MY THOUGHTS ON RIZAL@150 THING

The country marks the 150th Birth Anniversay of our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, on June 19, 2011.

At first, there were debates as to whether the government should move Rizal Day from December 30th, his death, to June 19th, his birth. Eventually, President Aquino made a compromise and declared June 20th a special non-working holiday, since the 19th fell on a Sunday, in order to commemorate this special event.

President Aquino spearheaded the festivities with a laying of wreath at Rizal Shrine in the hero's hometown of Calamba, Laguna. At the same, time, he took lead in unveiling the tallest monument of the patriot in front of Calamba Capitol, which stands 22 feet. I think it is fitting that his hometown deserve a monument as even outside of the Philippines stands some. There's one in Madrid, in China, and in Germany where he studied optometry.

At his speech, the president said that, "even with the crossroads that he faced, Rizal never strayed from the straight path." Straight Path of course is his famous slogan during the election campaign and that reverberated in his keynote speech.

Back in Manila, the celebration is a whole day festive event with free activities for the people. Luneta was practically covered with red, white, and pink flowers. A fun run participated by schoolchildren and teachers, Takbo in Pepe, despite the rain did not dampen their spirits. Two giant cakes were also made as a tribute to Rizal. The rain was pouring all day, but it did not stop some 200,000 people to flock around Luneta to pay tribute though some are just there but did not know why. For the first time, the restricted area was opened for public viewing.

But what do this really tell us? Jose Rizal is our pride, national hero. His idealism should be embodied by every Filipino, and we should commemorate his natal day always to remind of of his heroism be be an inspiration forever. But sad to say, it took us 150 years to really and formally celebrate the man's birthday, instead we are celebrating his death. Tributes are good, but if he were alive today, he would have been disgusted at how we are right now, how we run the state.

Yes Dr. Jose Rizal was truly an inspiration, his legacy and his works. But do people now really care about him? He once said the the "youth is the hope of our fatherland," but if we look closely today we have woefully molded the youth in our corrupt political fray. I could imagine him so frustrated with our politicians. His visions to make this country free and progressive is now a country tattered in poverty and dishonor.

Yes all these grandiose tributes, extravagant celebrations means nothing if after all these raucous end, Rizal will just again be there standing in Luneta, guarded by stiff guards, that people will not notice; students study his works and leave everything inside the classroom, and all this will just be an afterthought.

(This is actually a reaction paper project I wrote for somebody. I haven't really followed the event. I'm not a fan of Rizal FYI.)

DEAR ORLY

Tay!

Musta ka na da? Diin ka subong man? Pero kung diin ka man, bal'an ko nga mayo na ang plastada mo dira. Grabe ulihi ta nga kit'anay 13 palang ako, subong mas gwapo na ko sa imo. He he. Teh, kundi wala mo makita kung anu ka gwapo subang mo subong. Pero sige lang makit'anay gid kita balang araw.

Mayo man kami diri ah, survive man, maski budlay ang pangabuhi. Baw, gin bilin mo ako nga lamharon palang, na pwersahan nalang ko nga mag tindog bilang tatay sa mga utod ko eh. Although, medyo wala na tuman ang expectations, pero sige lang ang imnportante, lipay lang kag wala gamo. Ay may apo ka na gale, pero indi sa akon. Dugay pa na ya sa akon ah.  Damo problema sa balay, pero gina tinguhaan man nga masolbar ah.

Siguro kung ari ka di subong, upod kita permi hampang basket kag chess asta pusoy dos kung; hagaron ta sa pañero Boy eh. Inom inom ta sa balay, pero bal'an ko kung mauntat ka na inom after mo gwa sa hospital. Tani sang ari ka pa diri, gin tudluan mo ko mag gitara. Handom kag dumot ko asta subong magtukar gitara. Syempre mahilig man ko daan sa music, diin pa ako bi ma sunod? Daya'on ka imo ya, gulpi ka lang nag halin.

Pero sa tuod, nahidlaw na ako sa imo. Nabudlayan ako, pero gina kaya ko, para sa mga manghod ko kag si nanay.  Di ko gusto manging emosyonal basi tulo sip'on ko. Pero isa ka bagay lang gusto ko hambal sa imo, palangga ta ka, kag maski bitin pag updanay naton, ikaw ang the best!

Happy Father's Day gali ah!


Ang pinakagwapo mo nga bata,

Noy

I-BANDERA MO

Since it's the Philippine Independence, why don't you wear yourselves with these Flag themed apparel.

