I do not remember the script. I do not remember the dances. What I do remember was saying to myself “Paulette, you did it. We are on stage. Filipinos are on stage where the elite of American society perform. We are just as good as them.”

Here, I have to explain something. I don’t know if my cohorts understood the implication of performing at Zellerbach or not. Paulette revealed to me that she was doing it for the logistics of the performance. They needed space when setting up the ever grander theatrical productions. For me personally, it was one of the first times when I saw brown-skinned people on stage. Before that moment, the only people I saw on television, advertising, magazines were white people. To sit in Zellerbach Hall and watch PCN was one defining moment of my life because it allowed me to see what was possible through the vision of one person. If Filipinos could be on the same stage as the Alvin Ailey Dance company, then it is possible for Filipinos to be in other stages too.

In one extent, PAA’s greatest triumphs are the individual moments in a student’s life when they decide to take on something greater, much greater than they know they can handle. Each PCN chair who seeks the office knows this. There were the PCNs of the past… How can I make the current year’s PCN as good if not better than the last?

I still talk to my friend Paulette. Instead of asking for a bahay kubo for the night of the performance, she now tries to brainwash her elementary students to go to Berkeley. I know that each and every single day of her teaching career, she is using what she learned in running the PCN show.

Speeches
It is remarkable that PAA was formed in 1969 as an outshoot of the Third World Liberation Front from SF State. The keynote speakers last night were “some of the founders of PAA”. I say “some” because in the end, an organization such as PAA is made up not of its leadership but of its constituents. I say “some of the founders” because in order to lead, one must know how to follow.

One of my key pet peeves about PAA and about its organizations is the lack of formality and the lack of understanding of what a great opportunity public speaking is. Don’t get me wrong. Public speaking is one of the greatest fears of everyone, next to death and dying. But, every time a Filipino speaks on stage or as a keynote, or anywhere, the speaker has to be aware that they are representing every single Filipino out there. I do not tolerate sloppy public speaking. I don’t tolerate confessional public speaking. I despise unprepared speaking.

In the old days, I would recount and rebut all the mistakes and issues that I found about the speeches. The wife has trained me to be nice, and I have understood that some things need to be glossed over in order for the greater whole to remain a whole. So I won’t say much about the speeches last night.

The one thing that annoyed me to no end last night was this finger-snapping that certain alumni and students were doing. Initially, I thought it was insects buzzing about the room. Then, I realized that it was their way of showing approval. This topic occupied the next few hours in my mind as each time the fingersnapping happened, I wanted to take a hammer and smash a few digits. But I did NOT do it. Such self-control.

I was told that what the students were doing was to use the finger-snapping of the 1950’s instead of clapping. I googled it and found the following from the NY Times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE BITTER END: Hanging Out at America's Nightclub
By Paul Colby with Martin Fitzpatrick
Cooper Square Press
($26.95, hardcover)

Bleecker Street was packed with people. There were the locals, and a lot of them were in gangs, and they hated all the straggly artist types. There were the straggly artists who were pouring in from all over the country, and there were throngs of tourists. Crowds overflowed from the shops and the cafes onto the streets because the pavements couldn't accommodate them. They all wanted to come to the Village and see the beatniks and hear their dirty poems. What they got instead was folk music.

This only increased the tension between the coffeehouse owners and the locals. This led to some funny accommodations. In some of the clubs, like the Gaslight, the heating system was so antiquated that all the open ducts ran from the cellar, where the club was, up the building and into the apartments above. And music just tended to be louder than a lone poet reciting his angst.

The sound of applause was louder still. It traveled right up into the apartments and drove the tenants crazy. It got so bad that after a certain hour the audience wasn't allowed to clap. They had to snap their fingers to show approval. The whole idea of finger-snapping beatniks became a joke and wound up in TV shows and movies. It was supposed to be the ultimate in laid-back, hip response. It was really because John Mitchell, who owned the Gaslight, was too lazy to plug up the holes in the basement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wife pointed out that fingersnapping is subversive because you don’t know where it is coming from. I agree. I despise the fingersnapping because culturally, for those who grew up in the Philippines, fingersnapping is something that you do when you order someone around. It is not used to get someone’s attention, it is not used to show approval. Finger snapping when done to another person is a form of animal mounting to show dominance. I understand that times change and it’s the in thing now to fingersnap. But for the love of God, please have some cool rhythm to the fingersnapping. There is nothing worse than unsyncopated, non-rhythmic fingersnapping.

Conclusions
Discussing PAA with the wife is interesting because so often she leads me to areas of exploration that I had never seen before. Analyzing the PAA reunion last night, I felt the very same fears of my college years. The fear of not fitting in, the fear of communicating, and the fear of forgetting people’s names. I always wondered about the people who became PAA Core. Were they that much different than me? How do they do lead? How do they accomplish their tasks?

Our conversation lead me to the observation that is quite ironic. PAA was formed as a form of revolution. Within the confines of PAA as a social organization, it has also become the status quo from which to revolt against. The main function of PAA is in one sense to show what is the status quo with respect to the Filipino community. The student seeking their own light is then supposed to assess whether or not they are comfortable with the status quo. If they are not, then they should create a new organization from which they can revolutionize the world.

You think America is Tough? Try the PHilippines

2009-02-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

Two Supreme Court aspirants nail, fail grilling

By Purple S. Romero, abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak | 02/26/2009 12:55 AM

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In the first round of public interviews conducted by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), Supreme Court aspirant Roberto Abad was able to stand his ground on a new legislation, but went blank on watershed SC decisions.

He was later told to brush up on recent issues handled by the High Court, since, according to JBC member and Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez, “These matters should be studied carefully, especially by those who, by accident or otherwise, would be appointed to the Court.”

Raul asked Abad about the Right of Reply Bill, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, among others.

Abad, the dean of the University of Santo Tomas College of Law, nailed questions about the Right of Reply Bill. He opined that the legislation does not constitute prior restraint.

The Right of Reply Bill, which has just been approved by the Senate, sanctions editors and station managers who do not publish or air the response of personalities they reported on.

“It’s also fairness that people are made to reply. It is not a transgression of the freedom of the press,” Abad explained.

Gonzalez was deadpanned, however, when Abad twiddled in circles on his position on the VFA. Different sectors have assailed VFA’s constitutionality after US Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was found guilty of raping a Filipina in 2006. The High Court recently upheld the VFA’s constitutionality in a 9-4 vote.

Abad jested instead that he “should just have taken his [Gonzalez’s] position.”

Abad slipped again when Gonzalez asked him about the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Under this convention, which the Philippines has signed, the country could be entitled to extended territories upon its delineation of its baseline.

“I’m not aware of it,” Abad said.

Surprised, Gonzalez reminded him that he should study these issues. “I think you should read on this more,” he said.

Independence

Abad stressed his independence, however, even if he has close ties with Estelito Mendoza, his former superior in the Office of the Solicitor General.

“I don’t work for him anymore,” Abad stressed, referring to Mendoza.

Abad worked for Mendoza from 1975-1986 in the OSG. Abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak earlier reported that Abad also recently served as Mendoza’s co-counsel in tax evasion cases involving business tycoon Lucio Tan.

Mendoza, reportedly the highest paid-lawyer in the country, represented a string of other controversial figures: alleged Marcos crony Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, former first lady Imelda Marcos, and deposed president Joseph Estrada in the impeachment proceedings against him in 2000.

Abad said that he saw no need to inhibit himself from cases handled by the former OSG if ever he gets appointed as SC justice.

He cited how Chief Justice Reynato Puno handled cases involving Mendoza.

He said Puno, who used to be a solicitor during the time of Mendoza, also did not inhibit himself from the latter’s cases when he was appointed to the SC.

Muslim and senior

On the other hand, Justice Hakim Abdulwahid, one of the two Muslim magistrates vying for a seat at the Highest Court of the Land, made a case of the representation provision in the 1996 peace agreement for his bid for a slot at the Supreme Court.

Abdulwahid stressed that the Philippine government vowed to have a Muslim SC justice in its 1996 peace agreement with the Muslim group Moro National Liberation Front.

He enjoys the backing of around 10 Muslim congressmen, majority of which hail from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

He also parried queries concerning his seniority at the Court of Appeals (CA). He is ranked 17th among 64 justices.

Puno raised that there should be stronger reason why Abdulwahid should be picked for the SC over 16 other senior CA justices.

Aside from him, CA Justices Amelita Tolen¬tino, Lucas Bersamin, Portia Hormachuelos, Martin Villarama, Andres Reyes, Remedios Salazar-Fernando, Juan Enriquez and fellow Muslim Japar Dimaampao are also in the race for the SC seat.

Puno said the provision in the above peace agreement is “not a decisive factor.”

Ret. Justice Regino Hermosisima also asked him pointedly if he would favor a Muslim over a Christian in cases possibly involving the two. Abdulwahid replied in the negative.

“Not necessarily. I would decide the case based on the merits,” he said.

Meanwhile, Puno joked about designating him as the head of his moral force when he said that he only has one wife. “You know that I’m looking for a chairman of my moral force. Perhaps you could qualify,” the chief magistrate teased.

