PARADOXICAL

The faith chronicles

Friday, August 21, 2026

 

๐€ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐‡๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐€๐œ๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ก๐ฎ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐‘๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž '๐‹๐š๐ง๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐…๐ซ๐ž๐ž'

 ๐€ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐‡๐จ๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐€๐œ๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ก๐ฎ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐‘๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž '๐‹๐š๐ง๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐…๐ซ๐ž๐ž'


(๐‘…๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐’น๐‘œ๐“‚ ๐’ท๐‘œ๐‘œ๐“€ ๐“‡๐‘’๐“‹๐’พ๐‘’๐“Œ: ๐’ž๐’ถ๐“‡๐“๐‘œ๐“ˆ ๐ต๐“Š๐“๐‘œ๐“ˆ๐’ถ๐“ƒ'๐“ˆ ๐’ป๐’ถ๐“‚๐‘œ๐“Š๐“ˆ ๐’ถ๐“Š๐“‰๐‘œ๐’ท๐’พ๐‘œ๐‘”๐“‡๐’ถ๐“…๐’ฝ๐’พ๐’ธ ๐“ƒ๐‘œ๐“‹๐‘’๐“, "๐’œ๐“‚๐‘’๐“‡๐’พ๐’ธ๐’ถ ๐’พ๐“ˆ ๐’พ๐“ƒ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐ป๐‘’๐’ถ๐“‡๐“‰," ๐’พ๐“ˆ ๐’ถ ๐’ฝ๐’ถ๐“‡๐“‡๐‘œ๐“Œ๐’พ๐“ƒ๐‘” ๐’ถ๐’ธ๐’ธ๐‘œ๐“Š๐“ƒ๐“‰ ๐‘œ๐’ป ๐“Š๐“ƒ๐“‚๐’พ๐“‰๐’พ๐‘”๐’ถ๐“‰๐‘’๐’น ๐’น๐‘’๐’ฝ๐“Š๐“‚๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐’พ๐“๐’ถ๐“‰๐’พ๐‘œ๐“ƒ ๐‘œ๐’ป ๐“…๐‘œ๐“‹๐‘’๐“‡๐“‰๐“Ž ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐’น ๐“Š๐“ƒ๐“‰๐‘œ๐“๐’น ๐’ธ๐“‡๐“Š๐‘’๐“๐“‰๐“Ž ๐‘œ๐’ป ๐“Œ๐’ฝ๐’พ๐“‰๐‘’ ๐’œ๐“‚๐‘’๐“‡๐’พ๐’ธ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐“ˆ ๐“‰๐‘œ๐“Œ๐’ถ๐“‡๐’น ๐น๐’พ๐“๐’พ๐“…๐’พ๐“ƒ๐‘œ๐“ˆ -- ๐“ƒ๐‘œ๐“‰ ๐’พ๐“ƒ ๐‘…๐“Š๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐’พ๐’ถ'๐“ˆ ๐’ธ๐‘œ๐“ƒ๐’ธ๐‘’๐“ƒ๐“‰๐“‡๐’ถ๐“‰๐’พ๐‘œ๐“ƒ ๐’ธ๐’ถ๐“‚๐“…๐“ˆ ๐“ƒ๐‘œ๐“‡ ๐’พ๐“ƒ ๐ป๐’พ๐“‰๐“*๐“‡'๐“ˆ ๐‘”๐’ถ๐“ˆ ๐’ธ๐’ฝ๐’ถ๐“‚๐’ท๐‘’๐“‡๐“ˆ, ๐’ท๐“Š๐“‰ ๐“‡๐’พ๐‘”๐’ฝ๐“‰ ๐’พ๐“ƒ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐’ฝ๐‘’๐’ถ๐“‡๐“‰๐“๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐’น ๐‘œ๐’ป ๐’ป๐“‡๐‘’๐‘’๐’น๐‘œ๐“‚ ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐’น ๐’น๐‘’๐“‚๐‘œ๐’ธ๐“‡๐’ถ๐’ธ๐“Ž. ๐’œ ๐“‚๐“Š๐“ˆ๐“‰-๐“‡๐‘’๐’ถ๐’น, ๐’ท๐“Š๐“‰ ๐‘œ๐“ƒ๐“๐“Ž ๐’ป๐‘œ๐“‡ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘œ๐“ˆ๐‘’ ๐“Œ๐’ฝ๐‘œ ๐’ธ๐’ถ๐“ƒ ๐“ˆ๐“‰๐‘œ๐“‚๐’ถ๐’ธ๐’ฝ ๐’พ๐“‰.)

Carlos Bulosanโ€™s "America is in the Heart" is one of those books in the Philippine literary canon that I have been hearing about practically since birth. Meaning, it's something I had parked in my mind to be a must-read if I must have a good grasp of Philippine literature. For some reason, I never had a chance to encounter it, whether in a library, bookstore, used books store, a friend's book collection, or a bootleg file sourced online by an enterprising IT guy, so it was almost forgotten.

Finally, the opportunity came my way without me lifting a finger (i.e., through a balikbayan box), so I guess I had to do my part of appreciating the gesture by reading through this legendary work and hopefully enjoying its literary merits.

But 'enjoying' is hardly ever a word one would use to describe this novel, for it is quite largely a detailed account of "man's inhumanity to man" in all its disgracefulness and ignominy. All my personal sufferings due to socioeconomic realities suddenly paled in comparison (thankfully) to the gripping account of brutality described by Carlos Bulusan in this novel. No page was spared of the crime, cruelty, and agony he went through, first as a child in the Philippines, then as a young immigrant to the United States of America. This account reminds me of tragic novels or films I have read or watched back in the day like "Of Mice and Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair, "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, the story of Josephine Bakhita, Elie Wiesel's "Night," "Escape from Sobibor," "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," etc., whose unique accounts of hell-on-earth were as relentless as they were unflinching.

And yet, I couldn't stop reading on, except when exhausted, hungry, or to answer the call of nature, because I was eager to know more about the unbelievable wreckage of one person's life in the hands of 'fate' and white people. My gut reaction can be likened to that of witnessing a road accident yet couldn't look away. It helped a lot that Bulosan's command of the language is excellent, his grasp of English grammar impeccable. But more than that, I guess, is his authentic experience of material poverty and social inequity, told in invariably poetic and scientific voice, which is sure to resonate with anyone who had so much as a brush with it.

There's no question that racism and the superiority complex lying underneath is utterly wrong and evil, but poverty per se is dehumanizing, as this story details, the kind that is systemic and induced by social injustice (to distinguish from self-imposed poverty). โ€œAmerica is in the Heartโ€ reminds us that the first Filipinos immigrated to America precisely because of poverty, precisely to escape the life of cyclical destitution in their homeland. Sadly, it also reminds us that the Filipino pioneers in quest of the American dream did not find the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead, they were greeted with a mighty slap on the face by hypocritical white America, ironically they who colonized a territory of natives who had no concept of personal land ownership and the concept of property as a source of identity and marker of social status. Instead of escaping the feudalistic economic system that oppressed them as a class in the Philippines, they had to deal with something that was hardly any better in their newfound place, if not a lot worse.