  

 

Gusto mo pati brief mo himu'on mo man bandera.

Kulang nalang flagpole.

BALIK-SKWELA NA

Abre klase na naman, wala ko kabalo kung excited na ang mga estudyante mag balik sa skwelahan ah. Its either bitin pa ang ila bakasyon or natak'an na sila mag tinir sa ila balay kag mag utas sa ginikanan nila nga sila nalang permi nakita nila nga sugo'on.

Ako siguro na belong sa latter. Pero most of the kids now are excited to go to school, syempe bag'o na, ma'shopping anay sila sg mga school supplies. Well tungod ako subang, syempe ang akon sadto ya permi lang bago halin sa mga notebooks, sa bag, uniform, sapatos although sg elementary ko wala ko ga sapatos kag ga uniform tungod daw wala man kami ya gina saway. Subong man lang na ya nga strikto na sila about that. Amu ni siguro ang rason nga ang manghod ko init ulo permi sa akon tungod nahisa kay bag'o akon gamit, tapos sa iya second hand lang.

Lipay na ko na ya mabaklan notebook nga artista ang cover, amu na ya ang uso mo. Pero indi ko ya sg kay Romnick, gusto ko kanday Jennifer Mendoza, Donna Cruz, kag LIndsay Custodio; indi sa binabae ako ah but mas mayu gd man ya kung girl ang cover para may lululantawon ka eh. Wala abi sg may ga palitib eh. Subong ang mga notebook colored coded, akon ya sadto artista-coded. Jennifer sa Math, Donna sa English, Lindsay sa Science. (Amu lang na ang tatlo nga may notebok ako, the rest nga subjects tingob sa isa ka notebook nga damol)

Pag'abot na namon sa balay, hala ga grinu'al lang na kay coveran na sg plastic ang mga libro kag notebook ni Nanay. Dumduman ko, naka tatlo na sya ka cover hambal nya sa akon ay, "Kadako na sa imo, ikaw na nalang ni cover sg nabilin. Nakapoy na ako." Ako man ya, sige lang cover maski wala namas'angan.  Sang ginpakita ko sa iya ang inubrahan ko, hambal ba naman nya sa akon, "Ay halin da! Abi ako nalang, ako nalang..." Until now, indi man ko gyapon kabalo mag cover libro.

But one thing I hate about when school starts, dungan sa tig'ululan. Syempre pag umpisa klase isputing, pasundayag ang bag'o nga sapatos, bag, uniform... tapos gulpi lang nag ulan. Lipatan ni nanay mag bakal payong. Nonsense ang bag'o mo nga japorms, basa pa medyas mo.  Ako, who thinks wearing raincoat, is uncool and magdala payong is sissy, sulay na lang sa ulan. Basa tanan nga unod sang bag mo, notebook mo nga bag'o, libro nga wala maprotectahan sg plastic cover, kag ang sharpener ko nga Superman natuktukan. Gina sumpa ta ka asta subong Bagyo Ruping!!

GO DIRECTLY TO BoRa Pix #2

Okay so tapos na ang summer, siguro halos tanan naka'bakasyon na kung sa diin diin da, Boracay especially. Well, sa akon pag browse sa Facebook, na notice ko, actually amu man lang na akon gina bantayan, mag upload ang mga friends ko sg ila pictures during ila nga vacation sa beach. It's not because, I wanted to see how it went, but to see in the picture some scantily clad breed of Eve.

But this is what I noticed, and I tell you guys out there, nga deresto kamo sa album number 2. Of course, subong nga panahon nga halos tanan makastore hundreds of pictures sa memory card (gone are the days of 32-shot films), I think one album is not enough with these shutter-happy folks. Ngaa hambal ko derecho sa album number 2 or sometimes its titled Bora Pix2 or Bora Day 2, it because diri ang most of the great pictures. The album number 1 is all crap. Usually ang unod sini nga album are the pictures nga ara pa sila sa salakyan or sa eroplano during the long trip, or kung ara na sila usually diri na belong ang picture nga nagposing sila sa sign that says, "Welcome to Caticlan" or where ever they are going. Picturan na nila ang ila hotel room, tanan nga sulok, pati ang kama nga puno sh ila gamit. So basically, there's nothing worth seeing in this album, just a bunch of their vanity.