Puno is referring to the moral force he aimed to establish to rid the country with corruption in the government.

2010 concerns

Two of the contentious issues which pundits believed would test the independence of the next members of the High Court were also presented to Abad and Abdulwahid.

In the face of possible charter change, Abad was asked what kind of government he would want the country to have.

Abad said that he favored the parliamentary form of government because laws could be created efficiently.

On the other hand, Abdulwahid was asked how he would interpret the Constitutional power given to the Congress to amend the charter: Should they vote separately or jointly?

Abdulwahid said that the Congress should vote separately. “The voting should be separate. In local legislation it is separate. More so in respect with charter change,” he said.

Some days, life stops

2009-01-29T13:26:00.000-08:00

There are some days in the world when you just don't care about anything or anyone except a special someone. This is one of those days.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is on heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Hail Mary, full of grace
the Lord is with you, Blessed are thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of god
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning and now and forever shall be. Amen

I believe in God
the Father/Mother Almighty
Creator of Heaven and earth.

Obama, Bush and Clinton

2009-01-20T20:13:00.000-08:00

I watched as Barack Obama took the oath of office as president of the United States.

And, I have hope.

It is the same hope that I had when William Jefferson Clinton took office in 1992. I was in graduate school then. My jubilation at finally seeing a Democrat take to the White House was overwhelming. I was flying.

I hope that what happened to Clinton does not happen to Obama.

I should put up a disclaimer right now that I am a Republican. I am one of those who want low taxes. But, I also grew up in Berkeley and am a student of history. I understand the need, the necessity for government regulation. I know that there needs to be a check and balance. I accept compromise.

I did not vote for Obama, but I hope the best for him.

Too often, I see my Republican party be petty and supercilious. It is a great disappointment to my heart and to my expectations that grown men in the party of Reagan would stoop down to the muck and revel in it. Yes, that would be Newt Gingrich and his ilk. Yes, that would be those who prosecuted and chased Clinton for his womanizing.

For if we were to place side by side the sins of Clinton and Walker Bush, the sins of the latter are far too damning to even have any disagreements.

I see that the future of the Republican Party must be where we include all the browns, the yellows and the gays and atheists. If the party is to survive, we must include all or we will become irrelevant.

I mourn for all the failings of George Walker Bush. The absolute stupidity of the logic used in approving torture is the lowest form of intellectual devolvement I have ever seen. The fact that it was done by an Asian Berkeley law professor galls me even more. The disastrous lies about weapons of mass destruction to Congress borders on the unforgivable. I expect more from my president.

I do not mind the war. It was a choice made by Bush and everyone else in the blood-rush of the September 11 attacks. The execution of power by the most powerful nation in the world is expected. The United States is not the first, nor will it be the last to exercise absolute power like that.

What I do mind is that wars must have plans. Wars must have an end goal. The goals must be specific and practical and this is where we as a society get into trouble.

The United States must learn from its experience of colonialism in the Philippines and the Vietnam War or we will be bound to commit one folly after another. We must as a nation, as politicians and as citizens be responsible for the planning of all of our actions and the creation of contingencies.

For just as we American craved for freedom from the British, so will be those that we liberate from tyranny be eager for freedom from our rule.

Rioting in Oakland

2009-01-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Rioting is what happens when poor people don't have anything to do.

The shooting in BArt was accidental. Anyone who can think for themself and analyze the video as a temporal event can figure that one out.

Anyone who says it was cold blooded murder is an IDIOT! Do you seriously think that the guy wanted to murder someone in front of witnesses? Are you just idiots or morons too? You are already poor, use your brains. At least when LA rioted, there was a reason.

Bring out the riot police. Time to get these hooligans off the street.

Figure this one out jack. Everyone dies. This death should not be used for riot behavior.

Election 2008

2008-11-05T07:15:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Barack Obama for having been elected president of the United States. I never thought I would see a black man become president.

I did not vote for him. I did not think that he had enough experience. I did not think that he understood politics enough.

I wanted McCain as I thought that the generation that fought Vietnam would know what to do with the country. I wanted Gore, I wanted Hillary. It was not to be.

I have the same trepidations with Obama as when George W got elected. And look where W got the US.

But, in the end, it is still a miracle that America once more has a transition of power and it is seemless.

On Weddings

2008-09-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

As time passes by, I find myself enjoying more and more the beauty and elegance of weddings. By attending weddings, I celebrate that which I was so lucky to find in 2005. I treat the wedding as a renewal of the vows that I made on that day. I relive all the fun, the glory and the silliness of that day.

Yesterday, a fried of ours from college married after 10 years of finding the one. Ten years is a long time to determine whether or not someone is for you. But with the state of affairs of life, ten years is a prudent measure the possibilities of life. Ten years is just enough to see whether that crumpled toothpaste container will set either partner off.

As the couple thanked their parents, tears flowed from my eyes. I never got to thank my father or mother during my wedding day. I wish I could have told them that I really appreciated their sacrifices. I wish I could have told them that I was OK. I wish I could have told them that they don’t have to worry. Just that.

The groom was styling in his suit. Beautiful gray cloth, cut just so to enhance the physique. The bride was radiant in her gown. Both a tribute to their calling to the arts and to the community. And the community supported them both on this day of celebration. It was a celebration of all the people who had ever mattered to the couple from childhood to now.

The best man was interesting in that like my wedding it turned out to be a woman. This time around, she was a Filipina immigrant who had met the groom while partying. Most of the readers know of Scarlet the feminine side of my personality. And so, I remarked to a gay friend of mine that the best woman was “Much more of a man than either of us, and much more of a woman than either of us.” She was fit to be immortalized in a sculpture, a painting or a song. A physical beauty within the parameters of an idealized body. A physique of power and self rather than of meekness. What a beauty!

And who can forget the sacrificial pig. Lechon! Lechon! Wherever Filipinos celebrate, there is Lechon! With the crackling skin and succulent meat, flavors abound in a pig on a spit.

Labor Day Weekend 2008

2008-09-02T08:07:00.001-07:00

The three day weekend could not have come to a better time. Work was silly with the irrational decisions of the politicians I work for. With the coming elections, even the politicos in private industry seem to be running for the presidency of the United States of America.

Michelle and I threw our summer wine party with invites going to our friends who have children and or are wine folks. But the Labor Day Weekend hampered attendance since everyone had made plans to go away. Not a problem though as my family came. With the brother and the sister’s family complete with three children, there was enough giggles, shouts of joy, fake tears and innocent questions to last a lifetime. The kids are old enough at three to begin asking “What is sh*t?” My continuous travel to the respectable arena has begun since I really don’t want to explain that to 3 year olds.

I cooked dinuguan, pinakbet and my version of bulalo for the party. The dinuguan was my second try at cooking. My mother-in-law did the final adjustment to the sour side by adding a second pack of sinigang mix. Dinuguan or blood stew is best served with putong puti. So off to Hayward the SO went to find putong puti.

There was a lot of food as my Pin@y gene kicked in and asked the wife to get a platter of pansit. It turns out that a platter of pansit can feed 40-50 people. There were only 14 who came. Hahaha. More food for me.

The wine tasting for the party was fantastic. We decided to open a 1991 George Latour Beaulei Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. The wife looked it up online and found the cost to be $150. I asked her if our guests were worth it. And we decided YES! So off the cork went as everyone tasted the wine. The taste was not like any of what I am used to with respect to red wine. Usually, I favor the biting peppery explosion. The George Latour was mild, hints of cherry and very pleasant. There were bits and pieces of sediment in the bottle. We figured, as the bottle ages, sediment appears. It’s probably what makes the bottle milder. That was our star wine bottle opening for the day.

The rest of the weekend was a blur. On Sunday, it was money group. The lesson there was that the real estate market’s souring affects everyone. Apparently, now, when selling your 3rd or 2nd home, you need to determine how long you lived in those to take advantage of the tax laws. My teacher called it real estate investing as the middle class’ single best advantage to become rich.

Monday, the sister’s family visited for some schwimming. That’s how the kids pronounce it. Even I had to go into the pool! It was some very good times. Reminded me of my own childhood in a pool.

My Hero Su Li-Wen

2008-08-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

The wife showed me this.

Obama....

McCain...

Clinton...

They have nothing on this woman.

http://formosaneijia.com/2008/08/25/my-hero-su-li-wen/

Alterac Valley Strategy

2008-08-03T00:35:00.000-07:00

After reaching level 70, I thought that it was going to be easy to get all my PVP gear. After all, playing the Horde in the level 51-60 bracket was such a cakewalk that I figured, the Horde dominated in the 61-70 bracket. Boy, was I wrong.

To get my epic chest and legplates, I had to withstand a barrage of losses of staggering proportions. In the level 60 bracket, I probably lost 10-20 out of hundreds of games. AT one time, I had 60 straight wins. Granted, most of those were grind it out festivals. But, the key was that the Horde won.

