when priests go awry

I am bothered sometimes what the motivation of certain priests are in joining the Catholic Church. Are they really in it for the love of God and the vow to serve his gospel, or to meddle with politics?

It's been said many times already that the separation between the church and state is a very fine line. So fine that it's so easy to confuse one with the other. But how can this be? Affairs of the state are not affairs of spirituality. 

I remember Padre Damaso from the Jose Rizal Novels Noli Me Tangere. He was this manipulative priest who kept meddling with the state affairs and personal affairs. And he is using his "spiritual" authority to really scare people. He would recommend ex-communicado status and even threaten you that you will be held in purgatory for not following his own orders. He was one of the most hated characters.

In the Bible, the Pharisees have also been ridiculed for acting the same way. They are priests on show. On show because they declare their faith, the things they do and even how nice they are only for show. But in reality they are the offenders and all. They even incited the public to doubt against Jesus Christ.

Today, we see modern versions of Damaso and Pharisees. Just the other day, while watching news, I saw two priests inciting the public to follow the same rebellion as in Thailand now. Thailand now is having their own version of people power where the rich have seized control of BKK Airport. This has critically paralyzed their tourism economy, not to mention Thai Airways.

Now, these two very caring and smart priests have wanted their wards to the same. Do these priests even realize the scenario we are in at the moment? Do they even know the meaning of recession and economic slowdown? And exactly how valuable each and every hour we put in in our work at the moment?

These two priests are probably just surviving with the donations their loyalists are giving. Hindi nila maintindihan just how tough times have been lately. And the thing is the action they want people to do will have drastic effects to everyone. Is it even in their job description to move people to extra-legal and extra-judicial means? And be responsible for the means of action?

They said this because they feel that the Arroyo government has been very corrupt. But is calling for a mass action a "religious" means? Parang no. Since when is it godly for people to overturn the government in violent and extra-legal means? I don't know.

But in my mind, I am really thinking that these priests from Navotas and Caloocan are just in it because they are bored and wanting attention from the public.

Hey. You got mine and now please shut up.

See you in my dreams

I know exactly why I am in love with this song. Maybe because this is exactly how I am feeling at the moment. This blast from the past is moving me stronger than ever. Naks.

In My Dreams by REO Speedwagon

There was a time some time ago

When every sunrise meant a sunny day, oh a sunny day

But now when the morning light shines in

It only disturbs the dreamland where I lay, oh where I lay

I used to thank the lord when Id wake

For life and love and the golden sky above me

But now I pray the stars will go on shinin, you see in my dreams you love me

Daybreak is a joyful time

Just listen to the songbird harmonies, oh the harmonies

But I wish the dawn would never come

I wish there was silence in the trees, oh the trees

If only I could stay asleep, at least I could pretend youre thinkin of me

cause nighttime is the one time I am happy, you see in my dreams

We climb and climb and at the top we fly

Let the world go on below us, we are lost in time

And I dont know really what it means

All I know is that you love me, in my dreams

I keep hopin one day Ill awaken, and somehow she'll be lying by my side

And as I wonder if the dawn is really breakin

She touches me and suddenly Im alive

Oho, in my dreams

Holiday? Not for me.

Im just a little tired today. Well, not little. Really tired, flat and exhausted. It's been a pretty long day. Grind was supposed to start early today like 8:30am so I woke up early. But knowing network time, things are almost always never on time. So I arrived a little late, but the rest of the crew arrived an hour later. Thank you for an early wake up call now I'm super pooped. 

Cut to shoot location, the house was just too humid and dark. I had to squint every now and then to get a better eyesight. And the ventilation was just non-existent. It was too humid. Rain was breaking but wouldn't start yet. There was no electric fan, the circulation was poor. So start of the day palang, I was already tired. Thank God for an ice-cold Coke but I felt a little more refreshed. Hey, no kidding here. That really is true!

And then we cut to the jeepney scene where we're supposed to be like under broad sunlight. Rain was falling a little, then disappear, then here again, then gone again...

As I shuttled back from Kapuso to Kapamilya, the heat was a little more tolerable. Then the expected happened, heavy rain. I had to wait a little for the rain to stop and until my sundo arrives from the parking to take me to the next location. So the only time I get to experience aircon was thru the van. Wheww! thank God!

