MP lost

Going home from the church, I passed by an elementary school where Manny Pacquiao's fight with Bradley was being telecast live via satellite, I knew that something was not right because the people leaving the school was somber; the aura was funeral. 

There was no jubilation and excited description of the highlights of the fights instead what I heard were shouts and mumblings of accusations of being cheated: Pacquiao was mafiad by the Ameican mafia. He was karmaed because of his anti gay views (which MP vehemently denied). The fight was rigged for him to lose so that there would be rematch hence more revenue. He lost because he held Bible as if the Bible brings bad luck, etc. and so on.

Whatever the reasons, our champion lost and  MP was humble enough to admit defeat. He was magnanimous in defeat and that's what makes him more of a champion. Anyway, I think he needed the lost because he has taken his sport too lightly lately. Even though he may have won technically, the judges may have been expecting more hence they gave Bradley a handicap or something (just a theory).

Anyway,  the streets were quiet. There was no jubilation and though there were those who kept on mumbling theories about the lost, the people had that bleak look, lost look that made me think how pathetic it was for a human being to be emotionally involved over something as senseless as boxing.

I mean...  

The Chinese have occupied Bajo Masinloc and  our country's sovereignty was threatened yet the Filipinos was stoical about the issue, but when MP lost to an American it looked like as if my countrymen were ready to declare war on the United States...I mean...you gotta be kidding me.

Expect another analysis overdose.

Hmmmm...I did not watch  the replay. Somehow, I hate to admit it, me, too, was affected by the lost.

First Day of School/Smiley thing

Woke at 5:00 in the morning. Banged on the wall to wake my daughter up. Heat water and did a cup of coffee. Got dressed and then brought my daughter to her school and then went on to work. This is my first day of school, and this will be  the pattern for the next 200+ school days.

The Department of Education launched its new gimmick: the "your smile is your uniform" thing which aims to promote smiling among the teachers. According to the Department's think tank, smiling teachers promotes better learning among the pupils since it relaxes them; it lessens the tension in the classroom.  

So, each teacher is now wearing a smiley pin on their uniform. I kinda like the idea, but I don't know if it would work. Personally, I rather would not smile in class.

It would really be nice for a teacher to walk in a classroom smiling and exuding that aura of positivity and fun while the pupils are all smiling back, being respectful and exuding that aura of angelic benevolence, etc. But that's not the reality.

I have tried smiling on my first teaching days in public schools. I tried singing Sunday School songs and promoting peace and love and God's grace to my pupils, but the pupils just made fun of me and made my life miserable. 

The teachers, their smiles, their religious benevolence and what have you and all the psychological theories and understandings and all that stuff, unfortunately cannot undo, or cannot even alleviate the dysfunctional environment from which some pupils grew up with. I mean this is kinda bleak, but one has got to be in the classroom firsthand to know what I'm talking about.

But of course, there are pupils who respond to smiles very well. But...anyway, it's a progressive thing: I'd rather keep a poker face which may or may not develop into a smile rather than keeping a smile, a mad dog smile that bites or something. 

I would rather keep a blank expression on my face because pupils especially among the lower sections would consider a smile as a sign of kindness which, to them, means that they can "bully" the teacher. Anyway, I have always been a smiling teacher...well, maybe it's a good idea after all. We'll see.

Am I making any sense?

Jessica/Manny Pacquiao Overdose

Okay...I do not hate Jessica Sanchez. I have nothing against her. She's a very talented Mexican-Filipino-American. I don't know which part of her the singing talent could be attributed to but heck I don't care about the Filipino's propensity to take credit...you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, the American Idol contest has been over and done with for almost a month, but still I am hearing and seeing video clips of Jessica singing that Whitney Houston (no disrespect to WH) over and over again on Philippine television (just  few seconds ago, I heard it again). Heck, can't we move on people!  I am beginning to develop Jessica overdose syndrome: itching ears, raised blood pressure and what have you.

Not another video clip...please!

Another human being that keep popping up on the news daily is Manny Pacquiao.I see him jogging, singing, Bible Quoting (good development), dancing and being nice to his opponent. It is a relief that he is not shown singing that ghastly over emotional blah, blah, blah Dan Hill song "Sometimes when we Touch" thing, but still seeing him covered by media minute by minute is hmmm...troubling.  Now, Jinky is also there.

Anyway, I think Manny is now good because I don't see Gov. Singson in his entourage. I think his new found faith in God exorcised the guy off the group.

No, I 'm not angry or anything, just sour about...hmmm...nahhh. Come to think about... it's numbing.

