The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globaization

There was a time after graduating college that I contemplated on taking up foreign service to make better use of my language skills and also because many friends think I am most apt for the job not only because I know many things about people and different cultures aside from their languages as a result of frequent traveling (now ruined by Covid-19 ) and because above all, I handle issues in a very diplomatic way. On the other hand, I know in myself that I know very little about world history and especially about the Balkans, Central Asia, and other not so prominent geographic spaces but which contribute to the unfolding of world history. There were some points in my life that I would buy books on globalization to better understand the concept as a process, a system, and a phenomenon, and supplement it with books on related topics. Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat was very much talked about then and it was this reason that I probably bought every book of his that I could find in Booksale.

Getting TLATOT for only PHP75 is a big bargain!

I started reading this book only last year and finished it last month, but I was reading stuff in between (not to mention doing a mountain of chores and income-generating activities coz a girl's gotta earn her own money and doesn't live off others). I instantly liked Friedman because of his accessible writing style which betrays his playful and witty mind, but then it changed toward the end when it became more apparent that he is a proud American who, although aware of globalization's negative consequences, would rather insist on this US-led system because of the "benefits" that the world will reap from it. As an advocate of free market capitalism, he voices out the importance of competition and the ability to be agile in today's rapidly changing environment. To give him credit, he does raises interesting and some valid points but I still have my reservations.

The book is comprised of 20 chapters, each detailing our journalist's experiences with the globalizing world as he moves around and talks to the rich and powerful shapers of world events, in one way or the other, directly or indirectly since we are all connected more than we realize. So below are some key takeaways/ insights:

1. Globalization is THE new international system, characterized by both clashes and homogenization of civilizations, environmental disasters and rescues, triumphs of liberal free market system and the backlash against it, the durability of nation-states and the rise of enormously powerful non-state actors. And an important thing to remember is the role of CYBERSPACE/INTERNET.

2. The Lexus here is a symbol for modernization, prosperity, privatization of economies; in more concrete terms, the lexus represents material improvements in the form of global markets, financial institutions, computer technologies. Olive trees refer to the abstract things that root us--- sense of belonging, individuality, personal rituals, relationships, sense of confidence and security. 

3. Golden Arches Theory banks on the global popularity of the famous fast food franchise and influenced by liberal IR tradition. It states that no two countries that both have McDonald's have ever fought a war against each other ever since they each got their McDonald's. It's funny how shortly after the first edition was published, NATO bombed Yugoslavia. (Mine is the 2000 edition.) Then again closer to home and considering recent events, we see that GAT is a very weak theory with China being aggressive (or for some scholars, assertive... But maybe its assertiveness is read by outsiders who do not have to contend with direct conflicts with this gluttonous panda) to its southern neighbors with which it shared centuries of relations. I also remember when I was still an employee of a multinational food company around 2014 or 15 and suddenly Russia and Ukraine had a fight over Crimea. I remember that time well because we had a Ukrainian visitor with whom I spoke Russian, realizing later on that Russian and Ukrainian are actually very different. The awkward thing is, at that time, Ukrainian nationalism was seen to be very fierce despite their small size compared to a giant Russia so the visitor would remind me that the two are different languages and indeed they are. I have to add that US played a role in this crisis because as usual it keeps on interfering with others' internal affairs and as usual it succeeded in throwing away then Ukrainian President out of the country. (*rolls eyes)

4. Friedman does acknowledge the ill effects of globalization, the thing he absolutely supports. So in this book he points out the things required to survive and compete and still emerge as successful. His core suggestion is by INTERNET DOCTORING which is essentially helping companies be e-ready. And since we also cannot leave out the nation-states, there is a need that a country has excellent infrastructures, the hardware as Friedman calls it, as well as robust regulations and law enforcement. He emphasizes the role of the Electronic Herd (i.e. technocrats) as primary source of capital. And despite having being the US's ally in this part of the world to contain China, the US has made little to help build this hardware that we need. So now that our President breaks off ties (partially) with US and pivots to China, I sure am more content. Because as Friedman himself says there are freemarket democrats and there are also freemarket kleptocrats and the latter are far more in number in my poor country.

5. Aside from world politics, I also pick up some useful insights for personal development:

- Beat the system at its own game

- The fast eats the slow

- Openness can lead to rapid growth (just look at China since 1979)

- You don't earn a living, you learn a living (page 447 talks about constant upskilling)

- When you are at the top, be generous and benign to keep your position

  The last quotes from Paul Schroeder: "If you look at history, the periods of relative peace are those in which there is a durable, stable and tolerant hegemon who does the adjusting and preserves the minimal necessary norms and rules of the game. And that hegemon always pays a disproportionate share of the collective costs, even foregoes opportunities for conquest or restrains itself in other ways, so as not to build up resentments and to make sure the system stays tolerable for others." (That hegemon is without a question the US. But these days it should also apply to China and China knows it, that's why it is focusing on its soft power's "peaceful rise" alongside hard power, in a move to tap into smart power.)

Christmas 12252015

Christmas Day this year was spent in the office, one hour shy of completing my normal shift but I had to go because I wanted to spend sometime in a church as I did last year. Except I didn't go to my peaceful sanctuary because I left later than planned so I opted for the nearer church.