As we know by now, the pioneering Filipinos would be looked down upon not just as poor migrant workers, but also because of the color of their skin. This double whammy of a punishment haunted every moment of their lives, that we, 20th century readers, would find strange though not too farfetched, considering there still exist certain fringe groups like neo-Nazis to this day.

We have an instinctive inkling that the world or this life isn't perfect and will never be, but as improbable utopia may be, neither hell on earth is ever acceptable, a thought that Bulosan must have grappled with in his life with such constancy.

***

This novel being an autobiography and not fiction, it is veritably a documentation of something that actually happened to a real person, and there is no doubt that it could happen again, give or take a few changes in the prevailing set of socio-economic circumstances.

There are a lot of other things that this novel warns us of: That land ownership not just means wealth or social status, it also means political clout or power. That a highly skewed distribution of earnings (or wealth) through slave wages will always result in social discontent and instability. That, if we are honest enough, our society's view of the amount of money or wealth one owns as being equivalent to oneโ€™s worth as human being leads to a lot of complex troubles in the world.

Bulosan's sad and tragic life reminds us how that kind of world gave birth to labor unions and strikes and the idea of having a just minimum wage, why some people become communists or at least socialist or leftist -- or liberal and anti-establishment in politics. It is unfortunate that in Bulosan's time, they wrongly equated the concept of democracy and fair labor compensation to communism. (Personally I am allergic to communist thought, since I grew up learning the value of small enterprise and reading articles upon articles in the Reader's Digest about the horrors of the Russian, Chinese, and other communist states' gulag, how Marxist philosophy and its variations led to the persecution and violent death of millions of people around the world.)

And yet, the reverse setting -- the American heartland -- is hardly any better, as capitalism at the time and democracy-among-whites also led to sub-human-level poverty and ruined lives among people of color.

More than a cautionary tale, Bulosan's novel is a faithful account in that it presented a world that was, though dystopic, was complex and thus real. Firstly, it was a world where even the victims were not lily-white either. I mean, just look at those early Pinoy laborers, and marvel at their many flaws as well. The white American perpetrators were indeed the personification of evil, but what do we make of the Pinoy laborers' slavish attachment or even bondage to gambling, whoring, and other vices? While at the same time exhibiting age-old Filipino values of being God-fearing and family-centered, selflessness and pakikipagkapwa, they couldn't help but succumb to their darker side.

Then again, criminality may be considered to be just one of the unfortunate consequences of poverty. Combined with personal character weakness, poverty also espouses criminality, alienation, loss of self-esteem, anxiety, dread, despondency, depression, negativism, and even atheism. (I can't help but note how Bulosan mentioned praying to God in just one brief line within its 320-plus pages. It is itself a marvel how he survived all that, while ending up with such a steely resolve as the novel's title makes it clear at the outset.)

On the other hand, there were the white Americans as well who gave another face to America, the humane ones that Bulosan encountered as well, and they were numerous enough not to quash his sense of hope, enough to restore his faith in another America, a welcoming America, a humane America, a fair and just land of opportunity.

Apart from Pinoy's well-known Catholic religiosity, another thing noticeably missing in Bulosan's account, however, is the absence of a deeper look into the hidden 'whys' of racist whites -- their secret fears of being dominated by mere "monkeys" and "savages" right in their newly conquered territory, their sense of superiority borne maybe of a psychological insecurity unknown even to them, innate xenophobia (fear of anything foreign and strange) maybe, plus the view of Pinoys as illegals (in contrast to their legal status) and therefore deserving of such a beastly treatment.

America and the world are so much more different now, thank God, but we can't be too complacent, thanks to Bulosan's great witness. Where it would have been easier to write something didactic and propagandist, Bulosan chose the far more challenging literary, artistic path, the path that actually touches hearts and wins minds. As a result, the world -- especially latter-day Filipino immigrants to the United States -- have much to thank Bulosan and company for. For literally sacrificing their own blood, sweat, and tears, and actually writing down what they had experienced and witnessed first-hand, Bulosan and his contemporaries helped pave the way to where Fil-Ams and other immigrants of color are today: un-harassed, no longer hunted down like some farm rats and feral dogs, no longer charged with violating anti-miscegenation laws, and can walk shoulder-to-shoulder in public if they happen to fall in love with a person "not of their kind" (as though there is more than one human 'race').

(Acknowledgment: Joey Ferrer of Pittsburg, CA)

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

 

Umaaraw, Umuulan, Nakakalito

 Umaaraw, Umuulan, Nakakalito


"Umaaraw, umuulan," sabi ng lumang kanta ng grupong Parokya ni Edgar nung kabataan ko (no, wait, Rivermaya pala yun, at matanda na ako nun). Ang kanta ay hindi talaga tungkol sa pag-araw at pag-ulan, kundi tungkol sa pagiging "sadyang ganyan ng buhay."

'Ika nga ng isang psychologist na nakausap ko, "Life has its ups and downs, negatives and positives." It was a very simple observation, but a major eye-opener for me. Yun kasi yung time na 'di ko matanggap ang mga mabibigat na negatives sa buhay ko, at sa kabila nun ay bulag naman ako sa mga positives pala na marami rin ako.

Poetically speaking, "into each life, some rain must fall." (Forgot which poet said this, but I remember an old English class in high school.) Not all days will be bright and beautiful. Minsan down na down ka, may singaw sa pinakamasakit na bahagi ng dila, sabayan pa ng paghapdi ng tiyan kahit wala ka namang ginagawang mali.

Anyway, kaka-"hi, hello" ko lang kay haring araw kanina, pero ito na naman at umuulan na naman kahit hindi pa natutuyuan ng tuluyan ang mga putikan. Minsan pa nga, literal na umaaraw at umuulan. Ng sabay. Life's plus and minus, up and down, at the same time, instead of one after another.

Naalala ko tuloy na sa Pangasinan, mayroong certain terms for this strange phenomenon. Sabi dun sa isang source kong libro, it is called dalapa, "that rare weather phenomenon in which it rains while the sun is shining." Similarly, uran-bakes or ura'y bakes (literally, ulan ng unggoy or monkey rain) is a little rain that suddenly comes then suddenly stops, while the sun is shining.

Ayon sa isang residente rito, pinaniniwalaang may nanganganak na engkanto o elemental (kaibaan) kapag ganoong urong-sulong ang panahon.

Kakapaaraw ko lang ng mga damit, unan, etc. pati mga halaman, pero heto't suspendido na naman ang pasok ng mga bata matapos ang halos isang linggong walang pasok. (Reklamo ng iba: anyare sa resiliency? May point ha, pero kung ako ang magulang, ayokong mag-risk.) Pag nagsabay ang araw at ulan, basa ang lahat ng pinapainitan at pinapatuyo -- ewan ko lang kung anong feeling ng sa halaman ha, pero I have an idea. Just imagine a daing or tuyo na basang-basa sa ulan--ganun siguro no?