At the level 70 bracket, as of patch 2.4, the Alliance can win so quickly, it amazed my brain. Well, after much frustration, I began asking players during the battles what was the philosophy for the Horde. They mentioned the plan which is as follows:

/bg Greetings. The plan is no defense.
/bg Grp 1 & 2 take Aid Station; the gy northwest.
/bg Grp 3 & 4 Balinda and recap IB and TP towers. Need to recap bec no defense.
/bg Grp 5 SHB
/bg Grp 6 IWB
/bg Grp 7 North Bunker
/bg Grp 8 South Bunker

Now, before the plan above, the only way I knew that the Horde can win was a grindout festival with TURTLE. This means 30-40 minutes of killing and healing. But this required a strong defense at the Frostwolf village. That translated to 10-20 players playing defense. Inevitably, this numbers requirement made the offense weak. The offense would not be able to take bunkers at all.

The other disadvantage of the turtle game is that once the Horde loses the graveyards, all is lost.

The first time I saw the plan above, it was when I began to do battlegrounds as an alliance player. What I saw did not work because the alliance could never keep the middle field graveyards. So, the alliance always got stuck at the stormpike first aid hut. The result was a turtle.

The advantage of the plan above is speed. No defense. Everyone attacks and defends bunkers until the bunkers burn. This has a positive of giving honor to the Horde.

The disadvantage of the plan above is that Groups 3 and 4 need to recap or retake the Horde towers towerpoint and icewing bunker. This is needed so that the alliance have to take Drek with one remaining support.

How can the plan above fail? If the alliance manage to take and use the stormpike graveyard, they will be able to disrupt the attack on vandar. Horde must control the stormpike graveyard after thee bunkers have been taken.

Note that the above plan does not require everyone to follow it. So long as the Horde can spread out evenly and capture bunkers, we can be competitive. The idea of the game is speed.

How do you get to the northern bunkers quickly? Right after thee Icewing bunker, there is a path to the left of the main road that will lead to the bottom of the bridge. It is called Icewing Pass. Take this pass and get to the northern area quickly. Assemble at the bottom of the bridge and go up as a group.

The players will pull the guard from the stormpike graveyard. If this happens, take the flag at stormpike.

How about the graveyards in the middle of the field? Horde should not take snowfall graveyard. If the Horde takes the snowfall graveyard, the alliance will begin resurrecting at the relief hut or the stormpike graveyard. You will get a turtle game.

The Horde should try to recap the two Horde middle field bunkers after thee alliance have taken it. These are the key points.

An additional note is that players should not run outside when vandar is about to kill you. If you must, die. Vandar will reset if he goes outside and follows you. This means his life will be full again.

Some players believe that turtling is the only way to win. That is okay. With time, they can see the light. All they have to see is that we can take on Vandar even with one marshall present. I have been enlightened. I hope you are too. Spread the word. Create a macro in your character. Beat the alliance!

World of Warcraft, WOW, wow, alterac valley, strategy for alterac valley, alterac, valley, Horde, plans for Alterac, strategy, battlegrounds,

Don't Negotiate With Terrorists

2008-07-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/16/international/i003956D16.DTL

I don't know what the hell Israel is thinking when they negotiated to release 4 terrorists for 2 of their soldiers.

Frankly, when the 2006 war started, I did not know what Israel was thinking. They started a war because of 2 soldiers.

Soldiers are human. But theey are also soldiers who die. You don't start a war because 2 are kidnapped. But you also don't swap terrorists for 2 DEAD soldiers.

Makes Israel look like a bunch of idiots.

Can someone please give Israel their balls back?

Oh, wait, they might bomb the living hell out of Lebanon and Iran. Wait, let me reconsider this.

Hmmm.... what will god ever do with Israel? I know it's supposed to be god's country, but it seems like God has left the country.

Aquino Supporters

2008-07-07T08:05:00.001-07:00

For all the Aquino supporters out there. No, not the dead hero. The one who became president. I guess in politics, bad deeds do come to light eventually.

http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/48/48.F3d.1227.93-70584.html

Thank you Florante!

Another Weekend, J

2008-06-30T07:27:00.001-07:00

Last week, had my 3-month dental appointment. I’m trying to take better care of my teeth. Unfortunately, some of the gums have retreated and I have some work to do what with pockets of infection. That was one amazing thing I learned about teeth. They get rotten because of microbes. I ended up switching to Sonicare toothbrush just to get a better cleaning.

On Friday, I went home and played some Wow. I was nearing Level 67. Thee last six months, the drive has been to get to Level 70. Three more levels to go.

The wife wanted to visit a friend in Union City. I was extremely tired. But off to Union City we go. And it is amazing the choices that people make in their lives. I can’t say that I would make better choices if I had not met the wife. But, I would like to think that I would have. Maybe it would have taken me longer, but I would have.

On Saturday, off to money group we go. In it, we discuss the hero archetype and the victim archetype per Joseph Campbell. Can’t say that I ever read his stories but, it was interesting. I always typed cast myself as a hero. But there were some instances in life that I realize, I became a victim.

Over time, as I grew older, I changed myself from a liberal to a conservative. Mostly on financial matters. Deficit etc. Thee social issues, I’m quite liberal. When it comes to money, I want to be a hero. I want to say that I worked hard for my money. I went to school for nearly 2 decades. Heck, I deserve to make money. I chose to go into a profession that would allow me to be comfortable. I chose to save money to save in stocks and funds. I let go of making the world better by saving the world myself. I guess you can say I have the old pattern of making it rich then saving the world through a foundation.

I see poor people on the streets and I don’t wonder why they are on the streets. They made a decision a long time ago that put them there. There is free schooling in America. Anyone can become educated. Anyone can have a good life and a good work. That is why all the poor people of the world are coming here. There is no excuse not to make it in America.

A long time ago, I studied the issues of slavery and racial laws. I observed the patterns of how ghettos were created. I noticed the separation of black neighborhoods and white neighborhoods. And I wondered…. How can someone get out of there?

There are no easy answers. You have to get to school. You can not take drugs. You can not be lured by the easy money of drugs. You have to be stronger than everyone else. You have to overcome the problems. There is no problem that a human being can not overcome once you have decided to overcome the problem.

It is not the government’s job to help everyone. Life is not fair. Some people will have more money than others. And that is okay because it is legal in America to do so.

All of those ideas from Tubig, the money group Already Rich.

I sometimes bring my lunch. I have a lunch allowance, but to save money, I bring lunch. That is how you get rich. By small cents, by one dollar a day.

Saturday was time for tubig. Sunday was a dinner with the in-laws because the brother-in-law was in town. I heard that there were 12 guests in the parents-in-law’s house. It was for a wedding. I can’t even imagine that. That’s a lot of people.

And Sunday was for Wow. I reached Level 67. Oh wait, we also watched WallE on Saturday evening.

Yoga and Bowling

2008-06-27T06:41:00.001-07:00

The SO got the WiiFit several months ago. It is a fun game in which a balance board is the principal mechanism of playing. The board allows you to see whether or not what you feel is balanced or centered.

The SO suggested one day that I try the Wiifit and I obliged her. This is what marriage is all about. Wouldn’t you know it, it was a lot of fun.

An so I found myself doing yoga in the mornings from time to time. Interestingly enough, doing yoga has allowed me to determine how my body feels if I am relaxed and centered. This helps tremendously in bowling in which your body has to be relaxed to throw a 13 pound ball.

Last night, the results were unmistakable: 192, 119, 168. Easily one of my better performances in quite a while.

What also helped was that I was using one of my made in the phillipines work pants which had the inner lining. I guess the lining allowed me to be freeer when moving. I used to use jeans which was stiff and hindered my kneeling.

Hillary Clinton’s Debt

2008-06-26T07:05:00.003-07:00

I might have been a Hillary supporter, but I don’t get her debt issue. Since she financed her run with her own money, she should pay for it. I don’t see where Obama has to ask his supporters to help her pay off her debts.

Basic accounting says don’t spend what you don’t have. If you ran your campaign on a deficit, guess what… you are stuck with the deficit. It’s no one else’s problem except your own.

Hillary Clinton’s Debt

2008-06-26T07:05:00.001-07:00

Doctor Julius Erving

2008-06-25T07:26:00.001-07:00

While listening to the radio, I chanced upon an interview with Dr. J, who won an NBA championship in 1983.

He was asked who was the greatest basketball player ever. Interestingly enough, his answer was that for pure consistency, he would have picked Kareeem Abdul-Jabbar.

Wow. I almost had been swayed by everyone else on Michael Jordan’s performance. But Dr. J said he would start building at center.

Parking wars

2008-06-24T07:44:00.001-07:00

One of the applications in Facebook is called parking wars. You park your car on your friend’s street and they ticket you. AS you park, you earn more money with time. As you reach certain milestones, you get cars.

It is amazing what one can learn on this game. Eventually, you figure out that just ticketing everyone else will not give you anything in return. If you let some people park on your street without ticketing them, they will return the favor next time.

I play with the wife and I tell her to park in my street and I won’t ticket her. Just like in real life, we are a team. Pretty good deal.