We had free lunch meals ordered from Cafe Nenzo as in last year. I love the fish fillet with garlic and butter. The cheesecake was exciting at first but the heaviness of cream cheese made me just gulp down the whole thing with water. The chocolate cake was one of the best ones I've had, to think I don't even like chocolate cake. But this one had just the right sweetness and the cake itself was moist. Yummy!

While to many working on holidays suck, I welcome the opportunity because I am more productive when I am alone. I get a lot of work done and I think better when alone.

Before heading home I dropped by Booksale to claim my reserved books: Pillars of the Republic and The Journals of Lewis and Clark. The latter is something I have been wishing for but it was always priced in the P150-P250 range so now that it dropped to P50 I saw my chance of having a copy. The other book is not much of interest to me but the blurb says something about common-school development before the American Civil War. Lately I have become interested in developments of systems and institutions as opposed to my earlier obsessions on origins (that's why I took up archaeology in the first place).

Walking on major roads, one can see the ugly side of Christmas. No wonder I am always gloomy and in a bad mood at this time of the year. Metro Manila is turned into one big stinking garbage city thanks to the undisciplined people and also to the MMDA's little effort in apprehending the violators of the Anti-Littering Law.

As I was looking for my last jeepney ride, I chanced upon one empty but on the inner lane so I hopped inside. The driver asked me where I was headed to because he was about to go home already. Just so happened that he would pass by near where I live so he told me there was no need to pay even though I insisted many times. So I just wished him a Merry Christmas.

Questioning Our Heroes

A month before my birthday as I was looking for interesting books inside National Bookstore on a lazy Saturday afternoon, I spied Nick Joaquin's A Question of Heroes. Because I was still obsessing over the film Heneral Luna and have been on the lookout for materials about Antonio Luna, I bought the book without a second thought seeing that it tackles the revolutions first against Spaniards then against the Americans. That despite the book costing me PHP350, but I had no regrets because the book was well-written.

A Question of Heroes traces the series of revolutions that took place to where it all started, arguing that it was the creoles who started it all with their campaigns for the appointment of the native clergy. The execution of the GOMBURZA inspired privileged young men, the ilustrados, who obtained education, most of them in Europe, to establish a Propaganda movement which enlisted the sympathies of Spanish politicians. It was the highlight of the whole movement as one after the other these ilustrados made the nascent Filipino community proud by winning competitions and garnering accolades in international settings. And it is precisely because of the ilustrados' achievements later on culminating into a sense of nationhood that Nick Joaquin argues that the entire period from the Propaganda Movement up to the war against the Americans is just a single event aptly named the Revolution of the Ilustrados.

While it is undisputed that the ilustrados fanned the fire to nationalistic tendencies, I have reservations on this since the masses were discredited. I strongly suspect that this is because Nick Joaquin himself came from a privileged family and/or that he is a product of a series of brainwashing and mental colonization done by the Americans when they established the public school system in the Philippines. The book failed to investigate the Dagohoy rebellion and its significance in later revolutions.

What I liked about the book though is that it is very well-written, making it hard to put down. For this, the author really lives up to his title as National Artist for Literature. He writes unapologetically about the heroes we so admire in Philippine history, showing their great blemishes when in highschool all we ever know is their greatness and love for country. Nick Joaquin even goes far as to question that love. Is it really for the Motherland? What is referred to as Motherland? 

The book touches on well-known personalities in the Philippines' pantheon of heroes and delving deep into controversies thus offering more insights into the humanity of these persons whose lives the average Filipino only reads from heavily purged textbooks. It touches on accidental heroes like Jacinto Zamora, on cowardly heroes like Graciano Lopez-Jaena who was unable to act on what he espoused, on arrogant and power-hungry heroes like Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo, on duplicitous and manipulative heroes like Apolinario Mabini, on heroes lost in time like Artemio Ricarte who brought the Japanese into the Philippines to drive out the Americans, and many more interesting stories.

We call them heroes. But how do we really define heroism? What makes a person a hero?

I remember as a college student and keeping an active blog on the now defunct Multiply site, a big figure in the History Department commented on what I wrote (if I remember correctly it was a review of the National Museum).  Curious, I visited his Multiply site and found out that it was Dr. Zeus Salazar, proponent of the Pantayong Pananaw, an intellectual movement that calls for indigenized social science perspective as opposed to the more popular Western positivist stances. In one of his writings, he differentiated between a "hero" and a "bayani". The first, for him, refers to someone with courage, wisdom, and strength. The latter is characterized by his/ her sacrifice and concern for others. Bayani is rooted in the word bagani which means warrior, someone who is ready to lay down his life to protect others. 

In A Question of Heroes, we glimpse the selfish interests these "heroes" had and I think it is interesting and will make for a good debate on whether they are mere heroes or are worthy to be called "bayani".

On second thought, I recall a wonderful conversation I had with a fellow volunteer in the mapping project. He is a Psychology graduate and he points out that we the people at present times must not judge too harshly the people of the past because as the events unfolded before them, they were characters within a story wherein the ending is unknown, unlike us who at present, know well what would transpire. Put in the same shoes in the same historical context, would we know what to choose, how to act, whom to trust?