Naalala ko na nung bata pa ako nang pinagbilad ako ng mga aning mais at ilang beses na nagkandarapa na i-save ito nang biglaang umulan habang tirik naman ang araw. Inamag ang mais at di naibenta sa tamang presyo para gawing feeds.

I guess, into each life, some rain must fall while the sun is still shining. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow pala ang author ng nabanggit na tula, according to a quick Google search.)

 

Prayer

PRAYER: Lord, have mercy on our people getting inundated at home, facing all sorts of suffering and deprivation, and the dangers of drowning, disease, electrocution, no help arriving in the dead of the night, fearful of leaving their belongings to prospecting thieves. Residents in enduring life at evacuation centers. Residents with roofs leaking and having no means to repair them. Workers and businesses losing opportunities to earn. Bless our people who are able to extend help in any way, shape, or form.


Monday, August 17, 2026

 

If evolution is real, why are there still monkeys? Scientists reveal the surprising answer

 If evolution is real, why are there still monkeys? Scientists reveal the surprising answer

Story by Wiliam Hunter โ€ข 11mo โ€ข 6 min read


When you learned about the history of human evolution in school, there's a good chance you were shown one all-too-familiar image. 


That picture probably showed a conga line of human-like creatures, from a primitive ape at one end to a modern man proudly strolling into the future at the other. 



For many people, this iconic image captures evolution's slow but inevitable march from the simple to the complex.


But it also raises a puzzling question: If this really is how evolution works, then why are there still monkeys and apes? 


Surely, if humans evolved out of primates, there's no reason that so many species should have remained so primitive.


While it might be easy to dismiss this as a trivial question, the answer actually reveals a fascinating detail of our shared evolutionary history. 


In fact, it uncovers what scientists have called a 'widespread and persistent misconception' about the nature of human evolution.


So, Daily Mail asked some of the leading experts to explain why we might need to rethink our place in the evolutionary lineup. 



It's a common thought that many people have about evolution, but now scientists have given their answer to why monkeys and other apes still exist if humans evolved from them (stock image) 

It's a common thought that many people have about evolution, but now scientists have given their answer to why monkeys and other apes still exist if humans evolved from them (stock image) 

If evolution is real, why are there still monkeys? 

One common view of evolution is that it is a linear process which takes primitive species and slowly brings them closer to perfection.


Unfortunately, this is a greatly simplified perception of how evolution really works.


Professor Ruth Mace, an expert on human evolution from University College London, told Daily Mail: 'Think of the evolutionary process as tree-like. All living species are at the tips of the branches.


'Humans and monkeys are on branches that separated at some point. Both branches still exist.'


If we were to trace those branches back in time through the generations, we would eventually find that they merge into a single species. 


Modern humans' closest living relatives are chimpanzees and bonobos, with whom we share about 98.7 per cent of our DNA.


We also share a lot of common traits with our primate relatives, including anatomical features, complex social hierarchies, and problem-solving skills. 



Bonobos (pictured) and chimpanzees are humans' closest relatives, with whom we share over 98 per cent of our DNA. However, evolution experts say we didn't really evolve from these primate species 

Bonobos (pictured) and chimpanzees are humans' closest relatives, with whom we share over 98 per cent of our DNA. However, evolution experts say we didn't really evolve from these primate species 

If humans evolved from primates, why are there still monkeys?

Humans didn't evolve from any of the monkey or primate species that we see today.


Although we do share a lot of DNA with some species, up to 98 per cent in some cases, that is because we have a common ancestor.


Between six and ten million years ago, a population of primates split into those that would become chimpanzees and bonobos and those that would become humans.


Humans and monkeys are just different branches of the same evolutionary tree, but there's no reason that one needed to disappear for the other to emerge.


It might be easy, therefore, to think that modern humans evolved from a group of chimpanzees or bonobos, leaving the rest of the species behind on a lower rung of the evolutionary ladder. 


However, modern genetic data shows that this isn't the case. 


Anthropologists currently think that humans split from the family containing bonobos and chimpanzees somewhere between six to 10 million years ago.


Scientists call the species at that branching point our 'last common ancestor'. 


When scientists talk about early humans like the Neanderthals and Homo erectus, it can seem like modern humans replaced all the species that came before them.


This creates a misconception that every earlier species either evolved to be more human-like or died out.  


However, since Darwin's 'tree of life' doesn't grow straight up like a beanstalk, but spreads like a bush, there are also lots of evolutionary 'dead ends'. 


Neanderthals are just another branch that split away from our latest common ancestor that lived sometime between 800,000 and 100,000 years ago. 



Humans branched off from the chimpanzees (pictured) and bonobos about six to 10 million years ago. They are not earlier stages on the path towards humanity, but ends of a different branch in the evolutionary tree

Humans branched off from the chimpanzees (pictured) and bonobos about six to 10 million years ago. They are not earlier stages on the path towards humanity, but ends of a different branch in the evolutionary tree


Most of the branches on the human family tree were evolutionary dead ends. The other human species, such as Neanderthals (pictured), eventually died off, but not because they evolved into humans 

Most of the branches on the human family tree were evolutionary dead ends. The other human species, such as Neanderthals (pictured), eventually died off, but not because they evolved into humans 

But there's no reason that any of those other branches necessarily had to go extinct; they just took different paths to our own. 


Why haven't monkeys become as smart as humans?  

Our evolutionary story is one of gradually improving sophistication, particularly when it comes to intelligence.


This intelligence has allowed human beings to flourish in a way no other species ever has before, pushing many other primate species close to extinction.


But if our intelligence is such a massive evolutionary advantage, why haven't our close relatives also evolved to be just as smart? 


While our intelligence might seem extremely important to us, it simply isn't necessary for other species to succeed, experts said.


Professor Mace explained: 'If you live in the rainforest in groups of primates that mostly eat plant matter, then the kind of intelligence you need is not necessarily the same kind of intelligence you need if you are a carnivore who needs to hunt large prey in groups on the savannah.'


That means there's no reason for monkeys to have evolved into a more human-like species.  


Chimpanzees are extremely intelligent and well-adapted to their environment. Scientists say there is no reason that they would need to evolve the kind of intelligence found in humans 

Chimpanzees are extremely intelligent and well-adapted to their environment. Scientists say there is no reason that they would need to evolve the kind of intelligence found in humans 

Why didn't apes become as smart as humans?


Apes like chimpanzees never evolved human-level intelligence because they don't need to.


Chimpanzees are highly intelligent, showing abilities to form complex social groups, use tools, and even follow fashion trends.


However, the kind of intelligence that is required to live in the forest and eat fruit is very different from that needed to hunt large animals.


Since humans evolved in very different circumstances, we needed to be much more cooperative.


Chimpanzees don't need those abilities to thrive in their environment so they never developed them.


