PARADOXICAL

 North Korea’s recent surge in missile launches during the US-Israel-Iran conflict serves several strategic purposes, allowing Pyongyang to advance its military capabilities while the world’s attention and U.S. resources are focused on the Middle East. 

Al Jazeera +1

• Exploiting Distraction & Testing Readiness: Pyongyang utilizes the heightened global focus on the Middle East to conduct tests with reduced international scrutiny. These launches, including a reported salvo of roughly 10 missiles in March, allow them to test their capability to overwhelm missile defenses and increase military readiness.
• Solidifying Nuclear Legitimacy: Kim Jong Un has used the war between the U.S. and Iran to justify North Korea's own weapons programs. In a speech to the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim described the conflict as proof that retaining nuclear weapons is crucial for regime survival, labeling the nuclear status of the North as "irreversible".
• Lessons on Regional Security & Proliferation: Analysts suggest North Korea is watching the conflict to learn lessons on how to defend its own road-mobile missiles and protect its leadership. Furthermore, North Korea is a major supplier of missile technology to Iran, and these launches demonstrate their continued technological advancement, with Iranian missiles often relying on North Korean systems.
• Protesting U.S.-South Korea Military Exercises: Launches often coincide with joint US-South Korea military exercises, which Pyongyang considers rehearsals for invasion, signalling anger at its neighbors and allies. 
  Al Jazeera +4

In essence, North Korea is taking advantage of a fragmented global landscape to accelerate its Five-Year Military Expansion Plan, strengthening its arsenal while challenging international sanctions. 

UN News +3

posted by Resty Odon  # 10:29 PM 0 Comments

make me more hopeful by writing an essay on how to get around our (Philippines) dependence on the strait of hormuz by being like india: sourcing fuel and perhaps all other essentials (fertilizer, pesticide, petrochemicals, basic industry needs) from other/alternative sources

 It’s tempting to think of the Strait of Hormuz as a distant geopolitical concern—something that matters to tankers and superpowers, but not to everyday life in the Philippines. But in reality, a large portion of the fuel, fertilizers, and petrochemicals that sustain modern economies passes through that narrow corridor. When tensions rise there, the ripple effects reach Filipino households through higher prices, supply uncertainty, and economic anxiety.

And yet, there is reason for optimism—not naïve hope, but grounded possibility. If we look at how India has navigated global supply disruptions, we can see a path forward for the Philippines that is less about dependence and more about strategic flexibility.

The Lesson from India: Flexibility Over Loyalty

India does not rely on a single source of energy or raw materials. When traditional suppliers became constrained or politically complicated, it diversified—buying discounted oil from Russia, maintaining ties with Saudi Arabia, and expanding imports from the United States and others. This was not ideological; it was pragmatic.

The key lesson is this: resilience comes not from self-sufficiency alone, but from having many options.

For the Philippines, this means building a procurement strategy that is deliberately diversified—fuel from multiple regions, fertilizers from different producers, and industrial inputs sourced through a wide network of trade relationships. The goal is not to eliminate risk, but to ensure that no single chokepoint—like Hormuz—can paralyze the economy.

Rethinking Energy: Beyond Middle Eastern Oil

A hopeful future begins with energy diversification.

The Philippines can expand fuel sourcing from outside the Gulf—West Africa, Southeast Asia, even the Americas. Countries like Malaysia and Indonesia are geographically closer and politically stable partners for certain petroleum products. Meanwhile, liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Australia or the U.S. offer alternatives that bypass Hormuz entirely.

But the deeper transformation lies in reducing the need for imported fossil fuels altogether.

The Philippines is rich in renewable energy potential—solar, wind, hydro, and especially geothermal. Unlike imported oil, these are not vulnerable to global chokepoints. Investing aggressively in renewables is not just about climate goals; it is a national security strategy.

Every megawatt generated locally is one less barrel that must pass through a contested strait.

Securing Fertilizer and Food Inputs

Fertilizer is often overlooked in discussions of energy security, yet it is just as critical. Much of the world’s fertilizer production depends on natural gas—again tying it indirectly to global energy routes like Hormuz.

India addressed this by maintaining a mix of domestic production, long-term import contracts, and subsidies that stabilize supply. The Philippines can adopt a similar model:

• Diversify fertilizer imports from countries like China and Vietnam

• Invest in local production using alternative feedstocks

• Promote organic and biofertilizers to reduce dependence on imported chemicals

This is not about abandoning modern agriculture, but about widening the toolkit so that farmers are not hostage to global supply shocks.