2015 Week 51

The week prior, we have been complaining about the heat. This week, there was too much rainfall because of two typhoons that entered PAR. All this as the COP21 was happening in Paris and the leaders are leaving the indigenous peoples out of the picture in the discussions on global warming mitigation.

In the two weeks of continuous discussions and negotiations, a big flood in the Southern Indian city of Chennai claimed 300 lives and destroyed both residential and commercial structures. This should be an important lesson for humanity and everyone should be extra mindful of how humans are contributing to the gradual destruction of the earth. 

It reminds me of the seminar I attended two weeks before where a presenter passionately argued against geoengineering saying that while it is a brilliant idea in the history of human civilization, we should look more to natural ways because in the long run, it is only nature's own devices which will be for the best. This echoes my firm belief in Mother Nature's self-healing methods so upon hearing those words of hers, I almost cried at the thought that finally, an architect who understands the dynamics between nature and the built environment!

The rainfall in recent days caused many to question why we are experiencing typhoons in December, an occurrence that never happened before. Now if only people were closing in on the climate talks instead of being preoccupied with Aldub and other showbiz nonsense! (*Facepalm) 

On the 15th, just coming from an almost-fever after exhausting myself in Laguna last weekend, I found myself braving the icky floods in Balintawak after attending the first of the series of Simbang Gabi this year. It already sucks going home wet but it sucks even more to see your favorite green pants suddenly turn into yellowish brown because of the floodwaters. Sigh! People in the Philippines are too conscious of their personal hygiene but cannot go beyond their bodies. The environment suffers as a result of wanton garbage disposal. I don't know if I have any right to complain since I do not partake of any actions to educate the stupid masses of the importance of keeping the surroundings clean. On the other hand, shouldn't it be first the government, second the school's responsibility to do that??? And another voice inside my head cynically retorts that since when can we rely on the government to mobilize the masses for a common good? And schools nowadays have become factories of certificates and have stopped being institutions of real learning.

[Allow me to insert one of my favorite paragraphs in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, a book that I almost dropped off my to-read list until I browsed the latter pages and found interesting takes on real education among other philosophical musings:

 "The real University, he said, has no specific location. It owns no property, pays no salaries and receives no material dues. The real University is a state of mind. It is that great heritage of rational thought that has been brought down to us through the centuries and which does not exist at any specific location. It's a state of mind which is regenerated throughout the centuries by a body of people who traditionally carry the title of professor, but even that title is not part of the real University. The real University is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself.

"But this second university, the legal corporation, cannot teach, does not generate new knowledge or evaluate ideas. It is not the real University at all. It is just a church building, the setting, the location at which conditions have been made favorable for the real church to exist." ]

And there are so many problems in this world that we need to address. So many intertwined problems, a hypernetwork of problems that we inherited from the previous generations whose lack of foresight made the world what it is today. [And the relationships among these problems are so convoluted I always get a headache thinking about them and how to address them.] So it shall fall on today's generation to undo all these shit, which is next to impossible so the only recourse is to be less of a burden to the world and be more of a good example for others. Except, when you exhibit qualities and possess opinions different from the masses, you will be treated with contempt and ridicule. In moments like this, I am always reminded of the cruel fate my favorite PH hero Antonio Luna suffered, at the hands of fellow [read: STUPID, SELFISH, PRETENTIOUS] Filipinos no less.

So I rant again... Just yesterday we were finally done with the team Christmas party. Thank God for that. And I got what I wrote down in my wishlist: a copy of Ang Diablo sa Filipinas, originally by Isabelo delos Reyes and translated into English and Filipino. One of the translators was Benedict Anderson whose work Under Three Flags was a treasure I found in one of the libraries in UP and which I read for PI 100 class even though it was not part of the required readings. (Because I was so poor I couldn't afford to have photocopies of the required readings...) He died just last December 13, so God bless his soul.

Ramona

Still haven't finished reading "Ramona", a novel set in the late 19th century Southern California by Helena Hunt Jackson. It revolves around the tragic love affair between a half-Indian adopted by an elite family and a talented Indian in an era when Indians were oppressed and discriminated against.

It is notable that in this novel, priests are regarded as benevolent missionaries who protect the Indians. In fact the antagonists in the novel, though not really the main focus of the story, are the white Americans (because the term "American" disputedly refers to America's original inhabitants, the Native Indians... And I share the same thought) whose landgrabbing activities and propensity for disturbing peace in the land cause the natives to flee and be slaves in their own ancestral lands. This, by the way, is an issue that the Philippines has also been facing as news reports of lumad (indigenous people) killings are increasing again.

Aside from providing a picture of the plight of the natives, Jackson also offers insights on the inner workings of human minds. Much of the narrative presents the different points of view of the characters but more so of the Señora Moreno, a complex character with whom anyone can easily hate and sympathize with at the same time.