In fact, when it comes to evolutionary 'success', human intelligence isn't all that it's cracked up to be. 


Dr John Rowan, assistant professor of human evolution at the University of Cambridge, told Daily Mail: 'Chimpanzees and bonobos do very well in their respective niches, so why not ask the reverse question: Why havenโ€™t humans evolved to be more like chimpanzees or bonobos?


'Bonobos in particular do not engage in large-scale intergroup violence and killing, whereas we humans are constantly consumed by conflict and warfareโ€”why havenโ€™t we evolved to be more like bonobos?'


Contrary to common belief, humanity is not the goal towards which evolution is striving.


'Itโ€™s often assumed that the human version of a trait must be the "best", but thatโ€™s almost never the case,' says Dr Rowan.


'Humans have many interesting adaptations, but we must remember that so do all the other billions of species we share the planet with. And many are far more remarkable than human adaptations humans have!'


Could monkeys evolve into humans in the future?

However, although monkeys and apes don't have any reason to evolve human-like intelligence at the moment, that might not always be the case.



In the very far future, scientists say that some primate species could evolve to be more human-like in a Planet of the Apes-style scenario. However, that species might not resemble humans today 

In the very far future, scientists say that some primate species could evolve to be more human-like in a Planet of the Apes-style scenario. However, that species might not resemble humans today 

In the far future, or if humans were to disappear from the planet, there could be an evolutionary niche which some primate evolves to fill.


Professor Mace says: 'Every mutation happens by chance, but if species live in similar environments, there are plenty of examples of convergent evolution.


'So it is entirely possible that something not too different from ourselves could evolve, but it is not inevitable as the environment is bound to be slightly different.'


That means, a Planet of the Apes-style scenario is not entirely inconceivable in the extremely distant future. 


However, whatever creature did emerge from that lengthy process of evolution might not look anything like humans as we recognise them.


Dr Edwin de Jager, a biological anthropologist from the University of Cambridge, told Daily Mail: 'Evolution doesnโ€™t repeat itself exactly, but given enough time and the right pressures, itโ€™s possible that some primates could evolve greater intelligence or more human-like traits.


'But they wouldnโ€™t become human, I think theyโ€™d be something entirely new.'



Thursday, August 06, 2026

 

Waterlogged: Pros and Cons

Waterlogged
Matchsticks that won't light
Stove that won't spark on its own
Door jambs swelling
Plywoods curling
Clothes getting damp and moldering
Plants getting overwatered
Prized succulents turning into jelly
Wrigglers multiplying exponentially
Flies and mosquitoes a-swirling
Washed clothes that won't dry
Frozen food hard to thaw
Dark places getting damp
Flooding
Athlete's foot threatening
Work and business stoppage
Forgotten umbrella
Catching a fever, cough, and cold
***
Cooking--and eating--all sorts of hot soups and brothy dishes
Seeds sprouting
Forgotten seedlings rising at the speed of light
Sweltering temps much reduced
Unwanted sweating gone
Savings on lighting, aircon, and/or electric fan
Finally getting to use 'winter' clothes from abroad/wagwagan/surplus shop
Resting from tremendous amount of work
Picking up discarded hobbies once again
Listening to various species of frogs croaking at night
Catching up on sleep
Harvesting unlimited rainwater while at it
Water table refilled
Massive irrigation of farms, for free!
***
I dunno which I prefer, but life always balances things out. My role is to ride out this season of slush till the elusive sun appears again, or I might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

Sunday, August 02, 2026

 

August 2026 Recap: A Hodgepodge of Things High and Low

August 2026 Recap: A Hodgepodge of Things High and Low

Things I randomly picked up on FB even while I wasn't watching the news. They are listed one at a time as they appeared through the month:

***

I failed to note last month that national dailies picked up the news of the sudden demise of our youngest councilor. It is something I didn't expect.

***

Dr. Fauci received a severe battering from Republican senators asking him about COVID and the government policies he helped form at the time. 

***

"Alex Eala made history on August 3, 2026, by becoming the first tennis player from the Philippines to win a WTA singles title." >>> Eala's victory renewed my keen interest in tennis, but for a different purpose: to annihil@te all these mosquitoes going after my blood using this rechargeable racquet that I bought. Wait, it is called electric swatter. I aim for a perfect score each time. 

***

"Man arrested after dressing as Grim Reaper at a hospital and staring at patient in Wales." >> Haha! Fake news or not, I hate him already!

***

"Trucks carrying 200 pigs crashes in Bukidnon. Instead of helping, the crowd steals the pigs." >>> Tragedy quickly turns into 'Agawan ng Biik' game where you end up with a dirty piglet as your prize.

***

Somewhere in Manila, an acacia tree on the side of the street suddenly fell on the road, nearly missing passing vehicles and causing a traffic gridlock. I would learn days later that a delivery driver died on the spot after taking a breather under that tree. >>> I suddenly have a new fear: standing underneath a tree.

***

The debate on Pax Silica intensified. But not a few smart cookies saw through it and felt the hand of China behind the demonization. I'd say let's not fall for the ruse--I mean, China's hidden machinations. Let's not be too naive--let us be always mindful of psychological warfare, 'agitprop,' espionage and the like around us--yes, from both sides of the ideological fence.

***

Everybody seems to have watched the latest Spiderman movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. >>> Despite the silly premise of a man improbably turning into a spider scaling NYC skyscrapers, moviegoers are willing to shell out a huge sum -- for the ticket, fare/gas, and snacks -- just to see what is essentially a fantasy movie with a compelling story. I have willingly fallen for the ruse myself, several times over.  

***

"A 67-year-old woman in Colombia monetized neighborhood gossip so successfully that she has bought 2 houses down. She charges per secret and gets paid even more to stay quiet." >>> Evil kind of smart.

***

Typhoon 'Luis' and 'Maymay'--which intensified the monsoon rains and was influenced by super-typhoon improbably named 'Dolphin'--brought torrential rains and caused flooding in many areas of the country. >>> It was a worryingly wet and waterlogged world for the greater part of our three long weeks--and it had many pros and cons. But in terms of resiliency, we should learn to get on with our lives as scheduled while it's raining that strong and that long. Now we had to make up for a 3-week backlog.

***

Why are people posting their student IDs on their FB 'Story'?

***

In his visit to Davao City, a Duterte bailiwick, Pres. Marcos was heckled by high school students in the most embarrassing manner that one felt sorry for him and the high office he represented. I've never seen such a low level of disrespect for a man of high authority, but I also understand where the utter contempt and anger is coming from, considering everything that is happening around us. 

***

A devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked Colombia โ€“ collapsing buildings, trapping people under rubble and killing over 100 people. 