Building a Resilient Industrial Base

Petrochemicals and basic industrial inputs—plastics, resins, chemicals—are the invisible backbone of modern life. Like fuel, many of these rely on global supply chains that pass through vulnerable routes.

Here again, the Indian example is instructive. It has invested heavily in domestic refining and petrochemical capacity, allowing it to import crude oil from diverse sources and process it locally.

For the Philippines, this suggests a long-term strategy:

• Strengthen local refining and storage capacity

• Develop industrial zones that can process imported raw materials into finished goods

• Encourage regional supply chains within Southeast Asia

By doing more processing at home, the country gains flexibility. It can switch suppliers without disrupting entire industries.

Strategic Reserves: Buying Time, Not Panic

One of the simplest yet most powerful tools is the creation of strategic reserves—stockpiles of fuel, fertilizers, and key industrial inputs.

India maintains such reserves to cushion against short-term disruptions. The Philippines can do the same, ensuring that temporary shocks do not immediately translate into crises.

Reserves do not eliminate dependence, but they buy time—and time is often the difference between panic and orderly adjustment.

The Deeper Shift: From Vulnerability to Agency

Ultimately, the question is not whether the Philippines can completely avoid the Strait of Hormuz. In a globalized world, total independence is neither realistic nor necessary.

The real question is whether the country can act with agency rather than anxiety.

India’s example shows that even a developing nation can navigate a complex, shifting global landscape by being pragmatic, diversified, and forward-looking. The Philippines, with its strategic location, young population, and growing economy, has the same potential.

A Hopeful Outlook

Hope does not come from denying risks; it comes from recognizing choices.

The Philippines is not doomed to be at the mercy of distant straits and foreign tensions. By diversifying suppliers, investing in renewables, strengthening local industry, and building strategic reserves, it can transform vulnerability into resilience.

In the end, the goal is not to escape the world’s interconnected systems, but to engage with them on better terms—confident that no single disruption can derail the nation’s progress.

And that is a future worth working toward.

posted by Resty Odon  # 6:26 PM 0 Comments

 Cubans are currently navigating a severe food crisis marked by extreme shortages, rampant inflation, and daily power outages, forcing them to rely on ingenuity, informal networks, and sometimes skipping meals. With state rations (the libreta) no longer sufficient, many, particularly the elderly, are experiencing hunger. 

EL PAÍS English +4

• Cooking by Electricity Schedule: Because of prolonged power blackouts (often up to 18 hours), many cook whenever the electricity comes on—even at 2 a.m.—to cook, clean, and charge devices.
• Return to Firewood: In areas without electricity, families are resorting to using charcoal or firewood to cook, leading to increased deforestation.
• "Tribes" or Shared Cooking: Neighbors and family members (often called a "tribe") share cooking spaces that may have more stable power, pooling resources to prepare meals. 
  Cato Institute +4

• Relying on the Libreta & Rationing: While the state still provides a monthly ration—including rice, beans, sugar, coffee, and oil—it only covers about half of a person's nutritional needs and is often delayed.
• High Prices at Informal Markets: Goods unavailable through rations are sold at private, state-sanctioned, or black-market "agro-markets," but prices are extremely high compared to average state salaries.
• Food Scarcity and Substitution: Protein is scarce, leading to a diet mostly of rice and beans. People are "reinventing" dishes using whatever is available, such as using ground pork or substituting eggs for other meats.
• "Luchando" (The Struggle): Cubans frequently have to "luchar" (struggle/fight) to find food in the streets daily, relying on local networks to get food.
• Skipping Meals: A growing number of people, including many children, are skipping meals—often eating only once a day—due to lack of money or food. 
  EL PAÍS English +4

• Remittances and Informal Economy: Families are heavily reliant on money sent from relatives abroad to buy food on the black market.
• Sharing and Bartering: Neighbors, friends, and family share whatever they have left, sharing food in impoverished neighborhoods.
• Resale and Trade: Items "acquired" from workplaces are sometimes sold or traded to secure food.
• Emigration: A significant number of people have left the country to seek a better life, providing an escape from the food crisis. 
  The New York Times +2

posted by Resty Odon  # 4:51 PM 0 Comments

100 Ways to a Mini-Reset

Listen to a homily online

Have a spiritual retreat (online or offline)