On this note, I want to quote parts of the book:

"There is nothing so skillfull in its own defenses as imperious pride. It has an ingenious system of its own, of reprisals, --- a system so ingenious that the defeat must be sore indeed, after which it cannot still find some booty to bring off! And even greater than this ingenuity at reprisals is its capacity for self-deception. In this regard, it outdoes vanity a thousandfold. Wounded vanity knows when it is mortally hurt; and limps off the field, piteous, all disguises thrown away. But pride carries its banner to the last; and fast as it is driven from one field unfurls it in another, never admitting that there is a shade less honora in the second field than in the first, or in the third than in the second; and so on till death. It is impossible not to have a certain sort of admiration for this kind of pride. Cruel, those who have it, are to all who come in their way; but they are equally cruel to themselves, when pride demands the sacrifice. Such pride as this had led many a forlorn hope, on the earth, when all other motives have died out of men's breasts; has won many a crown, which has not been called by its true name." (p. 150)

 The context: the Señora found out that Ramona, her adopted child, wss having an affair with Alessandro the Indian. For this, she kept herself busy devising ways on how to separate the two.

"But surfaces are deceitful, and eyes see little. Considering its complexity, the fineness and delicacy of its mechanism, the results attainable by the human eye seem far from adequate to the expenditure put upon it. We have flattered ourselves by inventing proverbs of comparison in matter of blindness, ---'blind as a bat' for instance. It would be safe to say that there cannot be found in the animal kingdom a bat, or any other creature,so blind in its range of circumstances and connections, as thegreater majority of human beings are in the bosoms of their families. Tempers strain and recover, hearts break and heal, strength falters, fails, and comes near to giving way altogether, everyday, without being noted by the closest lookers-on."

The context: the peace in the Moreno household was disrupted by the "scandalous" love affair and a maid named Margarita observes with great interest as to what is happening about, being Alessandro's jilted lover, but is surprised when Ramona, Señora Moreno, and her son Felipe all acted as if nothing happened as they went about their usual ways, dining together.

Personally, the last sentence struck a chord. I think of the Light again, how oblivious I was that she was in pain, that she was keeping something from us, maintaining a brave front and continuing to work as if all that work were nothing. It was only later on, early this year, when she started to complain about her legs aching. Being reminded of those moments make me feel guilty Because in the end, I could do nothing for her. And she has always been my biggest cheerleader and supporter, the one person who never tired of me.

So now in everything I do, I will do my best. When my strength falters, I will remember her pushing me, always telling me to reach my fullest potential, to strive for excellence and achieve my dreams. I just want to make her proud now as she watches over us from Heaven.

Last Pages of "Adapt"

Continuing where I left off last night since it was already past midnight and I wasn't able to finish the last few pages, I am spending this night contemplating on again throwing my life to the winds. I was a bit bothered when I was on page 280 because I thought Harford would be espousing the traditional view of securing your life and protect yourself from risks.

"Pluralism matters becausenlife is not worth living without new experiences- new people, new places, new challenges. But discipline matters too: we cannot simply treat life as a psychedelic trip through a random series of novel sensations. We must sometimes commit to what is working: to decide that the hobby we are pursuing is worth mastering; that it's time to write that novel, or strive for that night-school degree; or maybe to get married. Equally important: sometimes we need to make the opposite kind of commitment, and decide that the toxic job and the toxic boyfriend are simply not worth the amount of life they cost." (p. 280)

Harford goes on to say how much people look up to those few who can take wild leaps in life, but also briefly mentions how habits formed after many years of working toward a goal yield masterpieces, citing important figures in art and literature. He cautions against wandering around "the lower reaches of various mountain ranges" and getting too carried away by novelty that distraction is sure to set you off the the ultimate target path.

And I heaved a sigh of relief as I savor the paragraphs that follow:

"(...) a world of possibilities, of safe experiements- is one we tend to lose. But we need not: the new possibilities are always out there. It's one thing to be committed; it's another to trap ourselves unnecessarily. Perhaps we become more shy of experimenting as we get older because we become more aware of the truth that (...) in a complex world, we're unlikely to get it right the first time. To embrace the idea of adapting in everyday ñife seems to be to accept blundering into a process of unremitting failure. So it's worth remembering again why it is worth experimenting, even though so many experiments will, indeed, end in failure. It's because the process of correcting the mistakes can be more liberating than the mistakes themselves are crushing, even though at the time we so often feel that the reverse is true. (...) A single experiment that succeeds can transform our lives for the better in a way that a failed experiment will not transform them for the worse- as long as we don't engage in denial or chase our losses." (pp. 282-283)

I love how positive Harford is to being open and to being courageous without being overbearing. In fact, he closes the book with the following wise words after sharing an anecdote abput how his three-year old daughter got lost in the center of London without the slightest fear as she explored on her own:

"The ability to adapt requires this sense of security, an inner confidence that the cost of failure is a cost we will be able to bear. Sometimes that takes real courage; at other times all that is needed is the happy self-delusion of a lost three-year-old. Whatever its source, we need that willingness to risk failure. Without it, we will never truly succeed." (p. 284)

**********************************

Now on to throwing my life to winds again. I feel so much better reading this book. Sometimes you know what to do but you need some sort of support from a stranger knowing that under the vast heavens there still are individuals who think the same way as you do and you don't feel so alone.

When the Inner Critic is Not Enough

Tonight as I read the last chapters of Adapt (by Tim Harford), I gained more confidence on what I have been doing thus far in ny life. I have never been interested in self-help or inspirational books and I almost ignored this book at Booksale except I got curious and leafed through the book, which was a good decision, and decided it's worth occupying a space in my collection.