Corona judgment blah, blah,blah

Now I was expecting CJ Corona would be acquitted. Of course, I know that this is kinda weird, but I was thinking that the senator judges would be thinking about the precedent that they would making. With the judgment they passed to CJ Corona it is now possible to impeach high government officials on the basis of their SALN, and to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, the senators have made their assess vulerable to the same possibilities happening to them.



Learned his lesson the hard way: you don't quarrel with city hall.



I was wrong. It seemed the senator-judges voted for what is right. I mean, if a simple court translator lost her job and other benifits because she did not disclosed her store in the market, why not the chief justice who withheld millions of dollars from his SALN. Forget all the evidences and the pizza pie (according to dear Senator Lito Lapid) and the anonymous persons, the admitannce of the CJ that he did not disclosed his "co-mingled" and dollar accounts in his SALN was enough, for a simple teacher like me, to convict him.

But the impeachment judgment did not prove that CJ Corona stole or illegally obtained his money because according to some lawyers and financial experts, this money is earnable by a lawyer of his calibre. CJ just made the mistake of not disclosing his all his money.

Anyway, water under the bridge. I am just hoping or even looking forward to more judges and justices,  congressmen, senators, local government officials, administrators, etc, being sued to court for their incomplete and inaccurate SALN.

NKOTBBSB: The problem with boy bands

I heard that two boy band, or to be more accurate, two old boy bands will be having a concert here in the Philippines: New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys. They were being announced on TV as  the two of the world's famous best boy bands.

Now what is wrong with this?

NKOTB 2008

Hell, they are not boys anymore. They are old now and seeing them perform their hits on the TV teaser is kinda painful. They were famous during the 90's and this era is kind of memorable to me because this was the age of alternative rock. The 90's saw the birth of great Filipino seminal bands like Eraserheads, Yano, the Youth etc. also the divide or the rivalry between metal and hiphop was kinda strong. So, their music was treated with contempt for they were pop and commercial (as opposed to the alternative-grunge-indie  music of the era). Also, they took advantage of the young girls and gays hormonal imbalance.

These boy bands were considered corny and childish or girlish and no rocker was ever expected to  listen to them. Now they are coming here to...weird. Of course, the rivalry between the hiphop and the metals are gone and all the nonsense... guess we all grew old, matured,  and became men and women. Still they call themselves boys? 

Backstreetboys 2011

They should rename their band: Old Kids on the Block and Backstreetmen. Anyway, hope to see them in 2080.

Princess and I: Gretchen's face

My wife and daughter are avid fans of Princess and I. My daughter watch it because of Daniel Padilla and my wife watch it because she loves watching TV especially prime time telenovela. Me, I'm a passive watcher of the TV since I really don't like telenovelas for reasons too many to mention.

Now, even passive watching, I cannot help but notice Gretchen Barreto's face and her facial expressions or the lack of it. She looks like one of Mdm Tussaud's wax figures. I mean, it seems that it is only her eyeballs that are doing the acting because her face is too tight--too tight that it shines and literally glows with reflection from the lights. I wonder what cosmetic operations and maintenance she goes through everyday but,again, none of my business. 

She doesn't look old and she doesn't look young; she looks beautiful but...lifeless.  

Fish stuff: Martiniko and the dragon fin

My  dragon fin with the martiniko and janitor fish. They love to tease each other.

I have a dragon fin in my aquarium. I bought a pair but the other one died. I made the mistake of mixing the dragon fin with goldfish and bubble eye fish in the same tank. Of course, I didn't know then that dragon fish were carnivorous, so, I was shocked to wake up one morning to find my one of my gold fish missing an eye and a bubble eye missing half its head. 

Anyway, I had another fish tank for the dragon fin. Unfortunately, I couldn't find another dragon fin, out of stock according to the pet shop owner. I could not bear to see my dragon fin alone swimming in a 20 gallon tank so I asked the pet shop owner what kind of fish I could mix up with a dragon fin; he named a few but they are quite expensive like arowana. I settled for the Martiniko which I got one for free because the caretaker of the church catch them whenever the church's ground floor is submerged in flood water. She had a number of them kept in an aquarium. Martiniko...who keeps them in an aquarium?

So, I did a little googling: Fish facts

LOCAL NAME: Martiniko

SCIENTIFIC NAME - Anabas testudineus

ENGLISH NAME - Climbing Perch

SCIENTIFIC CONFUSION? - With several slight colour and morphological differences in Climbing Perch found throughout their natural range it may well be that, in the future, we will see some of these given alternative scientific names.

NATURAL RANGE - Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Southern China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines.