Pray

Pray the rosary

Submit to psychospiritual counseling and therapy

Draw

Journal. Write down your thoughts

Create art

Create sculpture out of trash

Watch a show you love

Massage

Massage with magnesium oil

Aromatherapy: lavender, apple, lemon, orange

Collect keychains and enjoy and admire your collection

Origami time

Hammock time

Early morning sun

Staring at trees all around me

Puttering around my garden

Replanting, saving dying plants

Cleaning old and grimy things and making them look brand new

Dusting off and tidying up neglected corners and things

Noting the unique beauty of each person

Go to mass

From the Internet:

Natural Dopamine;

Being bored, Chasing goals, Reading books, Turning off phone, Showering cold, Home cleaning, Lifting weights, Eating protein

Natural Oxytocin;

Cuddling pets, Hugging people, Saying thank you, Deep conversations, Listening carefully, Making eye contact, Saying I love you, Helping others

Natural Serotonin;

Eating fruits, Morning sun, Forest bathing, Breathing slowly, Headphone-free walks, Drinking herbal tea, Sleeping deeply, Taking naps

Natural Endorphins;

Car singing, Warm baths, Nature hiking, Daily stretching, Running fast, Kitchen dancing, Lifting weights, Hot saunas

posted by Resty Odon  # 2:49 AM 0 Comments

 My newsfeed continued to be assailed with posts upon posts about Trump, Netanyahu, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, and names of Iranians I found hard to read and retain.  

***

I would wake up wondering if this or that food or item would still have the same price or would still be accessible at all in the coming days or months.

***

The urge to panic-buy was real, but people, it seemed to me, couldn't afford to do it. All they could do was hope for the best while preparing for the worst.

***

People continue to post their meals while dining out. I wonder if that would be their last good meal. As we in Pangasinan say, Puera antocaman. 

***

A ceiling in NAIA collapsed. >> Appalling! Imagine the great impression it had on tourists.

***

The pope led this year's Via Crucis in Rome by carrying the cross. >>> If a current pope does that himself, you know we are in times of great trouble. Hope his gesture of abasement will sort of avert the great punishment that seems to await mankind because of the war.

***

Statues dressed as Koreans guarded a moving statue of the crucified Christ. >>> I don't know whether to laugh or get angry.

***

Performative was a word I encountered often. I means: sense 2: done or expressed insincerely or inauthentically, typically with the intention of impressing others or improving one's own image:

1. "is their outrage real or just performative?"

posted by Resty Odon  # 1:32 PM 0 Comments

The Pitogo Leaf Thieves

Last Palm Sunday, something hilarious and disturbing happened.

Supposing the video is neither a prank nor AI-generated, a CCTV footage in one village residence showed three women stealing choice leaves of pitogo (an endemic cycad, it turns out), apparently to use them for, or maybe sell as, palaspas for Palm Sunday mass, completely missing the irony of their illicit act.

Jesus Christ, the God-became-man, was about to offer his life for them, so they could be saved. Out of eternal gratitude, they are supposed to follow his teachings and live a life of virtue. Upon the arrival of our Lord borne of a donkey, they are supposed to spread out blankets on his path in honor of him and wave fronds of honestly earned palm leaves as part of the welcoming committee. And yet they completely missed the point.

It made me try hard to figure out why. Why steal preferred palm leaves for Palm Sunday knowing stealing is a sin? Maybe, I thought, they saw the leaves as high-end species that would command a higher price in the palaspas market? Or maybe they held this belief that only the leaves of pitogo would have healing powers or offer enough protection from lightning, as many believe?

Why did I end up like justifying theft?

I realize that many of us Catholic Filipinos tend to overdo Catholicism and be more popish than the pope most especially during Lent.

In my case, I grew up believing that all the practices practiced in our town for generations were regulation Catholic teaching, only to learn later on in my adult life that they are not.

I had always thought that offering atangs or alay on the altar, performing certain healing rituals, and performing an assortment of self-imposed suffering were practices stamped with nihil obstat and imprimatur.

As an adult devotee, I had to do a double-take and sift and sort through a myriad of beliefs and practices and figure out which ones were 'legit' and which ones are not--or to be frank about it, 'heathen' ones.