How timely that at the moment when I am facing a tough challenge I should be reading this. The universe indeed is a funny place and the fates always have a way of bringing us what we need at the appropriate time. We just need to listen to those little voices from deep within.

For instance, now on page 277, I just have to stop and blog to write about how the critic in us can most of the time, fail us, and how we need to surround ourselves with the right people who have the courage to tell us ugly truths to our face and who trust that we can recover from a bruised ego.

"We need whistleblowers in our own lives to warn us about the 'latent errors' that we have made and which are just waiting to catch us out. In short, we all need a critic, and for most of us the inner critic is not nearly frank enough. We need someone who can help us hold those two jostling thoughts at the same time: I am not a failure- but I have made a mistake."

Because most of the time we think we're all high and mighty, we have a set of ideals and as much as possible we'd like to think we follow these ideals as we navigate through this very complex world. But then again when self-righteousness takes centerstage, you try to justify everything even though deep inside of you you know it's wrong, or a no-win situation. Most times it's easy to get carried away because of a quick apparent happiness but which is doomed from the beginning. The human brain is a marvel, it's something that conjures awesome ideas but it sadly also has the capacity to self-destruct.

Psychologists have what they call cognitive dissonance, that ugly, inconvenient situation in which the mind finds it hard to reconcile two contradictory thoughts simultaneously. When faced with such a challenge, one either engages in denial or chase after losses, or go into "hedonic editing" mode. (The latter term was coined by Richard Thaler, author of Nudge.) Denial occurs when we dismiss outside criticism and attempt to silence it. Chasing after losses contribute to more losses as one tries to erase past mistakes. Hedonic editing is when we convince ourselves that the mistakes do not matter.

So thinking of my recent conversations with friends, I feel thankful to have people who can admonish me and believe in my inner strength. They know that I know when I am having mistakes but they emphasize them not to hurt me but to illustrate a point, that there is room for improvement, that there is something I need to work on lest I regret it later. And I'd rather hear awkward truths than listen to hollow praises. No wonder lately I enjoy the company of people older than me.

2015 Christmas Wishlist

It's October and I have yet to clear my backlogs. Anyhow, at this very moment I am taking a break from playing cheesy Air Supply songs on violin and thinking about how much I would want a new violin, I decided to blog a bit.

None in my wishlist has been realized so far except for the art materials which I wanted a few years ago and which I also put in my wishlist in the office secret Santa gift-giving activity. As if people would go to great lengths to get what I really want. Thinking about what to want for Christmas is very hard for me.

Since lately I have been more focused on music, I would very much want to have music-related stuffs for Christmas. Those and going to theaters, museums, and maybe a long travel to think things through before the year ends.

1. Tickets to concerts and musicals

 Next year, Les Misérables will be staged here in Manila. I'm saving up for that but it would be really reaaly cool to have my ticket for free.

2. Movie dates

  While I am the type who prefers to go solo when watching movies, it would be nice to have someone to watch Le Petit Prince with. It just so happens that it will be in theaters within my birthday week this year. 

3. Food trips

  My sisters and close friends know fully well how much I love food and how adventurous I am when it comes to food. Going on an all expense paid good trip is an excellent way to make a girl happy. Whoever said that diamonds are a girl's best friend is a liar. The best way to a girl's heart is through the stomach. Always.

4. Long walks

  It's a real pity we do not have that many parks here so this poor hyperactive girl finds it hard to release extra energy. While I do walk on roads, I couldn't enjoy as much because of the pollution. Ugh!

And no, walking in malls is not my cup of tea. I easily get bored seeing all the merchandise on sale which we humans really do not have a need for anyay. [*curses consumerism]

5. The Mind Museum

I've been wanting to go. I did get to visit one time in August but only at the lobby to attend a talk on the origins of the universe. However, I can't seem to afford the ticket.

6. CDs

  Of musical giants. For the longest time I have been listening to sax, mostly by Kenny G. It's hard to find violin music so I might as well put that on my list.

7. Musical instruments

  I'd like something to add to my winds collection. Probably a harmonica or a clarinet. Or maybe a sax? But saxophones are way too expensive. Sigh!

8. Travels

  This girl is itching to travel but is on hiatus for now. I'm saving up for sometjing important so I'm holding my money tight. So it would be lovely to get a free trip again before the year ends. Wanna go to the beach to contemplate about life, love, loss, death, and redemption. Or about the origins of the universe. Or how we can achieve world peace...

9. Books

  Ah this girl's best friend. I'd like some intelligent books on history. I like books focused on lesser known heroes and/or intellectuals. Or books on music. Or perhaps books on crazy ideas. Would appreciate books on dating, too. I am seeing the wisdom in a friend's suggestion to read up on dating only now... because that's where I fare poorly.

10. The wisdom to guide me every step of the way, the courage to enable me to do the things I should do, and the strength to carry on doing what I need to do.

Last but not the least, a chance to throw it all to the winds again--- my dreams, my frustrations, my sorrows, my joys. I want to empty myself and start anew.

Mario Feir Private Library, BGC

BGC has always struck me as an inconvenient place for meetups and dates so when volunteers of a Wiki project were to meet there to do a mini edit-a-thon, I was hesitant but ultimately decided to show up. How can I say no to libraries? Besides, this one being private means that you have to have the necessary connections to access the collection.

