same old bananas

in light of the same ol' same ol' who won our senatorial race... (okay... photo not too accurate...)

i'd like to juxtapose our situation with the most recent installation at silverlens.

yes, they seem like statesmen perhaps from the lower house?

complete with barongs and masks...

and in the middle of it all are bananas...

and their "holy" leader... hmmmm.......

well, as the artist aptly called it...

same ol', same ol'.

forward march!

hey sis :)

we've been quiet and i shall blame it on the christmas rush.

but anyway, managed to steal some shots of the new burgos circle at the fort... (although just using my phone)...

what a new, perty area. it's where our fave cafe juanita is, and it's really such a beautiful addition to the city.

little pockets of development like this one really makes me happy, and affirms my belief that we are, slowly but surely, moving forward as a country.

which is why i agree with carlos whose FB status was:

Haynako. Negastar Jim Paredes thinks we're doomed. He's really a good guy for sure but why is he SUCH a turn off lately? I wonder if I'm alone in thinking this.

carlos is not alone. i'm with him.

jim wrote this nega article about our country.

after reading it, i (although outside of my character) responded to carlos by saying:

carlos, i think the reason why we don't get this article is because people like you (!) and me (?) are already doing (in our own ways) what he "calls" us to do in the last paragraph -- dreaming, acting, engaging, inspiring. "being a passive player in gma's dream" is a silly thought, and perhaps almost equal to bickering and whining about the country.

sometimes, i feel like it's OUTLOOK that divides our political landscape.

one side looks at our country with despair, and believes that the logical way to go is to vote the cleanest albeit not-the-sharpest-tool-in-the-toolbox.

another side looks at it with crazy optimism -- and recognizes that we, despite all the crap, are moving forward, hence choosing the smartest believing that we need not kill too many fires but instead plant seeds.

watjatink of my theory?

ako ang simula

this sign was, i thought, a sign of things to come.

the registration poster was in a nice gilded frame and red easel. this is probably the nicest registration poster in the country!

it was in the rockwell tent... so it was comfy, not a lot of people... KINDA organized... airconditioned...

it took me, however, THREE HOURS to register! ugggh!!!

i was nerdy enough to do some pre-work: downloaded, printed and filled up forms as instructed by the website.

only to find out that these are INVALID!

as per cranky comelec guy, "di yan puede, manipis ang papel" -- wtf?

cranky comelec guy also had loud spats with a good number of registrants while we were there -- wtf?? so much for 'public service'...

i have more to say about the system... but too tired to do so. but if you can imagine, they could have cut a LOT of steps and gov't workers in the process, a MICROCOSM of our current situation.

***

so here i am, registered but still undecided...

after witnessing the awful inefficient system of this li'l comelec satellite registration, it really is making me wonder who to vote for.

for me it's a matter of figuring out what will help solve our problems the most...

will it be a very incorruptible leader?

or will it be a very smart reformer?

on the one hand, an incorruptible leader will inspire people to not be corrupt, and will assure us that at least on the highest level, there will be no direct corruption (maybe by family members, but not by him himself because he won't allow for it).

on the other hand, a very smart reformer will address other aspects that cause corruption -- aspects like bureaucracy, inefficiencies and poor foundations of our political system...

but then again, is there even a very smart reformer in the running? but also, is our situation so so dire that we are all forced once again vote for a reluctant leader who peers find to be a bit intellectually incapacitated?

so obviously, at the moment, i'm still undecided.

but elated, nonetheless, that i have actually registered. here's the proof:

my apolitical days are over.

and i'm sure i'll have a candidate in a few months' time... i just need more time and information... and inspiration.

so, here's to our country, and to hoping that at the very least erap/binay won't win.

in the meantime, let's not obsess too much about the government, and just do what we can like we always do.

bye-bye, bush!

In a few hours, many will be cheering for the new US president.

Many, still, will say that the hype is too much, and the expectations too high...  Perhaps...

I still want to say this, though... 

Bye-bye to the careless, crazy and highly divisive idea of the "axis of evil".  

(The speech when this concept was introduced in the 2002 state-of-the-union-address, is regarded by many critics as one of the WORST US-presidential speeches of ALL time)

Bye-bye to wars that were not only unsanctioned by the U.N., but also carelessly executed... 

(enough to prolooooong an UNFOUNDED war that has led to:

over 68,000 deaths... and counting.... 

590 TRILLION dollars in war-spending... and counting.... 

and to the looting or destruction of ancient cradle-of-civilization archives and objects from libraries & museums!!!)

Bye-bye to the passe pro-laissez faire economic policies that affects us all.

There are more (not signing Kyoto protocol, the oil-y allies, etc etc.), but these 3 top my list.

yun lang :)

we heart joe biden

watch this right-winged republican newscaster get creamed!  ha!