The next location was quite more mainit than usual. UV and machine heat generated by PCs in the internet cafe was too much. By the time we got to our final location, I was already wilting like an unwatered plant. I was already feeling the exhaustion from dehydration and heat. Aside from the Coke and two glasses of water this breakfast, I had no other liquid in my body.

We just finished now. And I felt my blood rushed through my head during the last take as one of the extras couldn't deliver her lines. And her lines were the easiest. She kept mixing it up! Grade two students could have done a better job. Then the last dad in the scene. He was just too insincere looking.

In between takes, there's this pachyderm who kept teasing me about and soliciting money from me. The nerve.

All in all today, I lost steam. No. I got dried up. And come tomorrow, I prepare myself once again for more action. Hoh boy! Isn't it the holidays, yet? Not for me. Not yet.

Kapamilya in SMX

Last night was terribly fun! Shalimar and I went to the Trade Show of ABS-CBN aptly titled Bagong Simula 2009. It was like watching ASAP nang live. Well, by now you ought to know that my sensibilities are really very Pinoy and pedestrian. I enjoy watching live shows (entertainment live shows, and not you know...) and getting involved in all showbiz functions. So last night was fun as I saw some showbiz people and all that.

But what made it fun was that I've never taken Vodka in a looong time. I've stopped drinking vodka-sprite for a newer favorite Chivas-Coke Zero. Eh last night there was no scotch available. The beer was served from the can (hate it). So I guess that leaves me with Vodka, then.

I tried it the Vodka-Perrier combination, slightly pricey I would think if this were to be done in bars, with a hint of lemon and that surely was heaven. I had a little too much and not having enough carbs for dinner, heaven was just literally a few sips away.

Later on that night I found myself hugging Jing Chua, singing Sharon Cuneta songs together with the Kapamilya singers and saying things I shouldn't be in the first place.

Hmph.

I finished the night scratching my head off. Here I am terribly alone in the middle of Mall of Asia looking for an ATM that would dispense cash. Metrobank had a glitch or something that all these functioning ATMs wouldn't accept any transaction. Okay. God is so wonderful. I had spare cash in my bag just enough to get me home safe. Thank God!

Oh and in the midst of it all, the buzz really helped. Didn't panic. Didn't worry. I was just smiling and looking for some decent cab going home. Heck. I even managed to go up to the 3rd level parking lot twice without even falling. Or managing to count all the traffic lamps we passed (total of 21) on my home. And saw a secret crush too!

that really felt good. but the morning after? bad.

Dreamland became Wasteland.

I just didn't want to wake up from my dream this morning. I was having such a good dream when I had to be interrupted and wake up. It's one of those mornings you wish you could just stay in bed and keep dreaming. Unfortunately, not today; I have to go to work today and finish some things.

In any case, that dream is a blur to me know as to what exactly happened. I do recall though that at one point I was literally loving what I was doing. Not exactly naive or anything like that, it's perhaps my subconscious playing back this thing that I've always wanted to do. I have been toying with that idea for some time now but I have never really done it. And this morning in my dream, it was just so perfect. I was getting very excited and all until... I had to be interrupted. Suddenly the dream was interrupted with reminders about work. Poof. Dream bubble gone.

I tried getting a couple minutes more of sleep and try to continue that dream but it just didn't happen anymore. And then I remembered I might oversleep and forced myself to wake up again. I rose and sprung forward to the toilet. When I got there, I felt blood rushed through my head. It's one of those days you know wouldn't be too kind on you.

Oh well. I am skipping lunch for today and perhaps get a good snack and dinner later. I am just too sleepy at the moment. That dream did this to me. I feel tired from all that excitement which had no ending. From dreamland to wasteland.

Now if I could only look for that "real" perfect ending to my dream...

Power of Not Knowing

Knowing something you're not supposed to know is deadly.

You begin to obsess, over-think, get paranoid and all those things.

When Eve and Adam took the fruit from the tree of knowledge, that was considered the start of men's downfall.

The lure of knowing something is such a huge bait. Who wouldn't want to get a glimpse of the future? Everyone would love to hear what the future is like. Hiro travels through space and time just to watch and learn and correct. Unfortunately, clairvoyants and fortune tellers are no Hiro. Accuracy is still debatable. But objectivity remains doubtful.