So one day I found myself riding the MRT again. It's only on weekends when you can truly appreciate the value of the MRT system. And because it's been ages since I last stepped in BGC, I was surprised to find that they have a small bus similar to those in other countries. These mini buses stop only at designated stops. One day I wish the government will just take over the transportation system in the country to eliminate unruly bus and jeepney drivers. They are one of the two major reasons why traffic is BAD in the Philippines, the other being that there are just too many vehicles on the road.

The library houses a LOT of old, rare, and out-of-print books. I was able to find Florentino Hornedo's book "Taming the Wind" about the ethnocultural history of Batanes. I searched hard for that book after I came back from Batanes last May but in vain.

I was also very much impressed to see archaeology-related books on the shelves. Later on, I would learn from a fellow volunteer that the Mario Feir Library is actually a friend of ASP. Really nice! (Now I would love to go back to school as this library is getting me excited to do research on just about anything!!!)

So last month found me in that place. Lucky me to have had gotten more out of the difficult commute because a friend wanted to see a Korean performance and she invited me to go with her. I naturally said yes since it means bonding time for us. 

After the performance I took her to the weekend food market at Mercato, which was a long walk but we chatted a lot anyway so it didn't seem too far. We talked about our immediate and long-term plans, where we plan to go to next, how we could spend time together before she flies to Japan next year.

It was a pretty evening. More so because I truly enjoyed her company. Sharing a lot of similarities certainly helped cement our friendship. To think that we were only introduced by a common friend and have been looking out for each other ever since then. Just the kind of friendship I deeply appreciate and treasure.

Botero Abu Ghraib

112 pages with 86 color illustrations, published by Prestel (date published not indicated)
essay by David Ebony

Colombian artist Fernando Botero's works first caught my eye when, as a college student, I frequented forums on literature and history. What made his works appealing is his portrayal of men and women as curvaceous, a signature style that is now known as Boterismo. His style reminds me a lot of the Venus figurines, works of art showing round breasts and round bellies. Sure renaissance and baroque art were also replete with plump subjects whose nakedness display curves, but Botero's is much exaggerated because the subjects are rounder in shape and well, just voluminous, in vibrant colors. Definitely eye-catching!

So one day in 2012 while inside Booksale, I happened to see a book about Botero's works portraying the torture of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison when the US invaded Iraq under the pretext of liberating the country from Saddam Hussein's hands. I was hesitant to buy the book because one, the book is expensive at P320 (by a cheapskate's standards), two, I am already having storage problems, and three, anytime I need artistic inspiration I can just search the net anyway. In the end, Ebony's essay won me over since it gives a clear understanding of what Botero's works are all about, as a whole and more so, about the horrors of Abu Ghraib.

In his Abu Ghraib art series, Botero's sketches and paintings depict naked men in cells, blindfolded, in sexual acts with other men, in female underwear, and combinations of these. An insight into this portrayal, Ebony writes:

"Exploiting Islam's ban on homosexual acts, and the perception that for Iraqi men it is humiliating to be naked in front of other men, the soldiers threatened the nude male detainees with rape and forced them to simulate sex acts with each other." (p.9)

Also disturbing are the images of dogs attacking the prisoners. Straightforward and direct to the point, Botero's art certainly is clearly a statement against US policies, a protest against violence, and a "call for humanity in the face of man's inhumanity to man" (as Ebony aptly penned it).

In an interview with the Associated Press, Botero said he was "shocked by the barbarity, especially because the United States is supposed to be this model of compassion" (in Ebony, p. 13).
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When art goes beyond aesthetics to tackle social problems we face today, it becomes even more relevant as it gives voice to the oppressed, making the world know of their sufferings in the hope that we, as human beings, denounce all forms of violence.

Due to the graphic nature of his works, I am not inserting any image from the Abu Ghraib series in this post.

Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and Life (Leonard Mlodinow)

One day early this year, I arrived at my workstation surprised to find a book entitled "Feynman's Rainbow" on my desk. It came with a note that read "Something to start the week on an upbeat note. Have a wonderful day, Melo. :) J". Reading the title, I immediately thought of the famous physicist Richard Feynman and quickly scanned the back blurb and was happy to be the recipient of such a book. Another item in my collection, and something related to quantum physics!

I brought the book with me to Bohol and started to read a few pages while in Dumaluan beach in Panglao, Bohol. I didn't finish it though because the allure of the scenery was quite distracting and I kept looking far out into the sea. At that time though I was more than excited to read about one of the biggest minds that I admire, Richard Feynman the physicist.

I first learned of the him as a college freshman in UP Diliman. One of his essays was part of our reading list for Natural Science 1 class, a course I unfortunately failed to enjoy because of the large class and I often fell asleep despite whatever resistance I put up. Later on, getting hooked on chaos theory and ultimately to quantum physics mainly because of Dr. Amador Muriel's talk in our STS class in my final year, I would always encounter his name in the books that I read.

Later on, curious about the man, I did a quick search on the net and downloaded an ebook entitled "Sure You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", read the first few pages and decided that the man is bigger than I thought. His is a curious mind since his childhood days as he spent his early years tinkering with radios and shortly after doing repair jobs while young.