The the Album 2, usually is really where they start to go to the beach itself wearing there tinny-winy bikinis. There you'll find tanan nga posing imaginable; in the sand, in the water, sometimes may emo pic pa nga kuno abi wala gatulok sa camera. But, some people nga may taste sa pictures, diri mo makita mga landscape pictures like the sunset, the island during their tour around, even nice set of food they eat.  Diri sa album ang pinaka damo mo makita nga naka swim suit. Tapos kung maka tsamba pa sila, makakuaha pa sila litrato with some artista hanging around.

Kung gina swerte ka pa gid, may Album #3 pa. This is where they take pictures leaving, usually souvenir pics, picturan ang ila ginpamakal nga pasalubong. Indi pa gd sila matak'an picture naman sila sa salakyan, and basically nothing much more, and this is much worse than the first album.

Anyway, I'm just bitter because I never gone to the beach, teh kundi sila nalang suyaan ko?

By the way, I hate them calling that island just BORA!

ARA! NBA FINALS NA!

So the NBA Finals is underway, sorry for a late preview, but I haven't had Internet connection for a time. Game 1, of course, is history as my Miami HEAT withstand the Mavs. But this is how I see the Finals with storyline everywhere with the 2006 Rematch is just a minor plot; Hall of Famers all over, mga veterano naga lagas sg ila una nga Championship rings; and streaks, Dallas' road wins, Miami's unbeaten at home; Dallas' regular season sweep since 2006, Miami's playoff wins against Dallas, basta ka damu lang.

Anyways, I'll break down the series and hopefully indi ako mangin bias. Sa backcourt, I think Dallas has a slight, yes slight, advantage with Kidd and Jason Terry. Indi na sya ang Jason Kidd of old. He may have lost a step but the court vision, the basketball smarts, and the defense is still there, kag isa pa, he is not Ason Kidd anymore because he already has a "J." Jason Terry on the other hand has been terrific, not only he has deadly three, but he can slash and make those extremely tough shots. Terry is the second leading scorer on that Dallas team. On the other side, unless you consider LeBron James as point guard, the HEAT only has Dwyane Wade that can really do damage there. Both Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers are streaky shooters, especially Bibby who has not been hitting his shots all playoffs. Chalmers however is better defensively and can hit those open threes if he is feeling it (see Game 1). Dwyane Wade, though can dominate games, but recently been struggling with the question of an injured shoulder (which I notice he had been nursing in Game 1).

The front court of both teams is a mystery to me. You see LeBron and Dirk there, probably the two superstars in this series. Either the famous unstoppable one-legged fade away of Dirk or the overall all-around  play of LeBron James, I think it's a toss up between them. Then we see Chris Bosh, the supposed odd-man-out in Miami, but Bosh has been a force through out the playoffs both in Boston and Chicago series. He has been the steadiest and I think him being aggressive could spell good things for the HEAT. With their so-called hole in the middle, the HEAT had been greatly helped with the return of Udonis Haslem. He has been the missing guy. His toughness and hustle is what was lacking the team all season, and he could have picked a better time to return. During the Bulls series, he has been closing out as their center. I see him guarding Nowitski and Bosh sliding to Chandler. Speaking of Chandler, he has been a welcome addition to the Mavs with his defense and athleticism. He could be the factor if he can take advantage of this strengths and expose Miami.

Dallas a deeper bench while Miami rely solely on their Big Three for offense and any contribution from her bench as a plus. Plus I give an advantage to coaching to Rick Carlisle simply because of his savviness and his experience with the Finals. This is not however to put down on our Fil-Am Coach Spo. He has been able to put together some line up here and there and he is a great defensive coach, but with three superstars that can handle themselves, what more can he do?

Okay, as much as I wanted to see Dirk, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, and Peja win their rings, I think they will be disappointed once again by the very same team that denied them 5 years ago. The key I think is Miami's defense. They have three superstars who not only are tremendous offensive players but great defensively too (LeBron in 1st, Wade in 2nd Defensive Teams). Dirk may have his fair share on offense but he will have to work double time in defense which he hadn't done in his previous three series. If he is shut down, though I doubt, who will take the slack? Jason Terry, maybe; Marion, likely. The HEAT has three guys who can take over a game any time, you shut down James, Wade and Bosh is still there and they have proven that.  Plus, remember when they cannot close out games? Well that's ancient history. At the end of the day, the HEAT has three stars, the Mavs has one. Defensively, Miami is one of the league's best in full throttle --  *cough Bulls cough Celtics.*

I pick Miami HEAT in 6 games, but indi ako makibot kung kaya nila matapos in 5. This is going to be an exciting series and I can see a parade in Biscayne Bay again.