Week of June 20, 2008

2008-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

We began the weekend with plans of going to Costco to replenish the household inventory. By Friday evening, we were both tired and hungry. Looking for a new restaurant, we ended up in Solano where we found an old friend. Bui is a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant. The owner chef was the same guy we knew from Saigon City in Telegraph Avenue at Berkeley.

I ordered the shrimp noodles while the wife ordered the shaken beef. My food was pretty good, but the wife’s Shaken Beef was sumptuous. It was so good, I had to tell the waitress that I know there is a god because Bui was cooking the shaken beef. Truly awesome.

Saturday morning, we trekked all the way to a bowling alley in Clayton Valley Bowling. A true classic bowling center, this location has beautiful wooden lanes full of character and history. I loved how I could slide and kneel with the ball. While I bowled decently with some 150, 140 and 180, my father-in-law managed to break the 200 barrier on the third game.

To celebrate, we ended up going to Benihana in Concord. This was my first time going there and I think I will bring more people there. Thee presentation was pretty good and amusing. I specially like the volcanon.

Sunday, the sister’s family dropped by to swim in thee pool. Really funny to see the twins speak and ask us to go swimming. Those 2 love the pool. I don’t remember liking the pool that much when I was younger, but I probably did.

Then Sunday afternoon was off to a baptism for the wife’s father’s side. Great food that had the highlight of ampalaya with onions.

Another awesome weekend. I am truly lucky. Thank you for your support.

Keith Olbermann and MSNBC

2008-06-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

So I finally figured out where all the crap came from during the primary run. At one Obama speech, I heard on the news some reporters go beyond giddy and into ecstatic paroxysms. From the New Yorker article on Keith Olbermann, it was one of the MSNBC contributing news reporters who said something like I have a tingling coming up my leg.

This is all great news since I have always wanted a liberal counterpart to the Bill O’Reilly show. O’Reilly is an idiot and he does not represent all of us Republicans with more than half a brain. And let me not even get into that other druggie of a quack Rush Limbaugh.

I saw Olbermann in LA while I was in high school, and I could not figure out what the hell he was smoking. But it’s good that he found his niche. I certainly enjoyed his rant on the president Bush when he asked him to “Shut the hell up.” Bwahahahha

And for those wondering, nope, I don’t like President Bush that much. But he did hire the best handlers considering he won the 2000 election. I believed at the time that Gore could not lose the election, but obviously, his handlers did not even know that he was going to lose Tennessee his home state. Ridiculous Democrats!

Brings me round about to Hillary. I love Hillary. She sends all the Republicans into the streets gnashing their teeth and hitting their chest. I LOVE her. I hope she stays away from Obama so she can run again next time.

At any rate, people are predicting that Obama’s “AUDACITY OF HOPE” will triumph. After going back on his word by not taking public funds and then saying that the system is broken, I can only conclude that Obama is just another politician. He will say what is advantageous to him. He will lie. And he won’t pay his fucking parking tickets unless he is running for president!

Give me John McCain. A Vietnam veteran hero. A hero, not a liar.

Once a Liar, Always a Liar

2008-06-19T08:00:00.001-07:00

From the SF Chronicle for June 19,2008:

“Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday he'll bypass the federal public financing system in the general election, abandoning an earlier commitment to take the money if his Republican rival did as well.”

So, while a lawyer and senator, Obama could not remember to pay off his parking tickets in Boston stemming from his law school days.

Now, he backs off on taking public money.

Once a liar, always a liar.

I’m okay though since he would create a triumvirate.

Clinton = sex addict

Bush = cocaine addict

Obama = lying addict

Let’s see, any other choices out there? I think JOHN McCAIN is the choice!

Wake up! Wake up Democrats! You are being hornswaggled by another Chicago politician. I tell you one thing to make you feeel good, I’ll do another once you forget.

Tell it like it is! Vote for John McCain. I CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH.

Celtics win

2008-06-18T07:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I did say that whoever gets Kevin Garnett will win the championship. Yup, the Celtics won it last night.

It was not so much a failure of Kobe as the rest of his group did not really support him. He needs some other people besides Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Basically, the European imports did not cut it. They hit the iron way too many times. Derek Fisher could not help enough. Odom and Gasol were ordinary.

Yup, I’m still a Kobe fan. See you next year. Next time Kupchak, go get Jason Kidd.

Weddings in California

2008-06-17T07:18:00.001-07:00

Weddings in California

On June 16, 2008, after 5:01 PM, weddings bells for gay and lesbian couples began to be performed in the state of California. For many couples, it has been a long wait.

Outside some of the city governments where the weddings were held, some protestors held up some signs reminiscent of the 1960’s. “Gays equal perverts” was one of the signs I saw in the SF Chronicle.

I for one am glad that this has finally happened. I always thought that denying gays and lesbians the ability to marry was tantamount to giving them second class citizenship. In the US, the ability to marry has certain tax advantages which you just don’t get when single.

But, of course, we have the uptight religious folks going on a crusade for a constitutional amendment to ban marriages. May God give them a gift of a gay child. Frankly, I don’t know what their objection is. If marriage is a sanctity between man and woman, then we should not have a divorce. That fact that we do however tells me that it is not really as sanctimonious as everyone else says it is.

The whole premise of the argument for denying marriage to gays and lesbians is flawed.

At any rate, to all those folks getting married, congratulations.

Politics

2008-06-16T08:14:00.001-07:00

Politics

Now that Obama is the presidential candidate for the Democrats, we can all go ahead and begin digesting the future.

For my part, I prefer McCain because he has done more in his life than Obama. Just on the part of Vietnam veteran, he blows away Obama already. Let’s see, there’s the McCain Finegold law, which has been gutted somewhat by the Supreme Court. But boy, that gave problems to everyone. 20+ years in the Senate?

Someone tell me something that Obama has done. 6 years in the Senate. Any memorable laws? None. Give America hope? Yes, that will last until a recession has descended upon the United States. How about paying for your parking tickets as a law student at Harvard? Anyone? Anyone? Can you come up with any money? Bwahahahah. Yeah, I already have a president who was snorting cocaine. I don’t need one who does not pay his parking tickets.

I would have preferred Hillary Clinton. Anyone who stuck with Bill Clinton deserves to be in the White House. And, heck, she’s been a senator now for ten years.

I hope Hillary does not run as the VP. She would be damaged by the loss. I can see all those small states turning blue to red.

Happenings

2008-06-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Happenings

Just had an urge to write today.

Most of my time has been spent leveling my paladin in the World of Warcraft. It’s my obsessive compulsive side. I just want one to level to 70.

At work, with the political season marching on, one of my senior managers left the campaign. It’s too bad as he was one of the few who actually saw the work that I did in the campaign. When he left, he mentioned to me that he hoped that I get the recognition that I deserved for serving.

For those who don’t know, my crazy fictional career is centered around politics of the state of Georgia. Yes, while I am in California, I run state elections in Georgia. That is called fiction, nothing else.

I visited my old site karinderia.blogspot.com. Many of the folks on the sidebar are gone now. Muted by responsibilities, time, job, and other things. I understand their liabilities.

I bought a Le Creuset Dutch Oven. For the last 3 years or so, I wanted one. Last night, we fired up the oven and cooked Beef Bourginon, from beef and oxtails. Amazing how expensive oxtails are now. It is $3.59 per pound. I remember it being $2 per pound.

The SO and I have been going to some nice eateries. We went to Le Liaisons in Berkeley one Wednesday evening. She had the seared ahi tuna, fried soft-shell crab and I had the beef bourginon. I remember when it was early 2000’s, I said, how can anyone sit outside of that restaurant and eat? You are next to the gas fumes of the streets.

Well, that was the poverty-stricken me who was speaking. I could not afford the $30 or $20 plates so I had to rationalize away that I could not afford it. But thank God for the many opportunities of America. If you work hard, are educated and make the right choices, you to can be comfortable and enjoy life!

Thanks Tuhan for showing me the way to prosperity.

We’ve also gone to the Drunken Boat, again in Berkeley. For some reason, it reminds me of Vietnam, even though it is a French restaurant. For brunch, we had some nice pork chops and eggs. The pork chop was humongous, fried and smoked. Very lovely though with much salt.

The wife has dragged me to facebook where I now play parking wars. Come join us if you know our names.

The SF Gate Chronicle has an article how a woman making more money than a man has had relationship problems. Thank God I was born intelligent. The SO currently makes more money than I do. More power to her and to us! I have offered to stay at home if she wants me to. No ego here! Get prosperity however you want to get it.

I was amazed by the SO’s capacity to make money as soon as I get a raise. Hehehe. It’s great because I can plan on buying more gas stocks. Oh, yeah, gas is nearing $5 a gallon. Wow, that is high.

Why Democrats Lose

2008-04-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Frankly, I am tired of backing losing Democrats.

So, if the Democratic Party has not figured out that Barack Obama can not win, I might as well go out to my main party and back up John McCain.

I like a president who pays his parking tickets. I like a president who can make the tough choices. If Barack was not smart enough to leave his pastor after those incendiary, dumb and idiotic remarks, well, he's not smart enough to get my vote.