So having a book written by a younger physicist about his encounter with Feynman thoroughly made my day. I wanted to see how others viewed him, how he influenced and inspired others, and also look into how his mind works, what he's like as a person. I didn't expect to be teary-eyed after reading "Feynman's Rainbow".

The book narrates Mlodinow's arrival in Caltech where he was worrying about what physics problem to work on, aside from his doubts if he has what it takes to be a scientist. Meeting Richard Feynman, then already a big man in the physics world, made him realize many things. According to Mlodinow, Feynman loved math and physics but disliked philosophy and psychology, something I found weird since I've always thought that math and philosophy could make very good bedfellows. Despite this, I found the man pretty much like those ancient philosophers who can offer great insights into many things.

Many passages in the book made me imagine scenes were the book  made into an animé, and I am more than sure that if this book were adapted to a film or series, I would certainly cry. I was thinking of the animé Honey and Clover, that series which I consider as one of the best series for its profound insights into human relationships, happiness, and life in general. In the same way, this book, although focusing on physicists and physics, has that power to inspire its readers. Personally, getting to know more about Feynman, I think I share an affinity with the man and it comforts me that I am and will be alright, too, because we share the same outlook in life--- never wasting time on things that do not rouse interest, being imaginative and intuitive and a bit pragmatic, not minding much if what we work on is deemed significant or not by others as long as it retains interest and enthusiasm, and most importantly, looking at the world through a child's lens and appreciating the beauty of phenomena and getting inspired in the process. I am also amused at how he would attend a seminar just for the cookies, something I am guilty of doing in most cases.

For instance, when asked if Mlodinow has that something special to be a scientist, Feynman answers that being a scientist is not different from the average person in that we all think in a constructive way, we all use our imagination, that the only difference is that scientists analyze things thoroughly like a detective out to solve a mystery with only a handful of clues. I love how Feynman does not elevate the status of scientists as most are wont to do because they feel they are intellectually superior to other human beings.

The book contains a lot of wise words from Feynman and here are some of them:

"(...) When there is a hard problem, one has to work a long time and has to be persistent. In order to be persistent, you have got to be convinced that it's worthwhile working so hard, that you're going to get somewhere. And that takes a certain kind of fooling yourself." (p.59)

"When asked if it would be wise to work on something that everyone else thinks is nonsense, Feynman simply says, "only under one condition (...) that you don't think it's nonsense." Continuing, he says, "Maybe you just don't know enough, or haven't known it long enough, to be spoiled by what you know. Too much education can cause trouble." (p.78)

"(...) Whatever you choose to work on, be your own worst critic. And don't do it for the wrong reasons. Don't do it unless you really believe. Because if it doesn't work out, you could end up wasting a lot of time." (p.94)

And the following dialogue when the topic shifted to rainbows:

 ‘Do you know who first explained the true origin of the rainbow?’ I asked.

‘It was Descartes,’ he said.  After a moment he looked me in the eye.

‘And what do you think was the salient feature of the rainbow that inspired Descartes’ mathematical analysis?’ he asked.

‘Well, the rainbow is actually a section of a cone that appears as an arc of the colors of the spectrum when drops of water are illuminated by sunlight behind the observer.’

‘And?’

‘I suppose his inspiration was the realization that the problem could be analyzed by considering a single drop, and the geometry of the situation.’

‘You’re overlooking a key feature of the phenomenon,’ he said.

‘Okay, I give up. What would you say inspired his theory?’

‘I would say his inspiration was that he thought rainbows were beautiful.’

I especially loved the latter part of the book when, as Feynman was nearing his death due to his sickness, he would talk about his family, how he would regret not seeing his daughter grow up (though he did see her reach adulthood), how he shared that he loved his wife Arlene but that he didn't grew resentful even after her death and just accepted that there are things beyond our control (something I am trying hard to learn). I love reading about the humane side of big people, they inspire all the more when we can see their struggles. Another thing I loved about the man is how generous he had been, as he shared bits of wisdom to enlighten a lost man.
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To J whoever he/she is, thank you for giving me this book. I don't know what's on your mind when you picked it for me but whatever it is, thank you for thinking of me.

Untitled 004

I just submitted my first draft article for the Wikimedia Cultural Heritage Mapping Project less than an hour ago. Not sure if I was doing it right but it's my first time and I'm quite open to feedback and comments. I just hope they comment on my work soon so I can revise as needed and start working on my two other articles.

Lately I've become preoccupied with the project that I've been staying up late for consecutive nights, something I haven't done in a while since I quit school. Maybe I just love the adrenaline rush in beating deadlines, more maybe I just crave intellectual pursuits. But this I know, even if I don't get certified in the project, at least I learned a lot, and met new people in the process. Plus, at least it made me get to know more about my city. 

For one, last week I discovered a very nice church. I never thought we had one like that near where I live. While there, I was just amazed at how old the structure was. So much history and yet very few knew of it. While walking through its corridors and sneaking into doors, I thought to myself, this could very well be my playground! Suddenly I found a sanctuary.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this gem in a place where I wasn't expecting much. Looks pretty new to me.