In any case, what do you do with information and knowledge concerning you? Do you follow it? Do you deny it? Do you just forget about it?

Oh well information is only information. How you manipulate that is solely up to you. To make it work for or against you is totally up to you. Then again, if you had nothing to play with in the first place then that would not have been a problem.

Smile. You're on candid camera. Life's a big joke.

stop bad vibes

I am still trying my best to shrug all thoughts relegating 2008 as a bad year. Maybe I am exaggerating and not thinking big picture when I say this but I really don't get why this year turned out to be like this. Normally, August is the start of my lucky months, but this year is rather different. It still feels like the year is just starting.

I made a declaration early this year that I will make 2008 a banner year. I made significant steps this year like going out of the country and career decisions but the latter part of the year still proves to be very difficult.

And my horoscope/astrology reading and tarot reader couldn't agree more. Hey, wait. I am not naman believing these things. But maybe slowly but surely I am beginning to. Like Kate Hudson in that movie, the more she denied it the more she believed (not knowing). 

I should just stop thinking that this is a bad year and imbibe The Secret.

Hay. Good thoughts.

NIGHTmare on high street

i just have to say this. 

i love bonifacio high street like i love puma but last sunday night was just plain terrible.

it suddenly felt like it was divisoria during school opening and christmas shopping.

it was packed. people were just busy loitering around and making papansin. that or just sitting right at the corners where they should not be sitting on in the first place.

queues were mightly long. my favorite coffeebean had long lines. brothers had a line extending all the way to the next store. need i say more about starbs and krispy?

here's the height of it all: even the male restrooms had line. 

how ridiculous was that?

oh yes. the mad dash was due to rihanna and chris brown.

oh yes. about 70,000 fans and oglers went to BHS to watch the "biggest concert" of the year.

oh yes. people were just excited to show off and be seen.

 

I don't know what's worse: having to line for a good 45 mins just to get inside the venue, or having to endure the 4 hour standing time to watch rihanna do her back bends. or endure the sweat, grime and lagkit from the other singing fans? 

 

or worse yet, standing behind this uber-annoying ten year old kid who kept giving his inane commentaries and blow by blow account of what's happening on stage (kid - i could very well understand and see for myself that the show has indeed not started, and that we had been mercilessly subjected to gross waiting hours).

 

that or being pushed all the way back because no one said it was going to be this full, that concert! It was like watching tv nalang, on a large screen.

 

i don't know. to me the whole show was just kind of ridiculous. it was half baked in so many ways. if it weren't for the fact that rihanna is just so hot and sexy i probably wouldn't even be there anymore.

 

chris brown was lipsynching some of his tracks. he just kept imitating the king of pop (well, after all, he is being touted as the young MJ). and well, can i just gush and say that the DJ performed better and carried the whole show. obviously, i am not a fan of CB. oh, and that looked to very ASAP to me. so variety-show like!

 

rihanna on the other hand consistently kept the show somewhere between mediocre and high. it was yummy and yet nakaka-umay. her singing disturbia, shut up and drive, hate that i love you and umbrella were okay. but unfaithful was above perfect. the rest, uhm, umay.

 

were people just tired, plain awed and struck, or bored that's why they wouldn't budge to rihanna asking for a holler from the peeps? that she had to say "mother-fucker" to agitate the guys. the whole show ended on a good and rather high note naman especially when real-life sweetheart and co-performer came out to sing the last few lines of umbrella.

 

still, though, it felt kind of amateurish. those dance stunts were nothing great, except for those really agitating back bends and hand to head dance steps. the entrance was cliche. the exit was more cliche.

 

going out of the concert venue was all the more crappy! we had to inch our way out, manage to strategically find a spot where traffic wouldn't be as heavy and then finally inching our way to horizon.again, i've never seen BHS this packed that it really seemed like horror and nightmare to me. 

 

and at 11pm, at that late an hour, all restos were filled up. we ended up eating (and SUPER LOVING IT) at HOSSEIN's. 

 

If there was anything substantial from that trip, I've discovered that food at ZAO was actually good. And it always is nice to say hi to people you know.

 

ER said she had to endure 1.5 hours to get to Dela Costa from the Fort. Need I say that logistics, traffic, parking and queuing ARE MAJORLY HORRIBLE? the one-way traffic leading all to the convergence points was not brilliant.