And frankly, I wonder.... if he was not black, would he be getting the royal treatment from the press? It's funny, the press can bash Hillary, but they fall in love with Barack.

Oh please, I can see through all that hucksterism Barack has. I smell a dumb politician!!!

So sign me up for John McCain. Asian, Roman Catholic, college-educated, middle-class person that I am. I am not bitter at America, I have not lost my religion. I love guns. I hate gun control. Yup, you can say I'm a typical brownneck in California.

Woot! John McCain! A candidate who had it all. No bullshit. No crap.

Close Game _041408_222639.jpeg

2008-04-14T23:02:00.001-07:00

Close Game _041408_222639.jpeg
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

The final score is at the top.

0 Alliance.... 1 Horde

Cheers to my brethren and sistren the Horde!!!!

Map Close Game _041408_222710.jpeg

2008-04-14T23:01:00.001-07:00

Map Close Game _041408_222710.jpeg
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

On April 14, an amazing game was played in the battlegrounds. The Alliance were winning. HOrde players were dropping out like flies. Some Horde even suggested just tossing the game. The reply to those were "The Horde never give up."

A miracle happened. The Horde pulled out a win. Amazing defense with 5-6 Hordes holding the towers killed enough Alliance 55 players that their reinforcements went down.

A tactical mistake was made by the Horde in skipping Balinda in stonehearth post. Let this be a lesson to all Horde. Kill Balinda.

Obama's Judgement

2008-03-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Either last week or two weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama gave the first unprecedented speec on race in American politics.

This coming from a man who said that his presidency is not about race.

Come on... Obama would not even be anywhere if he was not black. Look at his record. There is nothing that is distinguished in it. The only reason he is even in the polls is because he is black.

There are now 2 reasons why I would not vote for him.

First, I learned that as he was about to run for the presidency, he somehow miraculously paid off all of his parking tickets from Boston. He was a law student at Harvard and apparently got some tickets. Now, how long has he been a senator? How long before that was he working? He's at least 40, so I'll assume that he's been working 15 years. In that 15 years, he somehow forgot that he had parking tickets?

No my friends, what this tells me is that Obama has a judgement issue. I pay all of my parking tickets. I would expect my president to pay off his too.

The second issue comes from his reaction to his pastor. This is all about JUDGEMENT.

It's so nice that he considers him like a family that he can not separate himself from. It's so nice that he points out that there is rage in the black community. It is also interesting that he DOES NOT show a way to channel the rage. He does not do anything CONSTRUCTIVE at all.

Oh, look! Angry Black Man ALERT!!!

You are a man by 21 years old. You are supposed to be able to stand on your own two feet. You listen to people talk and you judge whether or not you want to associate with them. They say something that is wrong, you should be able to walk away. Otherwise, you agree with what they say.

It is as simple as that.

Obama has a judgement issue. I would rather trust a coke addict who found God rather than Obama. He's dishonest.

Oh, and if the pastor said something anti-Jewish, would Obama still be there?

Eliot Spitzer and prostitutes

2008-03-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

After several weeks of contemplation, I am ready to speak about Eliot Spitzer, now the former governor of New York.

I am not surprised that he had a call girl. Everyone who says that they were surprised are lying. Look at his face, people. He is one ugly madapaka. Even I am better looking than this guy. And if you have heard me talk about my looks, then you would know that this guy was not a very good looking man.

I am proud of men like Spitzer. He kept his habit a secret. The only way he was caught was the FBI. And I bet you the White House had something to do with it. The Republicans always do. WE, the Republicans, know everything and choose to disclose things at the appropriate time.

It is is only the Democrats who don't have any timing at all.

The second point of all this is that Spitzer's wife is to be commended for sticking to her man. That is what marriage is all about. Screw him inside the house and demand a 17 million $ 42.5 pink diamond ring ala Kobe Bryant.

As for the prostitute, at the very least, Spitzer chose someone I would choose. He has some taste. Good looking blonde to fulfill your whims and desire. Alright Eliot! You Go! Maybe you have a career in the show business industry as the next Larry King!.

Bhangra

2008-02-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

DJ Rekha rocks

http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0633,romano,74169,15.html

John Kerry is an IDIOT

2008-01-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, as I was driving home, I heard on the radio that John Kerry, former presidential aspiree endorsed Barack Obama.

John Kerry is an IDIOT.

I always wondered how a Vietnam veteran could lose the presidential election. Well, this endorsement just explained it. Kerry is an idiot.

Kerry did not endorse John Edwards of North Carolina. This was his chosen vice-president candidate. So, if Kerry had been killed as president, Edwards would have become president. Now, Kerry does not endorse Edwards. This means that Kerry doubts his ability to judge.

What a moron.

I am so sad that this idiot even made it to be a presidential aspiree.

Spanek Vertical Roaster

2008-01-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

You have to get the Spanek Vertical Roaster if you love lechon skin. I tried it on chicken and I swear, the skin was like lechon skin.

Laundry

2008-01-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

A new year has come around. Time to look forward to the things that will be standard. Yup, it’s time to reflect on laundry.

When my family first came to the United States in the 1980’s, laundry was one of those things that I was assigned to do. In the Philippines, the maids usually washed the clothes with a bar of soap and a pair of hands. The soap was harsh and its effect on the hands was obvious. Hard, dry, skin formed. Rubbing clothes together toughened hands.

Luckily for me, in the United States, laundry machines took the place of the maids. All I had to do was to load up the laundry into a cart, walk about three blocks, get change and load up the machines.

We lived in Los Angeles, a city I remember as full of sun and cars. We lived in Sunset Place, where a predominant mixture of immigrants resided. The street was right behind the Wilshire Boulevard, a main thoroughfare of L.A.

The laundromat was tucked in the corner of a mini-mall populated by Winchell’s Donuts and a liquor stored manned by a Korean husband and wife. I still owe a part of my coming of age to that female matron. She let me buy Playboy, Penthouse, and Hustler magazines.

At the time, I did not know anything about sex. After buying those magazines, I still did not know anything about sex, but I knew that I was supposed to ogle women with big breasts and golden skin. Oddly enough, I never met a woman with golden skin. It seemed to be that the golden skin was reserved for the centerfold pages.

The laundry mat was always a zoo on the weekends. After a while, I realized that the patterns of the Mexican families was to do laundry on Saturday or Sunday mornings. Forget about getting one of the commercial big door machines during the weekends. It might as well be Christmas Eve on a mall.

When my mother trusted me enough, I went to the laundry mat alone during the weekdays. I got home at about 3 o’clock and was at the laundrymat by 4 o’clock. Two packs at a time, I would load up about 3-4 machines. Separated into whites and coloreds. Popped in some soap, and off to the races we went.

The challenge was to get one of the laundry carts. Yellowed, creaky and barely standing, the carts was the key mode of tranport from the machines to the dryer. As I sat reading the paper, my eyes scanned the horizon for anyone leaving a cart.

The commercial dryers were huge machines capable of sucking the water out of clothes at a tremendous rate. The best deal in town for a dime.

Folding was never an art form for me. Fold them in fourths, that what I always said. Pack them into the laundry bags and back home I went.

Today, the laundry machines are at the same floor as I am. About 100 feet. The routine is still the same. Gather, sort, pack, and wash. Dry, fold and store. At least now, the SO is with me doing half of the work.

Dilaw & Blood Elves.jpg

2008-01-06T17:32:00.001-08:00

Dilaw & Blood Elves.jpg
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

For my money, the blood elves are the sexiest ones in the world of warcraft. Check them out.

Christmas Dilaw.jpg

2008-01-06T17:31:00.001-08:00

Christmas Dilaw.jpg
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

The sexiness of my online character continues. This was taken during the 2007 yuletide celebration.

Artists

2007-12-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

I firmly believe that everyone has a gift. Everyone has the ability to create something that astounds, that confirms the presence of God and that elevates humanity to a higher level.

As I shopped in Telegraph avenue today, I found one such artist.

In Berkeley, each winter holiday, the city closes the Telegraph Avenue so that the artists and artisans can show off and sell their work. I saw one seller who created beautiful wood inlays on framed mirrors. There is Tagud, a regular in the Berkeley scene who sells Tibetan jewelry. And now, I met Ping, a Chinese artist whose gift is in tilemaking.

Ping does not speak English fluently, but in her art, you see the grandeur of the human spirit. She captures the essence of a place. She photographs and goes back to her shop where she begins the tile work. She had a great gift for color. Beyond that of a photograph, the colors dance and give atmosphere to the tile work.

Unfortunately, she does not have a website. I don’t even think she knew what an e-mail was. I left her my card. I hope to find her again someday because she had some tiles of Europe that I wanted to buy.

San Diego

2007-12-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

Went to visit San Diego for the commissioning of one of the SO’s cousin into the Air Force. It was a great moment to see. A young person commits to a job, an ideology and a set of rules. It made me think of the past when I could have gone into the military.

I wanted to apply to West Point during my junior year in Los Angeles. The academics was the easy part. The difficulty would have been the physical conditioning. What I remember was that the requirements were quite stringent.