***

Viral sa trial> "Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan presented acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to the Commission on Auditโ€“Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) as supplemental documents for confidential fund cash advances. The documents, presented in relation to allegations of confidential fund misuse, included receipts bearing names of supposed recipients whose identities were questioned, with some reportedly having no matching records in the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) database. Among the listed transactions were a โ‚ฑ70,000 payment to โ€œMary Grace Piattosโ€ for medicines, an โ‚ฑ85,000 payment to โ€œNova Santosโ€ for various goods, and a โ‚ฑ295,000 payment to โ€œMico P. Harinaโ€ for purchased supplies. >>> Creativity fail!

***

"Isang 22-anyos na empleyado sa Alicante, Spain ang sinibak matapos paulit-ulit umanong pumasok nang mas maaga kaysa sa itinakdang oras." >>> What kind of stupid penalizes punctuality? 

***

"Julian Assange sounded the alarm about this years ago. Today, it is a normal part of how the internet (and politicians) work. The sudden deactivation of federal resources like Climate.gov highlights a growing crisis: our history is being quietly erased by centralized digital servers." >>> This is scary, but I already had a taste of it after having my original FB account deleted for no explicit reason. I am worried about my accounts on another social media site where almost all of what I've written since year 2000 is stored online.

***

Another trending party game emerged in which participants take turns eating certain foodstuff on the table and for some reason finds it funny and laugh at themselves. >>> I worry about the participants choking on the noodle.

***

Another trending game is called the 'Pass the Mic' challenge, I think. I now follow this group from Bohol called Tropang Singers doing old high-pitched hits like Debbie Gibson songs. >>> I can just imagine inserting myself in the lineup and easily ruining the game. This game is highly discriminatory to the not-so-vocally endowed. 

***

Not long after Venezuela and Colombia, strong earthquakes shook parts of Egypt and Indonesia, Spain and Peru too--and those are just the countries that I happen to stumble upon while scrolling through my screen. It's like one earthquake triggering another, then another, then another, ad infinitum.

***

Meanwhile, while we keep on blaming the flood control budget scandal at home, there were some serious flooding in different parts of the world, too, including Japan, not just in the Philippines. I lost count. 

***

Local literary luminary Marra PL. Lanot died. >>> Haven't read her work, but I'm a big fan of her husband's writing -- the amazingly skillful screenwriter, poet, and essayist Pete Lacaba, whom I have 'met' (and his son Kris) online in the distant past.

***

Hollywood actress Hayden Panettiere died aged 36. >>> A name I have encountered several times while watching movies.

***

"Trash piles up in Metro Manila waters after habagat-induced flooding." >>> Why is everyone acting so surprised? This has long been a sad and tragic old normal for Metro Manila. Have we suddenly gone blind? A culture that treats public spaces as personal trash can needs some serious soul-searching.

***

Songs that trended lately because of FB reels or stories and TikTok dance videos: Ice Spice - Big Guy (from "The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePantsโ€); Olivia Dean - So Easy (To Fall in Love); Benson Boone - Beautiful Things; Paul n Ballin - Pogi; Alex Warren - Ordinary

I like each of these -- catchy, memorable, enjoyable, upbeat, fun, and... different or new.

***

Reportedly trending: No-water chicken soup (with apple and Napa cabbage, etc.) >> Intriguing, so a must-try. I only tried pork chop with apple before at Almon Marina, which I liked, at least for its novelty.

***
 
A Grade 10 math wizard with a Chinese surname in Ateneo de Zamboanga, an exclusive Catholic school, was gunned down by a classmate of his with an Arabic/Muslim-sounding name. The latter was reportedly a Roblox gamer, a top student in his class, and managed to enter the school using his policeman father's car with the gun in a bag and even streamlined the grisly proceedings on social media. He was not bullied. He was not depressed. So what made him snap?

Ironically, a report said a simulation of such a scenario was just done on the same campus a few days ago.

This unprecedented non-development used to be unthinkable, but Pinoys being Pinoys, a Columbine copycat is perhaps inevitable. This is pure evil.

Others warn that talking about these things in detail could drive other kids to copy the same awful feat. There's truth to that: Just because something is true does not always mean it should be brought to light in grisly detail.

***

A rarity: An unusual grouping of 9 Nicobar pigeons was sighted in a tree in Bataraza Is., Palawan. A pigeon rarely sighted in the Philippines, it is even rarer to see it in a group because it normally appears solitary or in pairs, per birdwatchers' routine photos of this species.

***

Tatlong taong gulang na bata, nakunan sa CCTV ang pagbagsak mula sa kanilang bahay, pero himala siyang nasalo ng kanyang tiyanin na bumaba para lamang mag-CR.

***

Mag-iina, natagpuang patay sa loob ng isang sasakyan sa Brgy. Talacsan, San Rafael, Bulacan. >>> Intriguing case!

***

In closing, here are two alliterative headlines I wish I could use one of these days. I just couldn't find the perfect timing: "Pinarangalan ngunit Pinangaralan";  "Komendasyon, Naging Kondemnasyon



 

History of Islamic atrocities against Christians

Recently, a handful of popular podcasters have claimed that Islamic regimes are historically โ€œvery kindโ€ toward Christians. Those who make this claim are either willfully ignorant or are advancing an agenda. The historical record is not ambiguous. 

For example, the claims that relations between Islam and the Christian world were peaceful for 500 years until the First Crusade are false. 

- Mohammad died in 632. By 732, Islam had taken the Holy Land and North Africa from the Christian Byzantine Empire. 

- It had also conquered Spain and advanced into France a few hundred miles from Paris.  

- After taking additional land in southern France and establishing bases in the Alps, Muslims launched raids into Germany. 

- They also sacked the outskirts of Rome and took control of Sicily. 

- In 1071, they defeated the Byzantines and took control of most of modern Turkey. 

- Twenty-four years later, the Byzantine Emperor asked the Pope for help, leading to the First Crusade. 

- Christians in these conquered territories were treated as dhimmis, second-class citizens who were required to pay the jizya, a special tax and sign of submission that was often accompanied by ritual humiliations. Failure to pay the tax could result in death, enslavement, and the destruction of the local church building.  

- No public displays of Christianity were allowed, including the ringing of church bells or even praying aloud in oneโ€™s own home within earshot of a Muslim. No new churches could be built, and no old churches could be repaired without permission, which was rarely given. Criticism of Islam and evangelizing Muslims was strictly forbidden. In court, a Christianโ€™s testimony was worth less than a Muslimโ€™s. Christians could not have authority over a Muslim or have a house taller than a Muslimโ€™s. They could not bear arms or ride a horse. At times, they were forced to wear distinctive clothing.  

- Another claim is that Muslim rulers protected Christian holy sites and repaired them when damaged. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. Typically, important Christian holy sites were converted to mosques to show the victory of Islam. The most prominent example is Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the largest church in Christendom for 1000 years. When the city fell to the Turks, it and other churches were desecrated and converted to mosques. 

- An exception was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, perhaps because it was a major pilgrimage site that generated revenue for the Caliph. However, in 1009, Caliph Al Hakim destroyed it. It lay in ruins for decades until his successor allowed the Byzantines to rebuild it, likely to again collect pilgrimage revenues. 800 years later, the church was severely damaged in a fire. Local Christians blamed Muslims, but the official story is that it was caused by a candle or oil lamp. The Ottomans allowed it to be repaired using Christian funds donated from overseas. They did not pay for the repair. 