 

on a no car passing zone, there were occasionally cars passing by to drop off these celebs like Bea Alonzo. Uhm, then she strolled all the way back to her entrance with entourage that could pass of the PSG's. Honey, no one here would like to crowd you. We're here for Rihanna, not you. But hwaytaminitkapengmainit, then again, this girl beside me kept chuckling, gushing and pointing at her trying to get her attention. Betty La Fea was loved by that girl.

litters everywhere.

hi-jack taxi cabs were preying on commuters.

resto service was all time slow.

wouldn't you agree with me still?

All I can say, we are SOOO not ready for a standing only concert. not yet. not here. not in this climate.

But I am still so going back to the BHS  I always knew. See you soon.

(photo credits from Yahoo, MTV Phils and BonifacioHighStreet.com)

NIGHTmare on high street

i just have to say this. 

i love bonifacio high street like i love puma but last sunday night was just plain terrible.

it suddenly felt like it was divisoria during school opening and christmas shopping.

it was packed. people were just busy loitering around and making papansin. that or just sitting right at the corners where they should not be sitting on in the first place.

queues were mightly long. my favorite coffeebean had long lines. brothers had a line extending all the way to the next store. need i say more about starbs and krispy?

here's the height of it all: even the male restrooms had line. 

how ridiculous was that?

oh yes. the mad dash was due to rihanna and chris brown.

oh yes. about 70,000 fans and oglers went to BHS to watch the "biggest concert" of the year.

oh yes. people were just excited to show off and be seen.

 

I don't know what's worse: having to line for a good 45 mins just to get inside the venue, or having to endure the 4 hour standing time to watch rihanna do her back bends. or endure the sweat, grime and lagkit from the other singing fans? 

 

or worse yet, standing behind this uber-annoying ten year old kid who kept giving his inane commentaries and blow by blow account of what's happening on stage (kid - i could very well understand and see for myself that the show has indeed not started, and that we had been mercilessly subjected to gross waiting hours).

 

that or being pushed all the way back because no one said it was going to be this full, that concert! It was like watching tv nalang, on a large screen.

 

i don't know. to me the whole show was just kind of ridiculous. it was half baked in so many ways. if it weren't for the fact that rihanna is just so hot and sexy i probably wouldn't even be there anymore.

 

chris brown was lipsynching some of his tracks. he just kept imitating the king of pop (well, after all, he is being touted as the young MJ). and well, can i just gush and say that the DJ performed better and carried the whole show. obviously, i am not a fan of CB. oh, and that looked to very ASAP to me. so variety-show like!

 

rihanna on the other hand consistently kept the show somewhere between mediocre and high. it was yummy and yet nakaka-umay. her singing disturbia, shut up and drive, hate that i love you and umbrella were okay. but unfaithful was above perfect. the rest, uhm, umay.

 

were people just tired, plain awed and struck, or bored that's why they wouldn't budge to rihanna asking for a holler from the peeps? that she had to say "mother-fucker" to agitate the guys. the whole show ended on a good and rather high note naman especially when real-life sweetheart and co-performer came out to sing the last few lines of umbrella.

 

still, though, it felt kind of amateurish. those dance stunts were nothing great, except for those really agitating back bends and hand to head dance steps. the entrance was cliche. the exit was more cliche.

 

going out of the concert venue was all the more crappy! we had to inch our way out, manage to strategically find a spot where traffic wouldn't be as heavy and then finally inching our way to horizon.again, i've never seen BHS this packed that it really seemed like horror and nightmare to me. 

 

and at 11pm, at that late an hour, all restos were filled up. we ended up eating (and SUPER LOVING IT) at HOSSEIN's. 

 

If there was anything substantial from that trip, I've discovered that food at ZAO was actually good. And it always is nice to say hi to people you know.

 

ER said she had to endure 1.5 hours to get to Dela Costa from the Fort. Need I say that logistics, traffic, parking and queuing ARE MAJORLY HORRIBLE? the one-way traffic leading all to the convergence points was not brilliant.