A certain number of pull-ups (100 was what I thought). I could only do one. Barely 1 pull-up at that.

A mile run under 12 minutes. It took me 15 to run and walk and take a break.

Throw a basketball cross-court. Hmm, Maybe 10 feet would have been my feat.

I was defeated even before I could apply.

I eventually saw a documentary on how knobs, or freshmen were trained on the summer before the plebe year. Talk about tough. I believe the washout rate was 30%. I would have washed out most likely. I just did not like anyone screaming in front of my face.

However, there are days when I wonder what I would be now as a military man…

Definitely, the ones who were commissioned last Saturday knew what they wanted, had planned on how to achieve their goals, and accomplished their basic needs. For example, a lot of them were already family men. The SO mentioned that they would be family men because at any moment, they could be parted from this world. They would desire to experience that life.

I spoke to the SO’s cousin. He said that I should have tried it. I wonder if I would have met the SO. I wonder if I would be a colonel right now. I definitely would have been in the Persian Gulf War in the 1990’s and also in this year. I would probably have gone into the tank division. Somehow, I liked big armor.

Maybe I would be striding along a tank and be called “Professor Tank”.

Yeah, just maybe.

Why I will not vote for Obama

2007-11-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

Just before Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president, he went out and paid the parking tickets that he owned the city of Boston. He received the parking tickets while he was going to Harvard.

The key here for me is that Obama was five years a senator before he decided to pay the parking tickets.

Hmm, I judge people in how they react to the small things in life. I believe that this trait of not paying parking tickets while he was making money in the real world tells tales about the morale nature of Obama.

So, I found it funny that he mentioned during the debates that Hillary Clinton would be like George Bush with respect to secrecy.

Here's where all the Democrats lose out. Obama is so willing to push Hillary into the George W country when Hillary is so far away from being Bush. It just smacks of STUPIDITY. From George W., I expect stupidity. From Obama? I wasn't until last week.

Ninja Costume

2007-10-29T19:07:00.001-07:00

Amihan Ninja
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

Anotheer aspect of the WOW world is that you have seasonal events like a halloween or hallow's end celebration.

Warrior in WOW

2007-10-29T19:06:00.001-07:00

Amihan Level 19
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

Another characte that I play is that of a warrior. Level 19 at WOW.

California Footbal is Ranked #2?

2007-10-09T20:38:00.001-07:00

I don't freaking believe it.

No way.

Nada.

Hmm....

Maybe...

Alright, as long as we beat Stanford, GO BEAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRSSSSS!!!!!!

The REason I have not been ARound

2007-10-09T20:34:00.001-07:00

Dilaw
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

is that I have been playing thee World of warcraft. My level 38 warlock is Dilaw. Find me in Vek' ni Lash realm.

Marriage over the Weekend

2007-09-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

The sister-in-law T. got married on Sept 8, 2007. It was a grand affair, and my brother and I were hired as the photographers. Some memories:

T looked fabulous in her wedding gown. Her photos of the preparations look like they were from Bride magazine. The photoshoot was helped enormously by a large, large window that let in the sun. A filmy curtain diffused the sunlight and created a glow around the subjects. I took photos of the mother of the bride, the grandmother of the bride and the sister of the bride and they looked fabulous, like models in Vogue magazine.

I held the flash off-hand with a light detector. It was the first time that I did that. The photos worked out quite well. IN some instances, I photographed holding my camera aloft. That created some nice lines with the subject’s heads appearing larger than the body.

The church was a flash of a moment since I was trying to capture it. Good thing the brother was there to be the main photographer. The setup was fabulous.

The photos after the wedding went reasonably well. I made a list of the sequence and gave out the information to people. So, everyone sort of knew to stick around for the photos.

Reception was at L’amyx where the SIL worked. The proprietors were surprised to see 200+ Filipinos in their store. Hahahaha.

I dared M, one of the liturgical readers to read the “Book of Kermit, his letters to the grouches…It is not easy being green…”

A lot of the younger cousins are no longer that young. About five of them have hit the 21 years old mark and are now getting their taste of alcohol. One of them actually had the heaves and dribbled onto the legs. Hehehe. Ahh, youth! But, if they were going to get drunk, this might as well be thee occasion since it was family. There were not going to be any slimy guys picking them up.

In the elevator the next day, a man asks another, “So what are you here for?” The reply was “I was at a wedding.” “Oh yeah, there was a huge affair last night.” The man replied, “No, I was at the smaller wedding.”

Everyone showed up at 6 to 7 PM at the hotel. The whole corridor was packed with people.

I took all kinds of random photos.

The brother in law sang several songs. The best ones were for the father daughter dance. I was hoping he would hit all the notes, and HE DID! “Always and forever….” The wife said that she felt like she was in high school again.

1990 the year that was

2007-07-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

Found a receipt for a Mac IIsi holiday Bundle #2, 5 megabyte RAM with an 80 megabyte hard drive, a 13 inch RGB HighRes Color Monitor. The price was $3,729.08

17 years ago, this was the third level mac. It was the only one I could afford. I needed it for my job as a lecture notes taker. But I also used it for gaming.

Now, we have a MacPro computer. Cost is slightly higher. But the difference is striking.

Hamachi, fusion cuisine

2007-07-13T01:16:00.001-07:00

DSCN1519
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

I have written previously about Kansai Restaurant in Oakland, CA. Tonight, the sister-in-law hit a 200 game in bowling. Last week, it was the SO's turn with a 206. I was gunning for my very own 200 game, but I started thinking in the middle of the game. High score for me was 155.

Chef Tomo is one of the best sushi chefs out there. He spoke of the hardships that a sushi chef has to undergo. It is in a very real sense an apprenticeship. Chef Tomo shared with us his knives. One knife was only for fish. Another knife was only for salmon. Each knife was packed in its own case.

The photos is of a hamachi or yellowtail fish prepared in fusion cuisine manner. The slice of jalapeno brought together the taste into an explosion. In terms of the movie ratatouille, it allowed me to see blip...blip...broing...ding..ding...ding!!!!!

New Toys

2007-07-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

We picked up the new computer last week and have been busily updating everything. The last computer was with us for at least five years. A lot of things happen in five years. You get married… You move in together… You stop playing your games because the computer keeps crashing!

The newest helper in our family is a G6 Mac computer. Well, not really. I just always wanted a G5. It does have the same aluminum look of the G5, except it is larger. It is in fact a big heat fume spouting little computer. It is amazing that they don’t have as much of a fan noise because at the very back of the computer, you can feel global warming being formed.

How fast is this computer? Well, for starters, it’s got four microprocessors. Civilization games, here I come! It is so fast that I run out of things to look for in the internet. And, it’s fast enough to run Aperture, the new way of cataloging photos from Apple.

I’m personally thinking of trying to get some of the not so new games such as the massively multi-player games. But, that may have to wait. I have to write a book. Oh, did I mention that? I am writing a book.

And no, I have not succumb to the LUST of buying an iPhone. Nope, I dislike the service provider for the iphone that I will not even mention its name here.

Tia Carrere

2007-07-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

One of the first Asian / Pinay actresses that I saw was Tia Carrere. With beauty in bountiful harvest, Tia Carrere was a vision for a lonely Pinoy in Berkeley in the 1990's. What a treat to see her on TV. Someone who looks like me is in thee mainstream.

But you have to realize that she is not only beauty. She has an ALBUM on Hawaiian music out. Just released on June 19, 2007. I can't even find it at Amazon.

This just goes to show you that acting and looks is just the surface. Sometimes, those actors and actresses actually can sing!

Blood on the Ipod

2007-07-06T23:49:00.000-07:00

I am deleting left and right on thee ipod. Out of the machine anything that is depressing or unhappy.

Beatles
A capella that were substandard
Jazz recordings with background noise

Memories of Paris

2007-07-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Found a receipt from our travels in Paris at Paris Marriott, Champs-Elysees, Sur les Champs,

The waiter was #37 Erwan.

2 chateldon............12.00 (wine)
1 ass mezzes.........13,00 (appetizer)
1 Fois Gras Canard.....15,00
1 Plat du Juor..........26,00
1 Tartare Boeuf.......21,00
1 V. Bourgogne P.N.......5,00
1 V. Noaillac..............6,00
1 Millefeuille..............9,00
1 Sable florentin.........9,00

The dinner was in the middle of our vacation, while I was hobbling around with gout. Notice the beef tartare. Quite delicious like sushi.

Their phone number is

01.53.93.55.44

Merci

Monday in Los Angeles CA

2007-07-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Woke up... spoke to the brother... and helped him clean the pool. Well not really, I just took the water rake and raked the water surface.

Then, off to los Angeles to eat, specifically "Nanay Gloria's Restaurant." I ordered the kambing and the ampalaya. The kambing was a little too tough. Ampalaya was not bitter at all.

Then, we did a photoshoot. Is the world ready for my headshots? I hope it is.

Off to the Farmer's market on Fairfax and 3rd street. 25 years in LA and I never visited that place. Now I have. Found a french store inside! Got us a bordeaux and stinky cheese. Stinky cheese is like stinky tofu.