I had to learn the hard way that, yes, of course, submitting one's forehead to receive a cross sign made of black ash from a priest on Ash Wednesay was 'licit' and expected, together with fasting from a meal on that day. But what most people don't know is that these are not even obligatory, just like so many devotions like Visita Iglesia, Way of the Cross, and the washing of the feet ceremony.

All that waving of palm leaves was likewise orthodox, although I've seen coconut palm leaves replaced with other leaves outside the Palmaceae family such as guava leaves. The use of non-palm leaves reminds me of indigenous healing rituals for someone who was 'abaltikan' or 'nabati,' and a traditional non-Christian cleansing ritual during or after funerals.

Not eating meat on Fridays was to be expected (with seniors and the sick being exempt). Abstinence of all kinds is most welcome.

But it is especially on Good Fridays that things would turn for the worse, with many traditional observances getting really out of hand.

Among the beliefs and practices that would turn out to be not Catholic at all are:

- Dahil patay daw ang Diyos kapag Biyernes Santo, kapag nasugat ka, matagal itong gagaling. (Once you are wounded on Good Friday, it would take so long for the wound to heal because God is dead on Friday.)

- Bawal maligo, dahil 'di pa nabuhay ang bangkay ni Hesus. Kailangang maghintay sa 'Pasko ng Pagkabuhay.' (You can't take a bath because Jesus' corpse has not resurrected yet. Wait for Easter.)

- Bawal lumabas. (You can't go out, or something bad might happen to you.)

- Bawal gumawa ng mabibigat na trabaho. (You can't do heavy workload.)

- Huwag kumain ng karne ng Huwebes Santo at Sabado de Gloria. (Don't eat meat even on Maundy Thursday and Black Saturday.)

- And the most bizarre of all is this because it is like acquiring an amulet: Sa hatinggabi ng Biyernes Santo, ang sinumang lalabas sa dilim upang abangan ang pagpatak ng isang likido mula sa puso ng saging ay magkakaroon ng kapangyarihan. (On the midnight of Good Friday, anyone who goes out into the darkness to wait for a drop of liquid to fall from the flower of a banana tree will gain superpower—like having special or supernatural abilities.)

- There's even self-flagellation, which they say contradicts the concept of the grace of God's mercy. (This, however, is reportedly practiced to a lesser extent by certain groups like Opus Dei members.)

Aside from the expected fasting from meat on Fridays or from a full meal on Good Friday itself, only this practice is deemed acceptable for obvious reasons:

- Bawal mag-ingay. (Observe silence, or at least avoid making noise in deference to the solemnity of the occasion.) But here, it must be pointed out that we are not celebrating God's death (death is never something to be celebrated unless you rise up again to eternity) but honoring and commemorating Jesus' passion and earthly death on the cross.

Other beliefs, though not part of official teaching, are acceptable or at least innocuous because they affirm the faith and are an act of faith and act of love by nature.

- Ilagay sa pintuan o bintana ang nabendisyunang palaspas bilang proteksyon sa kidlat. (Place the blessed palm fronds on the door or window as protection against lightning.)

- Sa alas dose ng tanghali Biyernes Santo, gumawa ng 'larak' o langis ng niyog para gamiting panghaplos ng mga mayroong sakit sa katawan dahil ito ay pinaniniwalaang nakagagamot. (At 12:00 noon of Good Friday, make oil out of coconut to produce healing oil.)

- Kapag Sabado de Gloria, magtanim ng kahit anong buto ng gulay o punla ng puno, dahil siguradong ito ay lalago ng husto. (On Black Saturday, plant any kind of vegetable seed or tree seedling, because it is sure to grow well and thrive.)

This one may be construed as our version of an Easter egg hunt:

- Kinaumagahan ng Pista ng Pagkabuhay, ikaw ay tumalon ng pinakamataas mong kayang talunin, upang ikaw ay maging matangkad. (On the morning of Easter Sunday, jump as high as you possibly can, so that you will grow taller.)

- Other acceptable practices include the Senakulo, Siete Palabras, and pasyon, but a quick research on the history of the pasyon reveals versions that were anathema to or inconsistent with teachings, culminating in the creation of the Pasyon Pilapil, a corrected version by Fr. Mariano Pilapil that became the most widespread version.

As for those that are not part of Catholic tradition? Not surprisingly, they all "come from indigenous mourning practices for the dead," according to historian Kriby Araullo.

