A Day in the Life...

More than a hundred years ago, in Bagumbayan, shots rang out in the western sky and a man fell down without being able to face his assassins . He stumbled to the ground without being able to turn a complete three hundred sixty twist that he had labored to create when the word “ Fuego!!!” rattled and hummed into the wind. What courage does a man has to be able to muster enough resolve in order to face the unthinkable in the very instance of death. I have not known any man other than Jose Rizal , who could retain such composure, writing even what could be the greatest farewell ever written when he inscribed within the dim stonewalls put on him, a paean to this Motherland, a last goodbye. …. Adios patria adorada….Goodbye, my dear Motherland…. Jose Rizal is the man we see as an icon test, the standards we seek in order to size up our character. He has the courage that every Filipino needs in these times of the greatest trial to our nation’s character to rise above these seemingly ...

And the world was shook ( literally it had seemed ) by a legendary scourge known to man as Tsunami . It is a word of Japanese origin just like Haiku. Except for that one singular similarity in the country of nativity, everything else between the two Nippon words is farthest apart like the space that operates between Milky Way and Andromeda. Unlike the dreaminess of a short lyrical poem, Tsunami refers to a giant accumulation of seawater, rising up steadily from a certain situs point where the earth’s core is violently disturbed---as in an earthquake underneath the ocean---and gradually builds up waves whose force exponentially increases with each nautical mile it navigates. Thus, the farther the shore hit, the higher the water rising to dry lands where the ill-fated inhabitants lay complacent and unawares and thus, the worse of disaster it becomes. Tsunami is one of the most unforeseen among all force majeure, and at the same time amongst the deadliest of all. Like serpents in the f...

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me, I'm not sleepy and there ain't no place I'm going to. Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me, In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you. Though I know that evenings empire has returned into sand, Vanished from my hand, Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping. My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet, I have no one to meet, And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming. ---Bob Dylan, Mr. Tambourine Man It’s Christmas Day! We hope we can have all the gadgets that our hands could ever get----cellphones, internet, telephone, blueberries, Palm Pilots, walkie-talkies---whatever, so just as we can greet as many friends as possible. I want to greet Tony and Russell and others but Tony must be at his Mom’s house as usual like in the past years( I spent some memorable Christmases there when we were in highschool) and Russell must be in Sibuco right now....

The Swordsman is About to Enter (An Elegy: Fernando Poe Jr. 1939-2004) By Y.B. Masdal a.k.a. The Daily Prophet The swordsman is about to enter Make him his way, for neither witches nor shamans shall be of courage To seek the flightiness of his saber that was molded In a fire that burned like the oceans of fire; There are fist to behold but be aware of his For it rattles through the roof and the adversary lays trembling like a pitiful cabbage on a long trip to perdition; Whereas the lines he made between the stage and the momentary air we breathe, is farther than we thought, He is closer to the man who fights the every evil of greed and selfishness, he was the man of the people and his courage shall live forever long in the tarmac of shanties and dirty streets that remains the isolation of other men who pursuit honor and vanity for themselves merely, away from the guidance of the Light. He sought the perilous road for once, yet he returns to the Lord as the hero h...

Stand back Mr. Murphy---(the guy from the Murphy’s Law)--- and listen. We do not need you hanging around. Whomsoever created your law let him or her vanish into thin air. One day after I have surmised so prematurely that our plans to put up a relief organization may be on a standstill due to significant differences of views, (See previous post “One Fantabolous Night With Mr. Murphy”-Sunday, December 19,2004) the phone rang smacked right at the strike of twelve noon, while I was about to have my lunch, and Tony was at the other end of the line. “We have a meeting today. Russell is here,” Tony said without any prelude. I did not expect to meet both guys within just a couple of days. Usually, we are so busy with our respective personal tasks that it would take at least one whole week to gap the usual camaraderie we have. When sometimes we play billiards in not-so-glitzy barrooms, our matches could continue for hours and hours even up to near midnight, that after each session, Tony w...

“ If I could stay, then the night would give me up ”— U2 There is a place and time that lingers like mildew on a wet stone. This longing is so steep that it reaches the point of angst and revolution, while the caverns of my heart attempts to explode in a myriad of dead stars. Dead stars, dead stars they come at night when the moon roars like lions in the desert. If Einstein was true to his great mind, then maybe then, my soul would rejoice in a thousand nights of songs and dances. If time stops and regresses, to move backward and backward until time becomes my freedom instead of my prison, then my heart would be aglow with a thousand firelights that I shall set fire in the night’s sky. There is the fire that burns without reprieve, it is the Eternal Flame, and it burns in me like nothing else. One day, I shall set free this passion inside, this smoldering desire, that would carry me through the moon and back, like the man in the moon of my past dreams that took me in a swirlin...