Then, off to Sushi Gen in Downtown Los Angeles.

Sunday dinner was at Tutti Mangia. Lunch was at Sanamlang. Fabulous. Have gained 25 pounds.

Weddings in Marina del Rey

2007-07-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

Visiting Los Angeles because a third cousin got married. A wonderful time to catch up with all the relatives on the father side. A wonderful time to try and figure out the genealogy. It is interesting to see how Filipinos have adapted to life in America.

Highlights.

1. Kayamanan ng Lahi.
2. Speaking to Joel Jacinto... I introduced myself and he said "You're the photographer!"
3. Trying out the video camera instead of a photo camera
4. Seeing the bright sun of Los Angeles, feeling the heat reminded me of why I left L.A.
5. Kids grow up into adults
6. Meeting relatives from Hawaii
7. Sheepskin seat covers in the car
8. Seeing my brother's headshots of the brother-in-law
9. Getting my own headshots

Rei the Lion

2007-06-27T07:29:00.001-07:00

Were there lions in islands? Yes, there were: Rei roars!!!!

Major General Antonio Taguba

2007-06-27T07:13:00.001-07:00

Send a Pinoy to do a job that will lead to the truth. That is Antonio Taguba's experience and it led him to Abu Gharaib. Makes you wonder the type of men leading the military.

Considering nursing?

2007-06-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

Check out what Basagulo found in the internet: THE TRUTH!

Many folks try to become nurses because of the money. This guy did it because he questioned his purpose. He was a PAGE 1 WALL STREET NEWS JOURNALIST. There are not too many of those.

Sometimes, in the search to be great, we find the lesser part of our lives.

The Short Spaniards

2007-06-26T22:57:00.001-07:00

A friend has a last name of "altura" which means tall. She told me of how the Spaniards rounded up all the people from Iloilo. then, the spaniards selected the shortest people and gave them the name of "altura" as a joke.

I told my friend that the spaniards did that because they were also short. When we went to Spain, I was so surpised to see that in Madrid, segovia and toledo, half of the population was short.

By seeing how short the Spaniards were, I began to realize just how angry and mad those conquistadores would have been once they settled in the Philippines. After all, they thought they were superior. And yet, they are as short as the lowliest Pin@y. I suppose that I would be mad too.

This explained why the Indios always fought the Spaniards. This explained why the Spaniards hate the Indios so much. The Spaniards saw themselves in the Pin@ys. All the shortcomings, all the failure, all the things that were not done. Everything.

Kansai Japanese Restaurant in Oakland CA

2007-06-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

The SO and I have been very lucky with being able to find great restaurants. The best Japanese sushi that I have tasted is Kansai.

Kansai Restaurant
4345 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
510-658-7273

We have gotten to know the main chef at the restaurant. He studied a total of 12 years in culinary college and apprenticeship. His course curriculum was as follows:

First year: Cooking rice. Japan has many different rice.
Second year: Washing dishes. The apprentice would figure out how dishes make the presentation.
Eight year: Making rolls. Apparently, this started out from the US and went back to Japan. As Japanese chefs learned about it, they innovated. So now, the flow of information is from Japan to the US.
Ninth year: Cooking of meats.
Tenth year: Cooking of fish, includes how to slice and partition different fish.

The chef educated us last night on the different types of sake. The one we had was clean with no after-taste and it went well with all the fusion fish we ordered.

Last night's menu was as follows:

Monkfish (liver pate prepared by the chef). Four servings presented with caviar and an edible Japanese flower.
Octopus. Marinated in honey and wine to balance the flavor. Cooked in ** minutes. Less than ** minutes, too tough; more than ** minutes, too chewy.
Sea cucumber. Fusion presented with just the right hotness of chile. The texture was amazing. A little tough on the outside. But the balance of flavors was amazing.
Salmon. Presented with slices of apple and avocado sandwiching the salmon belly. The balance between the apples and avocado was extraordinary! The chef's inspiration was guacamole.
Teriyaki chicken. Yes, I got hungry eyes. I figure, I better fill up with ordinary fair or the bill would get out of hand.
Tuna and White Tuna sashimi style. The soy sauce used was so right on that I never made my own soy sauce wasabe mix.
Tamago. This alone is worth the trip to Kansai. Taste tamago like it should. The chef balances it out with three to four different types of honey. Perfection!

Kansai is not cheap. But then again, good food never is. The bill last night for two people was $120. I tipped $30 because of all the extras the chef gave.

In comparison of prices, Morimoto, the Iron Chef is at least triple or quadruple the price. But, I would wager that in a taste test, the Kansai chef would beat him. Their lineage is the same in that both had the same teacher. Morimoto was an earlier student. So for a cheaper price, you get to see real fusion cuisine at its best in the West Coast.

The chef told the story of how he dined at one of Morimoto's restaurants. He paid $450 without the tip. But he liked the fresh fish.

So if you are in the Oakland area, visit Kansai Restaurant and spread the gospel of good eating!

The Painter Carlos Valino Jr.

2007-06-23T06:41:00.001-07:00

CarlosValino01
Originally uploaded by rhettvpascual

I have been searching for the connection to Carlos Valino Jr. for the last ten years. Ever since my mother said that there was a painter who taught at the Univ of the Philippines, I had been intrigued.

I searched all over yahoo and goodle and I never found any reference. I bought all the art books from the Philippines and never saw the reference.

Then a week ago, I am searching google for his name and voila! His painting shows up.

I e-mailed the seller and it turns out that she is related to him. I just found (hopefully) a missing arm of Andres Valino's descendants.

SYM

2007-06-21T06:18:00.001-07:00

I would buy his paintings

Art Runs in My Blood

2007-06-18T00:44:00.000-07:00

We did a photoshoot fo the wedding of my sister-in-law. The brother was phenomenal in doing the shoot. Funny and great eye. The sun was cooperating and we managed to use the big reflector with the gold shade. Awesome!

The I saw a first cousin of my mother: Aster Valino Tecson.

Can you say AWESOME?

Will You Tagalogs Quit Making Me Look Bad?

2007-06-16T09:03:00.001-07:00

The wife tells me "Tagalogs are weird."

She follows it up with "Tagalogs are mean."

And yes, she has personal experiences to back it up.

The SO gets an e-mail from Saudi Arabia. This fellow tells her that her use of the word "GURA" is not proper TAGALOG. I asked her if she responded with "It is not a TAGALOG word." But she was nice and responded that her title as a martial arts teacher was a coined word. To tell you frankly, all the literal Tagalog words used in designating martial artists ranking are coined word. EX. Punong-guro, tagapagmana, etc.

All of these designations arose from the need of Americans (yes, even Filipino-Americans) to measure their progress through a program. Americans want to feel that they are making gains even though they might be standing still.

Then, the SO goes to a Santo Nino celebration last night with the mother-in-law. My MIL grew up in Pangasinan. The SO asked her mom why they do the procession or house to house travel. The SO believes that Tagalogs love praising and praying to idols.

I thought about that a moment and tried to put it into context. I came up with a probable reason why they do it. Tagalogs just love parties and get together. But, if I do it too much, it will look like I am showing off. If I throw a party with the Santo Nino, then, I am not showing off, but I am showing my devotion to the religion.

I guess too many Tagalogs are going into Pangansinan now and starting to do this practice. That is why the house to house visit is very popular. Personally, I need to ask a master carver to make me a Santo Nino that looks Filipino. I don't like praying to a white Santo Nino. Specially one with blue eyes and blonde hair.

The wife on the radio

2007-06-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

The wife was interviewed on the radio at about 9:20 PM and Marianne Villanueva was on at 8PM. Check them out.

Searching for the Valino Clan

2007-06-11T21:21:00.001-07:00

About three weeks ago, at a family party, I decided that I should ask one of my uncles about my lineage. I figured that if I don't ask them now, I might never get the real answer.

So, I spent the next one hour and a half speaking with an uncle of mine who had immigrated to the US in the early 1960's. He spent the first ten years alone, while sending money to his family in the Philippines.

What I realized about genealogy is how tenuous the connections are. For example, some of the facts become very cloudy. With his memory fading, some things become very questionable. With respect to his family, there can be no doubt. But when it came to his uncles and aunt for example, it was difficult to determine if everything was correct or not. Kind of like asking yourself, "What makes reality?"

I went home and began examining all the stuff that I had. I determined that I needed to speak to my mother's generation. She was born in 1930's and her generation was nearing the 70 year old mark. Up to now, their memory is pretty good. But, in ten more years, their memory would begin fading.

I spoke to one of my aunts who had worked with my mother. Turns out, Autie Pat was a great source of knowledge. She had lived the most in the province and knew the Lolos and Lolas by their nicknames. She spoke so fast that I could barely write their names down. I probably need to do an interview of her soon too.

I began obsessing over the great-grandfathers. But that was because Auntie Inday and Auntie Cherry had made tremendous leaps when documenting the linearge. With the information gained from my mother's second cousin and the information from my aunts, I was able to create the bare tree up to my great-grandfather. I estimate that if each generation is 20 years old when they made children that I had the genealogy up to 1870 or so.