Anyway, what I am pointing out is that we, Filipinos, are no different from the pharisaical and overly legalistic Jews of old, to some extent. Despite our mass conversion to Christianity, we haven't weaned ourselves off from our animistic roots. The result is cultural layering and halo-halo (eclecticisim), and so we end up looking like we are overdoing things in our observance of Christianity, apparently in our desire to bribe God with good deeds and deeper spiritual fervor that He might regard us better.

...To the point that we violate God's teachings and deem it justifiable, believing that resorting to our precolonial ways would ultimately do us good.

In our willingness to resort to hedging or bargaining through unnecessary add-ons and outright superstition and idolatry to please God through our own merits and efforts, we're not much different from the pitogo leaf thieves last Palm Sunday.

O mi Jesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra.

posted by Resty Odon  # 5:08 AM 0 Comments

Wanted: Urgent Re-prioritization for the Real 'Great Reset'

Actor Benjamin Alves said something so aptly worded, so true, and so sad: "Filipinos are being priced out of their own country."

If an artista who can easily earn millions -- and who ostensibly don't belong to any of those leftist ideology-driven 'militant' groups -- can feel the pinch, imagine what this means for those who receive ordinary salaries in terms of their nutrition, health, housing, retirement, overall quality of life...

What have we done to our country and our people? We have made it become more and more difficult to live in every aspect of life. As reports have documented in detail over the years, we have made it very difficult to eat well, get educated, find a job, marry, have kids, get sick, get old, and even die. And not because Filipinos are dumb and lazy.

In our towns and villages, basic things are utterly missing: proper roads with proper sidewalks; decent drainage system; proper basketball court; spacious park with a decent playground for kids to play safely and sports complex for athletes to train; basic agricultural facilities; greenhouses, nurseries, and seed banks to sustain local food production; affordable, efficient, and convenient transport system that put in mind the welfare of lowly commuters and not just car-owners; adequate number of sorely needed healthcare and helping specialists such as allergologists, EENTs, psychologists, psychiatrists, OB-Gyne, counselors/therapists per capita; companies and manufacturing firms that are part of entire industries that could provide opportunities for a host of professions and workers...

Something should be done right away to right things before things boil over.

I don't know how, but something needs to be done right away with the pricing of basic commodities and most especially the steep pricing of utility providers which eat up most of household budgets. Bring back the purchasing power of the peso.

***

Over the long term, it looks like what we need to be, as a nation, is one that is capable of producing its own fuel and energy source (be it oil and gas or alternatives), food, medicine, and other essential needs -- all at affordable prices. And while at it, let's not forget self-defense.

This requires diverse alternative energy sources, efficient and modern agriculture, local production of pharmaceuticals, and an assortment of manufacturing industries, preferably those supporting these basic needs: oil extraction and refineries, alterative power generators, farm inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, feeds), machines, raw materials processing facilities, and factories of medical and food products.

I may sound dreaming, but the alternative scenarios are all nightmarish and dystopic.

We should pivot to the strategy of learning how to stand on our own two feet, for a change. We should be the ones making the great reset, not some mysterious cabal of globalists who don't have our best interests on their agenda.

posted by Resty Odon  # 10:15 PM 0 Comments

A Word of Cushion

(Exploring ways of cushioning the deep impact of the latest war in the Middle East, particularly with the sudden exposure of our multiple vulnerabilities)

Let us consider, for one moment, this: Each good we consume comes from somewhere.

Every food ingredient, kitchen condiment, personal care item, and household essential, staple, and indispensable, has a supply chain story.

Some back-stories are simple, some are not. A few are produced right where we are, and can be procured by simply walking or through a short bike ride. The rest comes from elsewhere, somewhere invariably far and they all need fuel to get produced and transported to our doorstep. And they all involve complicated logistics while in transit.

With the disruption in the distribution of oil and gas for fuel, how are we going to get our daily supply of essential things?

Since my expertise is on excessive worrying and overthinking, for once, let us put them into good use today.

We've had a taste of this suddenness during the covid-19 pandemic, but this is a lot worse so many times over because the supply chain of food, medicine, other vital goods, and fuel remained steady after a few days of delay.

For breakfast, where are we going to get our eggs, for example? This one is easy. Our town has several residents who are into commercial poultry and egg production on a moderate scale. We can prevail upon them not to sell outside town. What about the ingredients of our favorite comfort food such as pinakbet? I am pretty sure that we can still buy eggplant, ampalaya, tomatoes, and other vegetables, but I am not so sure about ginger, salt, and bagoong. Baguio vegetables obviously need to be carted off all the way from the highlands.