The thing is almost humming but not quite. It’s like rain on your wedding day, a singer crooned. It’s like a toothache that suddenly gone when you finally reach your dentist’s clinic, humping and sweating from overly agitation. I have some rendezvous with Mr. Murphy yesterday, you know, the one we are on familiar terms with because of some famous universal law. When just I thought we are on, some hindering incident occurred. LA VISTA AT NOON This thing is the movement that was in my mind, an initiative to launch a vehicle organization that may possibly channel this desire to serve the drowning men amongst us and impart to the world this “prophecy of our time”. When I thought nothing could go wrong, something did just before the night was over. I was with Tony Ramos and Russell Tiblani yesterday on a brainstorming session and after a dozen of sample terms on the plate board, we agreed on a simple yet coaxing type of name for the proposed organization. The organization would hav...

A Joyful Child She was busy packing relief goods for those who were left unsheltered by the vicious rampage of the Pacific wind when fate beckoned upon her to leave this mortal world. She died in the moment many of those who have passed away crave for, to die while in the moment of kindness. Like a soldier, KC de Venecia died in the heat of battle and she earns a Medal of Valor. To the angels, she earns Eternal Life. And like a saint, we always remember her for her works to those who were left homeless and hungry. Reeling from the death of a national icon in Fernando Poe Jr. , the nation again grieves the passing away of a kind soul, as we also lamented the many deaths caused by the ferocious typhoons. We stood in great shock that a young and vibrant life was taken by the angst of fire, and when the dust was settled, my heart was heavy with sympathy. I condole the family of KC. The speaker certainly faced his own tragedy with courage and composure as a man with great faith in...

This is one chicken story that hit me ever since two days ago when Colonel Sanders finally hit town. In a quaint corner of the city streets, somewhere where the roads are wider and the traffic is more reasonable, KFC , the famous chicken store rose from the ground and in their opening day, the loudspeakers boomed so gloriously and a great number of the city inhabitants troop to the new place in town and just outside was a long parade of parked cars, obviously from all the all-too-eager customers. Events like this in the city are hard to ignore for every known franchise putting up store in our shores signals progress, a big step forward. McDonald’s , the famous burger store, is also about to hit town in a few days or so. Years ago, Zamboanga earned some reputation in a very perplexing way when it qualified for an entry in the Guiness Book of World Records in the food category. It turned out that when Dunkin Donuts opened up in the city, its first day of operation spurred an unima...

I always know him as the sword wielding local hero who roamed the dessert and the jungles of the northern lands in order to vanquish evil and along the way, vampires, zombies and goblins would fall by the wayside often bloodied and trampled. He was the " Panday " and as a kid in the days of old, it is not a few moments that I have dreamed that I was the one holding those powerful blitzing swords. Last night, or rather this morning, a few minutes after midnight, the King of Philippine Cinema has gone to the other phase of existence and may he be in the company of the angels right at this moment. Bless be his soul. In my eyes, he is the real hero of many of our countrymen who longed for the one savior that would come and lead this nation out of its quagmires despite that fate was not in his favor when he tried his one and sole attempt at politics. He had fought his own battle, where in some battles that he had waged he may have retreated, but I am sure he had never s...

I went to the barbershop and had my third son’s hair cut . For a two-year old kid, he seem to be fairly behaved unlike his two older brothers whom I had wrestle towards the nearby neighborhood barbershop every other time, not unlike pulling hands of kids towards the dentist’s clinic. Yuri cried a little but that was near the end of his grooming session, and so it wasnt that bad at all. After the hair event, I took Yuri for a round of the city in our chugging but ever-reliable Willy’s vehicle. My kids love this drive around town even if we do not have any particular destination in mind. The streets were clear and it was a little grand to swoop down the half-empty streets of downtown Zamboanga. Driving on Sundays gives you a feeling of some invincibility that at certain points, you would believe you alone possess the city roads. In normal days, I would cringe seeing vehicles of all sort honky-tonkying with their horns as smog are spurted all over. The traffic in our city is sometim...

A couple of days ago, I was resting the whole afternoon inside our room , a little tired from the furiousness of the preparation for my son's birthday celebration that day. As always, when sleep does not comes as easily, I would spun some reading materials until my eyes get tired and golden slumber sets in. That day, I picked the Holy Bible and randomly paged through it. The first page I opened was page 288 and I read the following verses: "And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them." [II Kings 17:15] After I read the preceding words. I leafed randomly again through the thick King James Version until page 553 popped out and I read the following verses; "And the word of the LORD came unto me, sayin...

LAST NIGHT, Tony Ramos--my so-called constant companion these days-- telephoned me in a seemingly unexpected hour. The phone rang at 10:00 in the evening and Evelyn told me it was Anthony. I ran downstairs thinking it might be some urgent matters that he has to talk about. It turned out that Russell Tiblani, a common friend from Silliman, was at their house having the usual camaraderie with him (Tony is a computer programmer that a usual visit to his humble nook would mean a lot of DVDs and website talk and new music and program downloads. When we were younger and both unmarried to our respective partners, those hours would mean a lot of computer war games instead). "So what's the burning matter that you called at this hour?" I asked. It was not really about any earth-shattering matter at all but I was sure glad Tony called. Tony and Russell was discussing about my recent plans to form a Christian fellowship. Russell is a Moslem and he might not be able to join s...