 

on a no car passing zone, there were occasionally cars passing by to drop off these celebs like Bea Alonzo. Uhm, then she strolled all the way back to her entrance with entourage that could pass of the PSG's. Honey, no one here would like to crowd you. We're here for Rihanna, not you. But hwaytaminitkapengmainit, then again, this girl beside me kept chuckling, gushing and pointing at her trying to get her attention. Betty La Fea was loved by that girl.

litters everywhere.

hi-jack taxi cabs were preying on commuters.

resto service was all time slow.

wouldn't you agree with me still?

All I can say, we are SOOO not ready for a standing only concert. not yet. not here. not in this climate.

But I am still so going back to the BHS  I always knew. See you soon.

(photo credits from Yahoo, MTV Phils and BonifacioHighStreet.com)

What would you want to put on your tombstone when you die?

Mine said I just died in your arms tonight.

I love REO Speed Wagon! I am having a retro attack of their hits, so I thought it was appropriate to put that in.

Dig the other tribute. Kudos to Celine and Meng for the wonderfully crafted copy for MDJ. Hahaha.

Post-happy halloween! 

Prescilla Mereilles is adorable.

Former Miss Earth from Brazil is so adorable. She says all her short i and e as long i and e. Sample?

"But Beelee, that wheel hev to wait. So steek around when Miss Earth comes back."

Her body is heavenly. Her speech adorable. What more could a guy ask for? 

*smitten*

Stressing Over Bottles

Never imagined the day I would be stressing myself out over bottles! The bottles for the shoot almost didn't come. It was almost suicide. But God is great, mighty and merciful. He was able to anticipate this and the bottles arrived. Though those bottles were not what I was expecting, it certainly is better than nothing.

This morning the topic was all about GETTING ANGRY - for me, I interpret it as staying and remaining objective as always. I remember yesterday where I panicked as it was the eleventh hour already and the bottles had not arrived still. But God is more knowing - He comforted us all with Teejae's news that the bottles had finally arrived that morning.

I really don't know what I'd do if those bottles didnt come. (Well, we had a back up but it wasn't as grand.)

Thank God!

When there's a Spider, there's got to be some shrieks.

I am arachnophobic. Really. I love watching spiders and all on Discovery and Nat Geo but seeing them live and very near me is really freaking me out. Just early today while we were waiting to see the costume fit of the talents, this huge spider just suddenly showed up from nowhere!

This spider about 6 inches in length, legs spread from the center, was about an inch away from one of the female talents. The female talent, ever so petite, was oblivious that the spider was just a few centimeters away from her face. When I was "calmly" telling her to slowly move away she was just ignoring me, until I finally told her that there was a huge spider beside her. She started screeching and jumping that startled the spider. I am not saying it got startled because spiders have ears, but whatever it is that shocked that spider, it sure moved with speed as it tried to scoot from the shrieking crowd.

If I am not mistaken, this spider is called "talon" and mostly breeds in houses, specifically near ditches and canals. They really get to grow this big but they are supposedly harmless and lucky. Peter tells me that they should not be killed because they bring luck to the household.

Cut to a scene from my childhood where I killed a similar looking spider in our factory by dousing it LYSOL, Alcohol and acetone. It didn't die immediately but it certainly got paralyzed after the candle wax took effect. Hmm, maybe that's the reason why that garment is gone now.

Going back to the spider, this whole discussion about it led us to a new fictitious character SPIDER GAY. What if a spider bit someone and turned him gay? What would he be like? I will write more about it soon, but offhand, we were laughing so hard this afternoon just talking about it. Hahahaha.

PS: Please do not steal this concept from me, Lisa and Flemmyne. ehehehe.

Meantime, I've also had dreams in the past where spiders always attack me. Heaven forbid, I hope I don't dream of more arachnids tonight.

I Don't Need Another Hiro...

... to be able to travel back in time.

Just last night, I traveled back to the groovy past dancing non-stop for 3 hours. It was pure adrenaline rush and nothing but. But heck, I enjoyed it a lot.

Wednesday Nights at Fiamma afterall is all about the dance-able hits from 70s, 80s and 90s. There was Disco, Manila Sound, Jap-Pop, New Wave Classics and of course Madonna-thon. I just kept dancing and dancing! Saya.

We also greeted Lianne's birthday with Yettie, Carlos, Myrrh and others. She got a fine blowjob as a surprise. She was excellent at it. She drank the entire thing without saying anything.

Happy Birthday Lee! Tomorrow, Ponti!