- In the Ottoman Empire, that some claim was kind to Christians, boys were taken from Christian homes to be raised as Janissaries, or Muslim slave-soldiers who were taught to despise their Christian families. Girls were often taken as slaves into harems, and violence often broke out against Christian communities in Ottoman territories. The worst violence was the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek genocides of the early twentieth century, in which between 1.5 million and 2.5 million people were killed by the Ottoman government. 

- The same violence against Christians continues today, with abductions, forced marriages, murders, arson of churches, and oppression of Christians in places like Pakistan and Egypt, and increasingly in Europe. There is a prohibition of churches in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries and, of course, the ongoing slaughter of Christians by Islamists in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. 

So no, Islam has not been kind to Christians. The only reason to make this claim is to make the occasional anti-Christian acts of Israelis look worse. But there is no comparison. Christians in Israel have more rights and freedoms than in any Muslim country, especially in history. To claim otherwise is to ignore reality.


Author

Breakpoint

For links to the sources mentioned in this article and more resources, visit the Breakpoint website: https://breakpoint.org/no-islam-is-not-kind-to-christians/

No, Islam is Not Kind to Christians - Breakpoint

BREAKPOINT.ORG

No, Islam is Not Kind to Christians - Breakpoint

No, Islam is Not Kind to Christians - Breakpoint

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Joao Correia

Are there any muslim majority countries where religious minorities are not persecuted or discriminated?

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Garrett Barton

Boys, time to bring back the crusades

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Jim Hallstrom

I've read both books and Islamic Hadiths! I've even listened to podcasts comparing the Arabic of the Quran and Hadiths translated to English. The OP is correct and if anymore proof is needed, just start reading and researching! Past and current events should solidify reasoning why Islam will never assimilate to Americas Judeo Christian principles upon which our country was founded! What does one do? Exactly how the OP did it, read, research, report!! Not all Muslims are terrorists just like not all that call themselves Christian are! But, one book is Islamic that has doctrine that wants to subjagate all non believers while the other, if followed, wants to love all mankind! Choose wisely!!

May be an image of text that says 'OF WITNESSES ONE MAN JOKE HOLY BIBLE Quran Nahum Nehemiah o.T. Moses Amos Daniel Daniel David Ezekiel Ezra Habakkuk Samuel Salomon Zechariah Zephaniah N.T. James John Jude Luke Mark Mark Matthew Peter Paul Hosea Isalah Jeremiah Joel Jonah Joshua Malachi Micah Muhammad'

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Edited

Steve Lyublanovits

But it is not possible to live in peace when one religion must kill you if you donโ€™t agree with them.

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Dave Woomer

Ask Nigerian Christians what they think of Islam...

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Sandi Mercer

The historical record speaks for itself.

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Andreas Tom Lรผtzelschwab

Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth (in numbers), because of islam. Also Jews and Bahai... also because of Islam. The only system that isn't islamic but bad as well for religious intolerance, is socialism/communism like in china or north korea. theocentric cultures don't fit with anthropocentric ones.

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Humbert Medeiros

Someone forgot to check on the current situation with Christians in Nigeriaโ€ฆ

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Amee Nah

Was Christianity kind to other religions as well throughout the history and to the countries they colonize??? ๐Ÿคก๐Ÿฅฑ๐Ÿฅด

From the land of Native America, to the Mediterranean, land of Africa and to the East Asia.. Christianity come by sword and force.. ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿฅฑ๐Ÿฅด๐Ÿคก

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The Sari-Sari Store: A Symbol of Filipino Ingenuityโ€”or the "Heritage of Smallness"?

 The Sari-Sari Store: A Symbol of Filipino Ingenuityโ€”or the "Heritage of Smallness"?

The Sari-Sari... - Gamaliel Montecino - Social Studies Educator | Facebook

Walk through almost any Filipino neighborhood, and you'll likely find one within a few steps: the sari-sari store. More than just a small retail shop, it has become a cultural institutionโ€”a place where neighbors buy daily necessities, exchange stories, and sometimes even purchase goods on credit. But beyond its familiarity lies a more thought-provoking question:
Does the sari-sari store reflect Filipino entrepreneurship at its bestโ€”or does it reveal what Nick Joaquin called the country's "Heritage of Smallness"?
The sari-sari store traces its origins to the Spanish colonial period, when Chinese merchants and local traders operated small neighborhood shops selling everyday goods. During the American colonial era, these stores multiplied as communities became more settled and consumer goods became increasingly available. After the Second World War, the sari-sari store evolved into the backbone of neighborhood retail, particularly in rural areas where supermarkets remained inaccessible. Today, hundreds of thousands of sari-sari stores serve as the country's smallest but most widespread retail enterprises, providing affordable goods, flexible purchasing, and informal credit to millions of Filipinos.
Its success lies in one simple economic principle: proximity. Instead of traveling several kilometers to a grocery store, consumers purchase what they need from the nearest neighborhood shop. More importantly, many sari-sari stores allow purchases in tingi (small quantities), making goods accessible even to households with limited daily income.
Nick Joaquin's "Heritage of Smallness":
Yet the sari-sari store also invites a deeper reflection.
In his influential essay "A Heritage of Smallness," National Artist Nick Joaquin argued that Philippine society has long exhibited a tendency to think and operate on a small scale. Joaquin was not criticizing sari-sari stores themselves. Rather, he questioned a broader national mindset that often prefers small, immediate, low-risk endeavors over ambitious, long-term, and large-scale enterprises.
According to Joaquin, Filipinos frequently celebrate survival rather than expansion. Many aspire to own a small neighborhood business, but relatively few imagine building regional industries, manufacturing firms, technological enterprises, or multinational corporations. His essay suggests that colonial history, fragmented geography, and centuries of political dependence fostered a culture where "smallness" became psychologically comfortable and socially normalized.
Importantly, Joaquin's argument is interpretive rather than empirical. It offers a cultural critique, not a measured economic law. Many scholars today recognize that entrepreneurial decisions are influenced not only by mindset but also by access to capital, education, institutions, infrastructure, market conditions, and government policy.
Convenience or Constraint?
From a microeconomic perspective, the sari-sari store performs valuable functions.
It reduces consumers' transaction costs by locating goods within walking distance. It serves markets that larger retailers often ignore. It provides informal credit ("utang"), sells products in affordable quantities, and creates self-employment for many families. Development economists have long recognized the importance of small enterprises in supporting local economies and household resilience.
However, another question deserves attention:
Why do so many Filipino entrepreneurs remain at the sari-sari store level for decades?
The issue may not be the existence of small businessesโ€”but the difficulty of helping them grow.
Many sari-sari stores operate with limited capital, narrow profit margins, and intense competition from nearby stores selling nearly identical products. Without access to financing, digital technology, supply-chain improvements, or entrepreneurial training, many remain subsistence businesses rather than engines of upward mobility.
In this sense, income inequality may not arise because Filipinos own sari-sari stores. Rather, inequality persists when economic systems make it easier to start a very small business than to scale it into a larger enterprise.
Beyond the "Heritage of Smallness":
Nick Joaquin's essay continues to provoke discussion because it asks Filipinos to reflect on their economic imagination.
But perhaps the challenge today is not to abandon small businesses. Every large corporation once began as a small enterprise. The more important question is whether Philippine society provides entrepreneurs with the opportunity to grow beyond survival.
Education has an important role to play. Entrepreneurship education should move beyond teaching students merely how to start a business. It should also teach innovation, financial literacy, investment strategies, digital commerce, supply-chain management, product development, and business scaling. Likewise, public policy can help by expanding access to credit, improving infrastructure, simplifying regulations, and strengthening support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Ultimately, the sari-sari store should not be viewed as evidence of either national weakness or entrepreneurial failure. It is both a product of Filipino resilience and a reflection of broader economic realities. The real challenge is not whether Filipinos think smallโ€”but whether the country's institutions enable them to dream, invest, and grow bigger.
Perhaps the sari-sari store is not the problem. Perhaps it is a mirror.
It reflects both the ingenuity of Filipinos in making the most of limited resources and the structural constraints that often make remaining small the safest option. Nick Joaquin challenged Filipinos to question the "heritage of smallness." More than fifty years later, the challenge remains relevantโ€”not because small businesses lack value, but because a nation's progress depends on creating conditions where small beginnings can genuinely become great enterprises. #ibetyoudidntknowthis #thisistherealsirgams #sarisaristore
- 30 -
Photo: Howard Sochurek; John Tewell
References:
Joaquin, N. (1976). A Heritage of Smallness. Solar Publishing. (Reprinted in various essay collections; also available through Academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/10369432/A_Heritage_of_Smallness)
Merkado PH. (2024). The sari-sari store in the Philippines: Its beginning and evolution. https://merkadoph.se/.../the-sari-sari-store-in-the...
Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development. Harvard University Press.
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press.
Aldaba, R. M. (2018). Innovation and entrepreneurship in the Philippines. Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). https://pids.gov.ph
--
Research Limitation: Nick Joaquin's A Heritage of Smallness is a literary and cultural essay rather than an empirical economic study. Its arguments should therefore be understood as interpretive social criticism. While the essay offers valuable insights into Philippine culture, contemporary economic behavior is also shaped by measurable structural factorsโ€”including access to finance, education, infrastructure, governance, and market opportunitiesโ€”which extend beyond cultural explanations alone.