It is now Wednesday morning, the 8th of December , the "real" birthday of my eldest son Yusef. As I wrote earlier in the week, he was celebrating his birthday in school a day earlier. Today at home, his Mom Evelyn would prepare some food for the kids in the neighborhood as well as the holding of party games such as the "pabitin", which is an all-time favorite for the kiddie visitors. This may be an eventful day for my kids. In the afternoon, I plan to attend the "Midweek Mass" in St. Joseph Church and I hope nothing would hinder this specific itinerary. Yesterday was Tuesday, and it was so plain and uneventful that I wasn't able to ponder upon any interesting thing to write about in the Daily Prophet. I guess, this would serve as a disclaimer that although the title of this blog contains the term "daily", the entries may not be so, since some days are better than others. Perhaps, I could retitle this site as "The Not Too Daily Prophe...

TOM MORROW, my eldest son Yusef will be celebrating his fourth natal day , one day before the actual day entered in his birth certificate. It so happen that Yusef's birthday falls exactly on December 8, a date in the Catholic world that we celebrate as the day of the Immaculate Conception---a day where every catholic school has no classes. He would celebrate it in school this year---for the first time---since in the past years, we celebrate it in some fine place. I have seen Yusef grow almost by the day and he went from a naughty toddler towards the present where he had gained some level of maturity, and not the crying little kid that he was whenever he doesn't get what he wants. When I was a child, I remember feeling a little spoiled when every time my grandfather fails to give in to my desires. I would wallow in screaming tears until he buys me some toys that I have fancied early in the day. My grandfather would leave me at times to cry without giving in, and that was a la...

Last night, ABC 5 scored a major coup by exhibiting a movie whose acclaim is phenomenal to say the least. I am speaking of the movie “ Farewell My Concubine ”. I have not seen the liner notes but I think mostly that it is directed by the much renown Chinese genius named Zhang Yimou. It was the second time that I have seen the movie. I have seen it first while I was in Manila about ten years ago. I was residing in a boarding house in Sampaloc in order to prepare for that year’s CPA board exams and I had to call a friend from Zamboanga who was also around town, Zulficar, so that I could have some companion. I was new to the big city and did not know much how to get to SM Megamall where the film is exclusively exhibited. He said it was a Chinese film. I said it has a subtitle and it’s critically acclaimed in almost all the papers. He said the rain was pouring hard (and it was) and the rain, as well as knee-high flooding in the streets of Manila, gave him an excuse not to accompany m...

Yesterday, I came back to an old town where for nearly a decade I came in and out of. Last night was Alumni Homecoming for all Ateneo de Zamboanga graduates and our batch (Batch 89) was one of this year's honorees. It felt a little strange that I had never been inside the Ateneo campus for nearly four years that the moment I stepped into it, I could not help but feel a little emotional. Just a little. There was a grand parade earlier in the day but I had decided against joining it for reasons I could not really tell. Perhaps, I was just tired that day or maybe I was just overly conscious that I may appear as someone who came in from the grave; someone who was not that much around for a long, long time and then suddenly appearing in the scene. Luckily that night, there wasn't any such uncomfortable "getting to know again" stuff like "Where have you been all these years?" You could say it is just an overreaction and I was not really so much as having b...

In the week that past, our country the Philippines has gone through something that suffers the heart with great sadness and grieving. They did not come in one; the giant storms came in two. When the typhoon “Unding” started to wield its mischief throughout the northern lands, I was watching the evening news and retorted inside my mind that the storms are here again, as it was the year before and many years in the past. Yet, I did not realize that “Unding’ was an extraordinary wind, that this day, I finally realize that the country has just suffered a tragedy that is never anticipated even if in the past we have witnessed more deaths through flooding waters in our country, more particularly in Ormoc City down south. My heart is wretched so enormously as I see mothers orphaned by their children while daughters grieve their lost husbands and fathers. This morning, two children were found in a ravine, apparently a victim of flood that assumes nothing and distinguishes no one. They have...

TODAY is the second day of December, one day after the celebration of World Aids Day. In the past ten years or so, the first of December had gained some sort of sacrilege as men and women of fame as well as those who are merely movers in the society (that is, without being famous) troops to the streets to wear red ribbons. In papers and in television, the issue of this modern day scourge rattles and rumbles to a din that one could not escape it. The awareness we get from this barrage of proclamations perhaps tells us that our world's problems regarding AIDS continues to permeate and threatens. The world's biggest band U2, has a new song included in their latest album, "How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" which they titled as "Miracle Drug"; by its name, we could tell that the song is about the dreaded disease. More particularly, it croons out the problem of trickling money that goes into the fight against AIDS. This year perhaps, the main theme of the ...