DESCRIPTION - A torpedo looking, perch shaped fish. The body is elongate, the dorsal fin has a longer base than the anal, dorsal and anal reach backwards to the beginning of the caudal and that the posterior edge of the gill cover bears two strong spines. Colour is of a 'muddy' appearance of olive-grey. Young specimens have a dark spot on the caudal peduncle (point at which the body ends and tail starts). Young are often confused with Ctenopoma species.

DANGER? - The gill covers are equipped with various spines that are used as a defensive mechanism and are said to cause pain (if my experience of badly swollen fingers and large blisters caused by the ventral fin spines of Synodontis species 'Nigeria' is similar to this then such contact is best avoided and only plunging my hand into extremely hot water took this swelling down) if they catch a fishkeepers hand.

FIN MOVERS? - These fish are capable of moving from pool to pool by using their pectoral fins, caudal peduncle and gill covers as a means of locomotion. As a means of protection these fish are said to use the cover of darkness in order to move around doing so in groups and not as individuals.

HOW DID THESE FISH GAIN THEIR COMMON NAME? - Climbing Perch came about due to a 'myth'. Because certain individuals are said to have been found in tree tops a 'myth' has spread that these fish are the 'Tarzan of the fish world' able to shin up tree trunks with ease but this has yet to be scientifically proved so it is more likely that fish eating birds actually dropped or left catches of this particular fish on tree branches.

AQUARIUM CONDITIONS - In his Tetra published book Labyrinth Fish - The Bubble-Nest-Builders, Anabantid expert Horst Linke recommends that these fish be maintained in aquaria of 70x40x40cm with a temperature of between 20 and 25 C. Linke recommends keeping these fish in a well-planted aquarium. From a conversation with well-known aquatic photographer Mr. Kevin Webb, maggots and large sized commercial aquarium fish food pellets make good foods for these particular fish. These fish have a predatory nature so are NOT for the community aquarium. The two Climbing Perch I care for live fairly peacefully alongside large Loricarins, Synodontis pardalis, Sajica Cichlids, Doradidsand a Garra species.

Please remember that these are labyrinth fish so leave a gap between the water surface and condensation shield (in order to keep the labyrinth organ working properly) and watch for signs of velvet disease.

BREEDING - The sexes are told apart by girth, as that of the female is larger (particularly when in spawning condition). Males may be darker in colour and have more of a knife-edged anal fin than females. Use a large aquarium with plenty of floating plants. These fish do not build nests spawning in open water. Unlike their Gourami relatives they do not entwine in a full embrace. Spawning is said to be a very vigorous affair.

Eggs are clear in appearance and rise to the water surface. Once spawning is complete remove the adults, as they are prone to eating their eggs. Any fry which hatch (said to be from day 3 onwards) would be very delicate and require either green water or egg yolk paste as a first food with newly hatched brine shrimp to follow after the first week or so. The fry would be tiny and prone to velvet disease.

REFERENCES

Labyrinth Fish - The Bubble-Nest-Builders by Horst Linke, Tetra Press.

Labyrinth Fish by Helmut Pinter, Barron's Publishing.

Star Animals Series - See & Discover Fish (English edition) - Elsa editions.

Dr. Axelrod's Mini-Atlas, TFH Publications.

Gaga is done

Guess the rallyist watched the concert on the second day because they disappeared outside the MoA.  Lady Gaga owed Pastor Benny Abante and his group advertising and promotional  fees for effectively promoting the concert and making people interested with her and her music.

What did Pastor Abante and the other Christians accomplished with their rallies against Lady Gaga? (aside from hitting their own heads with their own fists)

Hmmmmmmm....hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmm...hmmmmmh....hmmmmmh....hmmmmm....hmmmmmh.....hmmmmm..hm...

The rallies and demonstrations boosted ticket sales by 2000%. They also made many people, even the uninterested like me, search and listen to Lady Gaga's music.

 If you don't like then don't, but please...other people have the freedom to. 

AI, Fil-Am Serial Killer

As expected another white guy with guitar won this year's American Idol. I was expecting Joshua Ledet to win because he got the most number of standing ovation but again, it was the American voters who decided who would win and they have voted for Philip Philips.

Anyway, my problem with Jessica Sanchez was that she was a diva. There's is something about diva's that make people sick: exhibitionist display of vocal range, ear splitting volume and power, irritating vibrato, and orgasmic facial expression. I mean...I think the Americans had enough of divas; me too.

Philip Philips is not an outstanding singer. Even I, a tone deaf, could hear when he is out of tune, but he is different: weird and awkward.