We are a rice-producing town, so rice is probably safe as long as we have enough in storage that will last us for months. We also have numerous chicken and pig raisers. I am not so sure with our other favorite food items: fresh bangus from Bonuan, galunggong, and other seafood as our source of an essential mineral: iodine.

That's just about the food on the table.

Where do we get the baby's formula milk? The diapers?

And our senior citizen's maintenance medicine? Our hospital supplies?

I have found that these are all imported items. These things all need fuel to be shipped and flown, and airplane fuel is said to be the most expensive kind.

We have no manufacturing industries in our town to immediately support our grocery needs. These all need to be manufactured efficiently, i.e., at economies of scale, and transported within town limits just as efficiently.

As we can see, with the sudden "energy shock," the quick chain reaction and the far-reaching repercussions are not so hard to imagine. Scarcity of fuel means difficulty in transportation, which means sudden spike in costs, while take home pay of workers remain the same. (Come to think of it, price hikes are always a given during crises, but price rollbacks are as rare as, say, the Mindoro bleeding heart, Cebu brown dove, and other vanishing and endangered species.)

The cost is, of course, shouldered ultimately by all of us who buy any of these at the farthest end of the line: lowly consumers.

Let's extend the worst-case scenario. The sudden dearth in food supply may not spell sudden death, but it will mean extreme belt-tightening measures. To cut back on household and corporate expenses, the first one to suffer, because most expensive on the laundry list, is electricity.

This means brownouts galore, even rotating brownouts. And no electricity means a new layer of disruptions, deprivations, and depredations as well.

Scarcity of basic goods and commodities might induce panic-buying, hoarding, and profiteering.

Hunger or widespread famine could spell higher rate of theft and crime, riots, forcible opening of stores and food banks.

Disruption in the supply chain in general could also mean business closures and consequently massive unemployment.

Without oil and gas, will our farmers be able to plant still?

Where are they going to get their fertilizers, pesticides, and other farm inputs?

Aside from corn, do we have feeds for livestock?

Without adequate electricity, will our children be able to continue face-to-face learning or even have online classes?

We haven't even dealt with garbage collection and disposal and emergency services -- both of these use a huge amount of fuel.

Think about the sudden power failure we experience during major typhoons. This means low-batt and dead cell phones, no internet, darkness at night, oppressive heat and humidity by day, and the need to cook right away everything we have stored in our freezers and refrigerators.

Government on all levels will need to state of emergency to empower them to release and realign funds and order and implement interventions minus the tedious legislative process.

On the flipside, the crisis also presents myriad opportunities for anyone who can supply what is lacking onsite through alternative means. They are in the position to reap the reward, the bonanza, the windfall of profits.

The suddenly unemployed can be 'realigned,' like corporate budgets, to new gainful employment. They can resort instead to in situ food production, in backyards, hastily put up DIY greenhouses to grow fast-growing crops. They can also sell local produce locally, through old-fashioned ambulant vending or rolling stores. I figure wagwagan or ukay-ukay stores would make a killing with the marked-down prices of pre-loved items. The skilled ones among displaced workers can provide personal services.

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. But it's more likely that, with no other resources, we'll just revert to our Flintstones era or Stone Age way of life.

In our town, that would probably mean resorting to the ancient tangguyob, umalohokan, bandillo publico, messages handwritten and typewritten on paper, and town square face-to-face meetings and grand eyeballs for public information.

For farmers, it would mean going back to the plow and arrow, carabao, cow, harrow, sled, kariton, mortar and pestle, taltagan (giant boat-sized mortar), igar, bayuan, etc.

For drivers, kariton, horse-drawn carromata (karitela), bicycles, pedicab, cow-drawn garong (gulong-gulong, tangkulong), and rafts and wooden boats would be helpful once again. Or good old walking and hiking and marathons for all.

We need to revert to firewood and charcoal and clay stove for cooking, candles and matchsticks for lighting alternative fixture of illumination (think antique and obsolete lampara, etc.), herbal medicine and alternative healing modalities, traditional food preservation methods, ancient, forgotten, and discarded cleaning practices, plain old neighborly sharing of food and water resources, ancient food preservation, barter trade, community pantries, and the like.

Our days and nights without electricity would be unbearably hot and humid, so we need nipa huts, mosquito nets, and hand fans.