Thursday, July 30, 2026

 

Nazer: A Guy with No Bad Angles

A Guy with No Bad Angles

This is a photo-collage that I singlehandedly stitched together as a little tribute to our recently departed Konsi Kulas.

Whether as individual or in a group, Councilor Nazer has been the constant subject of our photographers. That's because he's almost always present in all significant events.

The camera simply loves this guy because he had no bad angles. And his aura had such a luminous quality that you wouldn't be able to miss.

His life was awfully short, still blooming and suddenly nipped. His presence will be sorely missed by an entire town.


 

Beauty of nature = Holiness

 " Worship Me in the beauty of holiness. I created beauty to declare the existence of My holy Being. A magnificent rose, a hauntingly glorious sunset, oceanic splendor---all these things were meant to proclaim My Presence in the world. Most people rush past these proclamations wirhout giving them a second thought. Some people use beauty, especially feminine loveliness, to sell their products. "

" How precious are My children who are awed by nature's beauty; this opens them up to My holy Presence. Even before you knew Me personally, you responded to My creation with wonder. This is a gift, and it carries responsibility with it. Declare My glorious Being to the world. The whole earth is full of My radiant beauty---My Glory! " Amen๐Ÿ™

 

Photo Contest Judge

Photo Contest Judge

I am glad I wasn't asked to talk about something I've never considered my forte, photography, at this event, the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Photo Contest.

That awful task fell on Ricky B.'s lap, who correctly reminded us that photography is a democratizing artform. Kahit di ka marunong magdibuho o magpinta, puwede ka nang maging visual artist.

Had I been asked, I wouldn't know what to say anything of value that would come across clearly to the level of high schoolers, although I work with photographs every day. It's because I have a big problem with judging art itself: it is highly subjective, dependent on the set of judges at a given time.

Anyway, after the event, I imagined myself attempting to talk about it, but with a different audience, a more mature one.

I probably would have told them that a photo isn't just an image. It is a lot of other things. In my line of work, it is a means of documentation, a piece of hard evidence that an event really happened. To others, it could signify other things.

What I have observed personally about photography in our context is... two different photographers will have two different takes on the same subject. The type of camera and lens used matters a lot in terms of technicalities. But the choice of focus or subject, the framing, the cropping, the tint and lighting, the angle and perspective, the overall style--all of these matter and have subtle effects on the viewer.

Then I would remind everyone about the philosophy behind photography by recalling my Humanities 101 prof Delfin Tolentino's explanation of Susan Sontag's take on the novel art form, i.e., that it is a form of rebellion, a rebellion from reality. To recall...

==============

When people say Susan Sontag believed photography is a rebellion, they are summarizing ideas from her book 'On Photography.' She didn't literally define photography as "rebellion," but many of her ideas point in that direction.

In simple words:

1. Taking a photograph is a way of resisting time. Everything changes, ages, and disappears. A photograph says, "Wait. This moment matters. I'm keeping it." In that sense, it rebels against forgetting.

2. Photography challenges ordinary ways of seeing. A photographer notices things that other people overlookโ€”a shadow, a stranger's expression, a cracked wall. The camera encourages us to question what is worth paying attention to.

3. Photography can challenge power. Pictures of war, poverty, injustice, or protest can expose truths that governments or powerful people would rather hide. A single image can make people angry, compassionate, or motivated to act.

4. Photography also rebels against realityโ€”but in a different way. Every photograph is a choice. The photographer decides what to include, what to leave out, and when to press the shutter. So a photograph is never the whole truth; it is one person's interpretation of reality.

5. At the same time, Sontag warned that photography has a downside. She argued that seeing endless photographsโ€”especially of violence and sufferingโ€”can make people numb. Instead of feeling deeply, we may become mere spectators.

So, to sum up, for Susan Sontag, photography is a kind of rebellion because it preserves moments that would disappear, changes how we see the world, and can challenge accepted truthsโ€”but it also has the power to distance us from real experience.

================

The above observations still strike me as so true after all these years. I wonder how other thinkers view photography, apart from the predictably left-leaning ones.

Also, I wonder how my fellow judges rated the various entries, since as it turned out, we were unanimous on just one of the entries, enough for it to land in the third place. As for the rest, we must have been in various degrees of disagreement.