Andres Valino married Victoria Fajardo. They lived in Aduas, Cabanatuan City, Philippines. They had nine children:

Pedro Fajardo Valino
Roman Fajardo Valino
Nicanor Fajardo Valino
Ester Fajardo Valino
Calixton Fajardo Valino
Toribia Fajardo Valino
Carlos Fajardo Valino
Apolonio Fajardo Valino
and Felisa Fajardo Valino

These nine children are estimated to have been born around 1890. The last one to pass was Lola Isang or Felisa. I estimate her death sometime around the 1970s.

The females married and changed their names:

Ester Valino married into the Valenton lineage.
Toribia married into the Villaroman and the Clemente family.
Felisa married into the de Guzman family.

If you are a Valino or can trace your familial address to Andres Valino Street in Aduas, Cabanatuan City, please either join the Valino_genealogy yahoo group or email me at retong999 [at] yahoo.com. Please replace [at] with @.

My grandfather's past

2007-05-31T06:25:00.000-07:00

In the five days, I have been in a whirlwind. My interest in genealogy has cleared up a lot of relationships. When we attended parties, the comment "This is your cousin" would often be said. But we did not know why or how.

For my grandfather, there were so many Valinos that it was often difficult to thread. But, when you find someone truly knowledgeable, it is worth it.

That's why one of the greatest finds was my mother's best friend Auntie Pat or Pitang. Talk about knowing every single thing. She was the whirlwind that brought my research back to Andres Valino. The street that my grandfather lived on was named after Andres.

I now have 6 generations of Valinos on the map. I managed to trace it back to the time of the Spaniards and the Americans. I am beginning to think that I have it back to the time of 1880's.

My brother asked me why I got interested. The story is that I realized that everyone is dying and leaving this earth. Specially the generation of my mother. They were about to leave and along with them, the knowledge of who I am, who I was, and who I had been was going to go.

Positive Energy

2007-05-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

I bowled a 149, 183 and 139. Not bad, not bad at all. We played the best team in the league and managed to take one game and total pins by one pin!

Instead of being grumpy, I forced out happiness to everyone. We pushed the the whole night.

Afterwards, off to Kansai for Japanese food. This time around, the chef just cooked stuff for us and we ate. No menu, no nothing. Ahh, we have been very lucky wiht our sushi chefs.

Hotels that Were Home

2007-04-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

Red Cow Inn
The home we stayed at while we were visiting London. Located in Richmond on the Thames. Fantastic place, nice clean, and WARM!!! Breakfast consists of cereal, croissant and Leicester cheese. Beautiful memories there.

Marriott Champs-Elysees
Our castle during our stay in Paris. Elegant, classy, absolutely first class all the way. I was afraid of the of one hour trips just to get to Paris, so I mentioned to the wife that we should stay where we would be happy. She fancies herself a French woman in a previous life.

$$$ is the denominator for this location. Well, $$$ or EUROS are the denominator for any stay in Paris. Just about everything is more expensive. Probably because you are paying for the beauty, the genteel, and the absolute joy of walking up and down a huge boulevard.

Hotel Raphael
Our last refuge on the last leg of our European tour. Smaller than the previous hotels, but still as good as the others. There was even a bidet!

Nicely located next to the metro and the train. Located in a safe area. Walking distance to two bakeries and a grocery store. Absolutely fantastic!

Republican Liars

2007-04-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here's another example of a Republican Liar.

I just shake my head at what these nasty bastards do to my party.

Madrid

2007-04-12T06:28:00.001-07:00

The capital of Spain, Madrid was our last and final destination in Europe. We took the Francisco de Goya train and arrived weary and dazed about 14 hours after we started.

Our coach was divided into four separate rooms. Each room had two chairs, a bathroom and a shower. Can you believe that? A shower in the middle of the train! Not only that, each coach had 4 showers!!! I was not that adventurous so I did not partake of the shower in the train. Furthermore, our baggages were a little big. To fit in the rooms, we had to put the two samsonites into the bathroom and shower area. Needless to say, I also did not go to the bathroom unless I could accomplish the mission while standing up.

The French train station was not something that I could have imagined. Simply because there were pigeons in the station. And the pigeons were not really shy about trying to get your food. We waited for our train at a cafeteria/café and ogled the multitudes of travelers going to and fro France & Spain. We noticed that unlike the US, there was a military presence in the train and public areas in France. And, the soldiers were carrying real mean looking sub-machine guns.

Though we had just eaten at the cafeteria, I asked that we have the 8PM dining experience. It worked out because we could see the countryside. During the dinner, we were introduced to the lack of customer service in Spain. Apparently, the Spaniards do not hold it as much as the French do. It also did not help that the other waiter who was helpful could not speak English.

When we got back to our rooms, the beds had been prepared for us. It was a very cramped room, but we were adventure traveling. I could not really expect 5 star accommodations in a train!

While lying in our beds, the SO would suddenly ask "What are you doing? Are you shaking the bed?" I replied, "No honey, that was the train."

Processions y La Semana Santa en Madrid

2007-04-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a visit of three great cities in Europe. Madrid was the last stop of our travels. We were just in time for the holy week and the processions.

I was lucky enough to see the salida (exit) of the pasos (floats) from the churches. I was able to see the processions not because I went to the various towns, but because I was at the Raphael hotel next to the Piramedes and was lying on the bed watching television. Because we don't have cable, I try to catch up on television every time we travel. From what I have read, it is easier to see the exits throught he television than through actual participation.

In one memorable exit, the float was much, much larger than the doorway. In my mind, I shouted "That's crazy! The only way to get that thing out is for the men carrying the float to kneel!". And kneel they did. As a leader guided them with his voices, the men gradually assumed a lower and lower level of stance until they were kneeling and carrying the float. Then, as the shouter urged them on, the kneeling men would inch forward with each guiding shout. You could see the float move inch by inch.

One man's face was the face of Christ on the cross. He stood in the middle of the float supporting the middle carriage. He looked like Brad Garrett. With each inch of movement, the stress and the pain would show in his face. With each inch of movement, his exhalations could be felt through the television screen. As I sat watching the float move inch by inch, I rooted for this man to make it through. I understood that the brotherhood carrying the floats were suffering as much as Jesus suffered on the cross. Perhaps in this way, they ask for penance for themselves and the world.

Nouveau Message

2007-04-03T01:16:00.000-07:00

Some words are the same, but the meanings are different. Some things stay the same.

In France right now, at a hotel's business center. Staying at the rue de champs elysees, the main boulevard of paris, the city of light. and what a beautiful and delightful place it is. they have preserved the monuments of their past with an eye to the future. it makes you wonder what you are all about when you walk on cobblestones that have been there for hundreds of years.

Next up is Madrid.

Kung nasasaan ka man, Pinoy pa din

2007-03-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

Habang ako ay naglalakbay sa Inglaterra, napupuna ko na marami-rami ring mga pinoy at pinay dito. gusto ko na ngang batiin pero nahihiya pa din ako.

nakita ko ang mga palasyo, at mga bahay nila nuuong mga 1000s. maliliit ang mga tao dito nuon dahil and mga pintuan nila ay napakaliit din.

Sige pu. aalis na ako ngayon.

Let the Ball Be

2007-03-24T03:01:00.000-07:00

Yup, when you are relaxed, you get to do incredible stuff. I had a bad game of 109. But I bore down on myself and relaxed. Got a 153 and a 169. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I signed the offer letter. I am moving to a new job. Woohoo!!! I'm going back to the first love. Politics! I'm going to work as an aide to a lobbyist. I can smell the corruption now.

Sexual Fantasy of Jane Seymour

2007-03-10T22:19:00.000-08:00

When I was 13 years old, Jane Seymour was a hottie.

Now, I see ads for a new show "In Case of Emergency" in which she is basically having sex with a friend of her son.

She is 56 years old.

Somehow, that is quite disturbing to me.

Mega Millionare

2007-03-06T22:44:00.000-08:00

I still have some hope that I am the latest of a mega millionare lineage.

But check out what one mega millionare did to guarantee that he does not ever become poor ever again.

If no one won tonight, I will bring lunch from home and plop down $100.

What would you do?

2007-03-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

What would you do with 400 million dollars??

The wife told me that I would have to work for one more year.

A friend said that he would become a "gentleman of leisure."

An office mate said that he would pay off his house and retire at 50.

For me, for today, I was a millionaire. I tried it so that nothing bothered me. Nothing could faze me. Everything was just a job. And you know what? It's just as exciting as when I was a little kid watching the Sweepistake in Manila.

As You Get the Things You Want

2007-02-26T06:20:00.000-08:00

You need to let go of the things that you were.

So I have done some redecoration. I suppose it will take time for me to get used to this new place. This new beginning. I want to become

prosperous... not having to worry about money anymore
prosperous... meeting other people of like mind, who have all they ever wanted
prosperous... just content with who I am
prosperous... taking care of my family and spending time with them
prosperous... letting go of the past and all the pain and sorrow
prosperous... seeing everything as an opportunity
prosperous... opening the door for others
prosperous... letting the universe provide