But a major dilemma would be: Who still keep those artifacts mentioned aside from the local museum?

We might need to manufacture all these all over again, while finding alternative ways and means to produce and invest in alternative fuel and energy source.

Unless it is a long-running joke without a punchline, we might need to revisit the work of this Filipino scientist who allegedly invented cheap alternative energy by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Crises, unexpected and unwelcome as they are, can also be blessings in disguise in so many ways.

Our kids -- these lazybones -- will finally be forced to stop their mindless cell phone scrolling once and for all.

These cell phone addicts will suddenly have withdrawal syndrome and rediscover sunshine and natural vitamin D, parlor games, monkey bars and seesaws, backyard games like marbles and spider fighting, and various sports as better alternatives to digital dopamine fix.

Porn addicts will likely have panic attacks that will lead them to have no other choice but get out, socialize, and build actual relationships with real people, persons in the flesh instead of blown-up dolls and AI characters.

Writers, visual artists, and graphic artists will be employable or in demand once again.

Homesteaders will be the biggest celebrity, as media people try to figure out how they have been able to live off the grid for so long: no Internet and energy provider, no bills, no cash, no card, no nothing. Farmlands, idle lands should be transformed into such self-sustaining modules of living.

Produce from backyard gardens in all available yards can perhaps cushion the impact of high demand vis-a-vis low supply in the market, helping stabilize prices.

Finally, with no garbage trucks running, residents will be forced to deal with their trash more creatively through recycling, upcycling, and alternative ways of disposal. Composting to turn biodegradable trash into fertilizer, and the practice of organic agriculture, will be made more viable, because... tell me, do we have much choice?

Aside from practitioners of no-carb diet and providers of solar panels, e-bikes, e-cars, hybrid cars, and rechargeable lamps or anything rechargeable, the environment will probably be the biggest winner from all that reprieve from toxic fumes and greenhouse gases, nasty substances reportedly causing global warming and/or climate change (I am confused with the terminology by now).

Like in the past pandemic, new emergency needs might bring forth new emergency businesses, industries, jobs. Over the long term, whoever can produce or manufacture local versions of inaccessible and most especially imported yet essential goods at affordable prices will probably hit a gold mine.

I don't like ending with a quote from someone I haven't actually read like Nietszche (did I spell that right?), but with all the severely limited cushioning or mitigation options we have at our disposal, may we survive this apocalyptic, dystopian, nightmarish times in our lives. And may we come back stronger, less reliant on Middle Eastern oil that has made the Arabs fabulously rich while relegating ourselves to the economic dustbin all these years. We should've been smarter than that. And if there's any credence or smidgen of verity to that old claim of the mythical Tallano gold, now is probably the best time to use it, to tide us over what looks like a great reset.

***

(AI-generated content: 0%. Note the errors I retained on purpose. So Meta, where is my reward?)

posted by Resty Odon  # 9:13 PM 0 Comments

The Things We Take for Granted

Ah, the things we take for granted. We always take for granted that we have food on the table, tap water, electricity, Internet connection, refrigerator, car and public transport vehicles.

We always take for granted that there are farms that produce our food on the table, that we have money to buy food, that we have multiple options in a given day or week, from 'samgyup' to Dubai chewy cookie with kataifi, that we can always have our food fresh or frozen, that we can stock up on canned goods and other items at our convenience, that there are 2/7 convenience stores, that we can withdraw cash conveniently from the nearest ATM, that we can buy the nursing baby's special formula milk at all, and diapers too, that we have cheap generic maintenance medicines, that we can take care of our sick and ailing family members in comfort.

We don't expand much thought on the fact that we can get whatever we want at our fingertips, from the items we are salivating over at Lazada or Shoppee to the day's viral dance routines and the silliest and most hilarious memes or latest showbiz gossip and controversy. We don't give much importance to the fact that we have Uber and Grab Food, and we can PM or DM our relative in Spain at the flick of a button any time of the day or have a video call with someone in Saudi Arabia the same way via Messenger or Viber.

We don't reckon that much that we can travel around the country and the world with such ease.

We don't think much about these things, presuming they are our birthright.

At this age, we can no longer imagine a world without oil and gas.

We've been too complacent. We've been sleeping too much on the fact that all of this could come crashing down one day at an instant with the sudden closure of a body of water -- a mere strait -- that we haven't heard about.

