July 31, 2009 at 12:30 am (2000s Philippines, Angst, Current Events, Filipino Art, Humor, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos, Tristesse)
“Fairy tales can come true… they can happen to you…”
And happen to you they did.
Erudite Manila simmered, seethed, and gritted their teeth as the four new “National Artists” were announced by the CCP Cultural Center of the Philippines…
“Fairy tales can come true… they can happen to you…”
July 16, 2009 at 1:03 pm (2000s Philippines, Angst, Current Events, Humor, Random memories, The Cebuanos, The Davaoenos, The Global Crowd, The Ilocanos, The Ilonggos, The Laguna Tagalogs, The Manilenos, The Negrenses, The Pampanguenos, The Tarlaquenos, The Tayabenses / Quezonians, Tristesse)
I assume that most of us have read through [ in whole or in part ] the major treatises on power, the most basic being Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” to Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Bataille, Lacan, Foucault, Derrida all the way to the most recent works by O’Brien, et. al..
Given the nature and the requirements of political power, we need not wonder why our leaders act the way they do. It’s all a natural, logical progression of political survival.
What are your musings???
July 14, 2009 at 5:17 pm (2000s Philippines, Angst, Past Events, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos, Tristesse)
What was it all about, after all?
Was there any real change inside us, where it really mattered?
Why are we back to square one thus far? Or have we really progressed as a democratic country without our knowing it?
These and other nagging, serious questions haunt us — as I’m sure they do millions of others, specially the principal players of that epic drama twenty-three years ago — as we ponder the mortality of the former President Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco-Aquino.
Was it worth the personal sacrifices and the very high levels of stress as the President of the Philippines after Ferdinand Marcos, Cory?
Was it worth your assassination / martyrdom, Ninoy? Was it worth becoming a national hero?
Was it worth ignominiously removing you as the First Lady, Imelda?
Was it worth ignominiously removing you as the President, Ferdinand?
Was it worth all the hope for my family and I and fifty million other Filipinos?
Was it worth anything at all to you, my friend?
It is a good time to reflect on THE ESSENTIALS OF LIFE, to ask ourselves the difficult questions of our existence as human beings and as Filipinos…
July 14, 2009 at 3:22 am (2000s Philippines, Angst, Current Events, Humor, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos, The Pampanguenos, Tristesse)
Whatever anyone says, she is still the most powerful lady in the land, and she can certainly order your head to roll if she wants.
I cannot comprehend how she has become so unpopular…
I still remember the time in 2000 when we were desperate to have her become the President of the Philippines, as we were quickly and surely sinking deeper and deeper [ as in Madonna’s song “Deeper and Deeper” 😛 😛 😛 ] under the leadership of President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, a handsome, charismatic, debonair, dapper, dashing, sexy alpha male / macho man whose temperament and habits were not quite suited to the demands of being the President of the Philippines.
I don’t know whom to believe…
The gentlemen say that she has the Philippine military effectively in her grip. They are very happy with their generous compensations from the palace. That is why she can scold and humiliate them openly and freely during cabinet meetings and other public affairs without fear of their retaliation. That is why the gentlemen claim that we will no longer have any “coup d’ etat” during the remaining tenure of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: Every single key person from the top general to the mere barangay functionary from Aparri to Jolo is on a regular, considerable payroll from Malacanang Palace.
It sounds logical if you ask me. Rather Machiavellian… and I daresay brilliant of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, if that is indeed what she has been doing. After all, “Money makes the world go round” is a universally acknowledged reality. 😛
The Ladies say that the Philippine military has her effectively in their grip. They claim that she cannot make a single move without the assent and support of her generals. The ladies claim that the “balance of power” was much affected when the “Hyatt 11” technocrats — eleven highly-qualified and principled Cabinet secretaries — withdrew their support from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: it paved the way for PGMA to be wholly dependent on her reliable and loyal military men and thus the power at the palace came to be monopolized by the Philippine military.
It doesn’t sound logical if you ask me, for the “Hyatt 11” had no real political power [ probably moral power, but that’s an entirely different question, we’re dealing with reality here 😛 ] but that’s what the ladies say. They venture further that it was precisely at that time that the bigtime gambling lords and the USD $$$ multimillionaire industrialists further consolidated their influence / hold / grip on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by putting their big money where their mouths and motives were. Smart people if you ask me: “Rub my back and I’ll rub yours.” 😛
The gays say that her couturiers can’t get her body proportions — particularly the proportion, construction, execution and movement of her “terno” sleeves — therefore her dresses, right and that she remains, on account of her short stature and difficult proportions, the couture nightmare that the legendary Ramon Valera once considered her to be, along with superstar Nora Aunor [ The Charice Pempengco of the early 1970s ].
Now, Trust The Gays to notice the darndest things about Anybody…
Granted, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not the ethereally beautiful, tall, long-limbed, soignee swan that is the former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos. But then, how many Ladies are? Neither were Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, Amelita Ramos, Rosemarie Jimenez-Arenas, Ricky Reyes, nor Luisa Ejercito, G*ia Gomez, nor La*rni Enriquez.
By popular — or unpopular??? — demand. Go, ravers and ranters!!!
July 2, 2009 at 11:30 pm (2000s Philippines, Angst, Current Events, Design and Decoration, Humor, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Ilocanos, The Manilenos, Tristesse)
Happy 80th Birthday, Madame Imelda Romualdez Marcos!!!
There were sooooo many people…
Insouciant heiress related that her mother, Real estate billionairess [ sister of the late grand Manila heiress ], attended for old time’s sake, for friendship’s sake, despite her multiple health problems. However, after greeting Madame Marcos, she discovered that she had absolutely nowhere to sit. So Real estate billionairess quietly left the Sofitel Philippine Plaza ballroom and hobbled to her waiting limousine. Insouciant heiress decided not to attend the big party of 02 July because she very well knew that 1,000 of Madame Marcos’ most intimate friends would surely shoehorn into the hotel ballroom. However, most of the Marcos inner circle [ at least the surviving ones 😛 ] were already present at the smaller, but still grand, party the previous evening held at the pre-Malacanang Marcos residence along Ortega Street in San Juan. Everyone who mattered was present.
Best line of the evening [ 02 July 2009 ]:
Influential media lady: “O, ****!!! Why are you here, outside the ballroom???”
Marcos daughter: “Because I don’t know anyone inside!!!”
Life is funny, isn’t it? Outrageously so. It’s just a nonsensical, continuous reversal and counter-reversal of fortunes. For all: for the always bad, the sometimes bad, the sometimes good, the always good. There was the former First Lady, Madame Imelda Romualdez-Marcos on her 80th birthday, resplendent in all her renewed power and glory, despite her supposed 3,000 shoes and supposed 3,000 corresponding sins. Then there was the former President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino in the ICU intensive care unit of the Makati Medical Center, attended by her loving family, suffering from colon cancer despite having led the Philippines from the 21-year Marcos tyranny.
“Because I live for the true, the good, and the beautiful…”
And what are we, ordinary mortals, supposed to learn from this???
NADA.
Life is ridiculous. Don’t sweat it. It doesn’t make sense. Never did. Never will.
Period. 🙂 🙂 🙂
July 2, 2009 at 8:00 am (2000s Philippines, Current Events, Humor, Random memories, The Global Crowd, The Manilenos)
There is the Magnificat… The Song of Praise of the Virgin Mary.
And then there is the Imeldificat… The Song of Praise of Madame Imelda Romualdez Marcos…
And it goes like this…
remembrance of things awry 