And maybe that's why judging photographs is so difficultโ€”but nonetheless worthwhile. You are not simply choosing the best image. You are choosing, however briefly, which way of seeing the world deserves to be seen by everyone else. The attempt to choose at all is instructive in terms of setting the standards of beauty and skill and excellence in this particular field of art.


Wednesday, July 29, 2026

 

Panic-Mongerer: A Puzzling but Real Character in Our Midst

Panic-Mongerer: A Puzzling but Real Character in Our Midst

In I can't remember what year, the year when typhoon 'Pepeng' lashed at this part of Pangasinan, inundating entire tracts of field and residential areas, it happened.

During the height of massive flooding, according to some accounts of people I know, someone in the public market shouted, "Agesang la'y San Roque!"--meaning San Roque Dam has cracked!

This sent everyone panicking at the public market. Eyewitnesses reported how money bills and coins and even cell phones flew in the air, while people ran to and fro shouting themselves hoarse.

This is how someone was able to acquire a high-end cell phone at the time by simply picking it up where it fell.

The fake news spread around the town quickly.

In the church, a funeral mass was allegedly ongoing. I don't know if this is true, but everyone including the priest fled the scene without thinking, leaving the dead alone.

Within a few minutes, everyone in the Poblacion area ran for their lives or drove their cars and vehicles to the highest point in town: Brgy. Cadre Site. "Akala namin mamamatay na kami," someone recalled.

One lady I know, not knowing any better, could only absent-mindedly shout, "Yung mga sinampay! Yung mga sinampay!" as though it would make any sense at the end of the world.

As they say, a few minutes laterrrrr.... Everyone learned that the report was false or merely a cruel prank. "We've been had," people chorused, as they recalled one by one the hilarious way they had been duped by an anonymous source of the lie.

***

This is something I noticed each time there is a major natural calamity in this town. There are just some people who love to spread invented news of catastrophic nature to cause instant widespread panicking.

I don't know why, but maybe this is a new undiagnosed mental illnesss.

I am not alone in my observation. In another typhoon of recent past, someone in Brgy. Tambac allegedly screamed, "Agesang lay dike!" (The Agno River dike has been broken!)

The same series of tragicomic things ensued--running, screaming, saving whatever they could lay their hands on. Only to find out that the dike was intact

The same thing happened during COVID, when some people claimed so and so person had died, and when we checked, he was still very much alive.

In recent typhoons, this sort of creature has resurrected without fail.

Our public information team had to routinely show latest video footages of Calvo Br. and Romulo Br. to show the real score, that these bridges were still very safe to pass through just to dispel malicious rumors of these being impassable or worse.

I say 'malicious' because what could the motive possibly be, but to the get some sort of cheap and morbid laughter from instantaneously spreading misinformation to the most number of people?

What kind of person would do that, I wonder. Do they get a kind of psychological high from doing so, particularly in one latest incident in which a boy reportedly has made a bomb threat online to an entire high school as a prank?

Do they do it out of ignorance? Or are they fully aware that on top of unduly alarming an entire populace, they could also wreak havoc on the local economy in one fell swoop? Are they really unmindful of the tricycle drivers who wouldn't be able to earn their daily bread, eateries that have already cooked an entire menu for the day ready to serve them hot, and a variety shops and stores that have opened wide to cater to hundreds of student needs for the day?

It's a challenge to figure out this particular character, and quite hard to let go scot-free. ...A character we'd love to give a nasty bump on the head.

Yes, we laugh at ourselves, our natural reaction to the prank, but whatever funny thing we get out of it, it is only in stories of our frail humanity told in retrospect. The original sin remains a despicable act because of the enormity of harm, the gravity of consequences.

***

In I can't remember what year again, an Anti-Bomb Joke Law was passed. It became a necessary piece of legislation because of the reality of the terror-mongerer as an ever-present danger and real-life character in our midst.


Saturday, July 25, 2026

 

Brownout Woes: When Will They Ever End?

Brownout Woes: When Will They Ever End?

"May kuryente na!"
.
.
.
"Praktis lang."

I attempted to post this as a prank a few hours into the 12-hour power outage by Cenpelco today.

Beside joking, I also just wanted to check whether I could post on FB using just my phone even though there's a brownout. Result? No go. Even with data.

Such a long power interruption is something I have never experienced in my 25 years of living in Metro Manila. ...Except when an extra-strong supertyphoon named 'Milenyo' hit us there.

Certainly not on a semiregular basis. But it is a normal occurrence here ever since I was here in 1976. People since then have been calling the provider CENPELCO 'Cenpultot,' with "pultot" meaning "putol" or "cut off."

The big difference now is there is a prior announcement on social media. We can now unplug the P25,000 refrigerator before doomsday happens and convert it into yet another junkshop item. (Appliances are especially vulnerable in case of those awful fluctuations of power, turning our lights on and off like it's Christmas.) And there are now generators in big establishments like malls where residents spend the long hours of outage to avail of free air conditioning. Actually it's not free--considering gasoline expense and a milk tea or two at a given stand or more while whiling away the hours.

Another breakthrough locally is the Municipio's issuance of generators to every barangay where residents can avail of free charging--free of charge.

Another local government and private sector initiative is going solar, which gives so much hope to long-suffering residents inured to sudden and longish outages.

All-day-long power blackouts may be seen in an extra-positive way as a welcome distraction from electronic gadgets and office work, in favor of sunlight, fresh air, gardening, other hobbies enjoyed at one's own pace, manual labor or puttering around the house, and the like. And a substantial cut in cost in one's monthly bill too.

But we all know what this kind of interruption bring to offices and businesses: a sudden halt in their operations, particularly everything that uses up electricity.

Weighing the pros and cons, I am of the opinion that power outages are mostly undesirable. I can avail of all the abovementioned benefits even with the lights on. In contrast, let's not forget that outages have a domino effect in these parts. Brownouts or power blackouts are particularly undesirable for those with asthma (like my father before) and other patients dependent on medical equipment that need to be plugged in, those who have stocked up on frozen goods, those who have work online, and other various circumstances.

On top of unbearable darkness and humidity inside our homes, it also means danger posed by the sudden use of candles for illumination, faucets that run out of water, and landlines with no dial tone.

Moreover, no investor ever wants to gamble in a place frequented by outages.

On our part in local government, we are always the first ones being blamed for something that is outside our jurisdiction. A most unfair situation. ...Especially if we have to deal with the mounting anger of thousands of residents over a 45-minute delay in the promised restoration of power at 6:00 PM today.

If there's anyone who longs for quick and creative solutions the most--now, and not tomorrow--that's us.

I know there are two wars going on affecting our power supply and the cost of providing it. But this problem has been here for so long it has become long accepted as a normal part of our provincial lives. And I know that our provider is not always solely to blame. There are times that it is NGCP that is at issue.

At this point, I wonder if it is too much to ask, "Let's not normalize power outages, please?" "Not to mention high costs of electric consumption, one of the things that keep our people poor?" These things are not, are never, acceptable.


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