Who knew that the Strait of Hormuz could be blockaded by a country which technically doesn't own it, and the whole world could be plunged into darkness and famine combined, and at the same time too?

The regrets come much too late. How we wish we had gone solar or at least hybrid on fuel and energy source ten, twenty years ago! What were our options then? Wind, sure. Geothermal, check. Hydroelectric, yes we have it to an extent. Nuclear, possible, but scary because risky, dangerous. Can't we use ocean or river currents as well? I think we use coal too, but I am not sure where we are procuring it, and besides it is not considered green or clean energy.

Solar would have been the most accessible, although too pricey for a typical household who has the foresight but would have to shell out half a million pesos for the installation.

No thanks to the sudden closure, we are facing the very real prospect of being like Cuba: no electricity, no light, no food, no nothing. We hope to God not, but we can't be so sure, what with our dependence, or seemingly, in psychological terms, codependence, not even interdependence. Our degree of enmeshment with faraway republics, kingdoms and monarchies, sultanates, emirates, 'people's republics,' even political Islamist 'republics,' is such that we don't even see it as existing and as close to us as breathing.

Now that we are suddenly flooded with words such as oil embargo, detente, balance of power, axis of evil, Great Satan, Little Satan, proxy wars, we are left speechless, unable to move and decide at the suddenness of it all. In denial. These are all signs of trauma.

Will we keep our jobs? How are we going to eat? Where to find our next meal? What will happen to our family? The remittances from the Middle East -- how long will they last? How do we repatriate our family members trapped there, if at all? Here at home, where do we run to, to survive? We don't own underground bunkers equipped with the right things, with food that could end months without rotting. We don't have underground shelters where we could hide in, just in case. Which self-sustaining farm or forest or jungle could we stay in that could provide us a steady amount of rice, root crops, huts, fruits, vegetables, game or meat, fowl, eggs, water to drink?

Our world has turned into, if not a literal warzone, at least an economic war zone. Who knew a mere closure of a strait could easily turn this world upside down? Who knew we were this vulnerable? Who knew this world is so frail?

We must be resilient. Should have been all along. In worst-case scenarios, we run the risk of going back to our pre-modern, primitive ways. Walking to get to where we want to be. Backyard raising of grains, beans, fast-growing vegetables, chickens, pigs, goats. Cooking with firewood or charcoal and clay stoves. Preserving food in vinegar or salt as pickles and jellies and jams or letting them ferment. Foraging for herbs, weeds, fruits, piths, corms, bulbs, tubers, runners, shoots, insects, grubs, cocoons, twigs, buds, embryos we've heard in some videos as edible. Reverting to the carabao, sled, harrow, rafts, boats, bicycles, horse-drawn cart, mortar and pestle, and organic composting. Barter trade. Neighborhood food exchange. Community pantry. Ambulant stores and vendors. Home service. Herbal remedies. DIY home remedies. Old-fashioned cleansers. Nipa huts.

Hand-pumped deep wells, artesian wells. Carpooling (if there's any sachet of gasoline left). Face-to-face meets or grand eyeballs. Bandillo, umalohokan (town crier), and kungkong (indigenous bamboo implement). Printed paper. Radio. Analog. Legacy media (if and when there is electricity and connectivity).

Apart from our armory of traditional foodways and culture, our only armor now is faith. And inspired words from God.

"Do not be afraid for I am with you." "I love you and you are mine."

***

You Are Mine

(a song by David Haas)

"I will come to you in the silence

I will lift you from all your fear

You will hear My voice

I claim you as My choice

Be still, and know I am near

I am hope for all who are hopeless

I am eyes for all who long to see

In the shadows of the night,

I will be your light

Come and rest in Me

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

I am strength for all the despairing

Healing for the ones who dwell in shame

All the blind will see, the lame will all run free

And all will know My name

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine

I am the Word that leads all to freedom

I am the peace the world cannot give

I will call your name, embracing all your pain

Stand up, now, walk, and live

Do not be afraid, I am with you

I have called you each by name

Come and follow Me

I will bring you home

I love you and you are mine."

***

God, save us! We are afraid, we feel helpless. Lord, forgive our complacency. We are so dumb we only realize the import of things the moment they are gone.

We've learned our lessons now.

Crisis, the Chinese say, is where secret opportunities abound. Show us where those are hiding in plain sight.

We beg you to spare us from the evils of war!

posted by Resty Odon  # 3:31 PM 0 Comments