___________________

The Filipinos, as always when they hear news that a person with Filipino blood--from 50% to .00000001%--is doing well in singing contests or any international event of some sort, roots for their "countrymen." I myself, sometimes does not understand this especially when my countrymen felt ashamed of  Andrew Cunanan. I mean, he's a Filipino serial killer and if we are proud of Filipino-American singers, we should also be proud, I mean its not as if we expect all Filipinos to be just talented in singing or dancing or boxing...we should be proud that we also have a world class serial killer.

Background information
Birth name	Andrew Phillip Cunanan
Born	August 31, 1969 National City, California,United States
Died	July 23, 1997 (aged 27) Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Cause of death	Suicide by gunshot
Killings
Number of victims	5
Country	United States
State(s)	Minnesota, Illinois, New Jersey, Florida

Andrew Phillip Cunanan

August 31, 1969
National City, California,United States

July 23, 1997 (aged 27)
Miami Beach, Florida, United States

Suicide by gunshot

5

United States

Minnesota, Illinois, New Jersey, Florida

Gaga over Gaga

The more she is maligned and called anti-Christ, the more record she sells.  Isn't that obvious?

I heard and seen from the news that Christian groups in the Philippines violently opposed Lady Gaga's concert. Biblemode a group led by Politician cum Bible Baptist Pastor Benny Abante who by the way believed that only Bible and Fundamentalist Baptists are true Christians and other Baptists (guess we Southern Baptist are heathens) and other denominations are bound to go to hell, is organizing rallies and demonstrations (hmm... aren't rallies and demonstrations the same?) to show their opposition against Lady Gaga's concert. This guy's organization is calling to all Christian (my gosh, he is joining hands with evangelicals, a denomination he denounced in his Biblemode TV program) to support his cause!  Ow come on...

Don't you people have something productive to do like...  For heaven's sake, try to have a mind of your own.

Didn't we learn anything he, he,he...This kind of thing,. the moralizing, Bible Verse throwing, the anti-Christ name calling, hell, judgment thing does not work. And to tell the truth, the attention generated by the anti-christ- bruhaha serves  only as the best free advertising for the concert. If these Fundamentalist Christian people, especially their youth, just stuck to talking about it in their pulpits and in their cell group, the concert would just pass by without a fuss. 

Who cares about Lady Gaga! Why be afraid of her?   I mean, we the Filipino People should be more afraid of fundamentalist groups out to destroy freedom in the name of their religion. The freedom, which by the way, is also being enjoyed by them. 


Pastor Abante should go to Iran and discuss the matter with his fellow fundamentalists there. No disrespect meant, just plain disgust coming from a heathen Southern Baptist.

Magrally ka mag-isa mo!

Revilla enrolled at IAME/ Why o why?

I saw the impeachment trial yesterday and there was an embarrassing moment for Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. when witness Emmanuel T. Santos, the owner and founder of International Academy of Management and Economics, revealed or bragged that a son of Sen. Revilla studied in his school.

The senators were smiling because the school was closed by the Commission on Higher Education for “gross and serious violations and continuous defiance, and non-compliance by the institution of CHED Policies, Standards and Guidelines (PSG). (What a Revilla in that school! Why not in Ateneo, UP, De La Salle, UST....why not. Maybe the guy didn't meet the academic standard of these universities.)  Santos also bragged that his school had alumni of eight generals, two billionaires, and other politicians. 

Maybe the CHED noticed that his school was just a diploma mill for graduate students especially for people in government that need to acquire graduate education for promotion that's why it was closed down. Anyway, Santos was weird.

Santos being cross examined by Roi. Unbelievable. I mean the whole thing was unbelievable.

The Chief Justice will sit in the witness stand next Tuesday. This will be the orgasmic part of the trial and many are interested on what the Chief Justice will reveal about his dollar accounts. I hope there will be sort of a literary-mystery twist that would somehow reward the avid follower of the impeachment trial. Maybe like the CJ revealing that his dollar account was used as an intelligence fund depository by the CIA for their Philippine operation, or the account was used by the CPP NPA, or by the NICA.

Anyway, Tuesday is the day.

_______________________________________

It is always the poor that suffered.

I mean with all the drama by Claudine Barreto-Raymart-Tulfo, the victims of their lack of self control, education and propriety are the security guards who were suspended from their job because they were found to be negligent of their job. The ground stewardess who was cursed, lambasted, embarrassed by Claudine (show how hypocritical actors really are) had to resign from her job because, maybe the pressure and the embarrassment made her resign or something (just a theory because Claudine is fine wrestler...errr...I mean actor).

Just because they lose their baggage, people are now suffering. Why is it that people's attitude problem, lack of education and propriety, violent tendencies, why should the poor laborer suffer for this! 

Do not watch these actors' movies.