Also last week, I was back in UST with a newfound friend whom I first met in Pulag and whom I met again in the Wikimedia seminar. We first shopped at NBS Cubao since the store was having a sale. I got to purchase two cool art books among others, one focusing solely on my fave painter Titian. Then we took the LRT 2, got off at Recto and walked all the way to UST. My last visit in the university was during the Lumina Pandit exhibit, when UST was celebrating its 400th anniversary. Now everything looks better with the tiled plaza. I often thought, what if I went to UST instead of to UP? I would probably be very much inspired being surrounded by old structures but I guess I wouldn't be that comfortable with myself since it was only in UP where I got to meet like-minded fellows, people who are not afraid to be themselves, weird they may be. Plus, the intellectual climate in UP in incomparable. 

unfortunately, they allowed the construction of a condominium near UST. tsk tsk tsk!

Another plus is finally getting to try the Thai restaurant near UST. This Thai resto, located near Dapitan, serves cheap but delicious food. I can still remember the peanutty pad thai and their tom yum. I wish the tom yum is made more sour and spicy. 

These days, being busy is not a problem. I'm wishing for extra 5 hours each day so I can start reading the books I recently bought. I'm also excited to write about my Batanes adventure but I guess that will have to wait. Deadlines first. Sigh.

March Reads

A few days to go until we say goodbye to March. Some plans were cancelled, DELIBERATELY cancelled and forgottten most especially those related to cleaning up our room. This month I went back to buying books because... I simply can't resist the wonderful finds in Booksale. I'm afraid I am guilty of 積ん読, that weird habit of amassing books without reading them. Well I do read a few pages while in the bookstore to see if the book is worth my hard-earned money and most of the time they are so the next thing I know I am walking out of the store with a lot of books on my hands. 

This month I'm happy to have finished reading one wonderful book related to FOOD. It's the first time that I read such a book. John Mariani's How Italian Food Conquered the World is a deliciously written history of Italian food en bref. It narrates how the food was in Roman times, how before there was no such thing as Italian cuisine, only regional cookings which were diverse and very different from each other. Mariani traced the evolution of the so-called Italian cuisine from its humble beginnings in trattorias to how it eventually replaced French cuisine as an epitome of fine dining as the social elite began patronizing it and dining at fancy restaurants became the IT thing. It is interesting to see how the lives of various Italians change as Italian cooking slowly gained its place in America, and as the title of the book says, how Italian food conquered not just America but the world.

Right now I'm alternating between E.D. Hirsch's The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them and Ben Kiernan's The Pol Pot Regime. The first is written in a very academic way and the ideas presented are a bit shocking since the author attacks the views of the Romanticists (whom I admire) with regards to education. The second is a heartbreaking account of what happened during that terrible era in Cambodian history when many innocents were killed in the name of a twisted ideology. That and from time to time browsing some French books lest I forget my French. (I came across two old French men in Bohol and they were surprised when I replied to them in their language LOL. I just love seeing the look on Westerners' faces when they see an East Asian-looking girl speak European languages. PRICELESS!)

And I have yet to start Game of Thrones season 3. My friends are all telling me to watch it already since season 4 will be aired next month. I only wish there were 30 hours a day instead of 24. Tsk. 引き籠もり on the horizon and I am more than tempted to file a one-week leave just to do the things I want need to do.

Okay... I will try to at least arrange my books this month...

August 2013

So last month Metro Manila experienced nature's fury once again when typhoon Maring entered, causing four consecutive days of work-from-home mode and annex that to the weekend and one gets 6 days outside the office. Those days I still thought like a student, I didn't want to wake up early because I knew there would be no classes. I often forget I'm no longer a student jejeje. ^.^'

August this year saw me trying out new restaurants and I just realized that my blog is slowly looking like a food blog. While I don't mind sharing my food adventures on the internet, I'm not really interested in creating my own food blog.

But I do consider having my own travel blog and hopefully get contacted by airlines for free tickets in exchange for writing about my travels. One book which greatly inspired me to go to where average men fear to tread is Gerard Helferich's Humboldt's Cosmos which I read a few years back. (Pardon my slight digression but I cannot help but write something about this wonderful biographical book which narates key events in Alexander Humboldt's life and I was particularly interested in his navigation of the Amazon basin for science.) At present, I am reading a wonderful book by American journalist Peter Hessler. Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China is combination of travelogue, observation of present day culture, and historical connections to the present. It's quite interesting to see how Americans perceive Chinese culture while being immersed. Also, I'm curious as to how he navigates through chaotic China which is known for its anti-western stance. (I might write about this book after I finish reading it.)

The biggest moment of August 2013 was the Linkin Park concert. It was my first rock concert. I admit that I was ambivalent about it because I dislike rowdy crowds but during the concert I'm surprised to find myself going crazy together with the audience. And I was with a very dear friend and I consider it as our special date. :)

Yeah and another achievement is finally getting to finish writing about my Shanghai trip. Going through my travel journal while selecting photos for upload had been fun. It feels like the trip was made just yesterday.

I'm taking a break from ASOIF since I have yet to watch the third season. I'm still mourning for the death of Red Viper. I think he could have been one great character. I was already speculating on what would happen if Red Viper joins with Dany... It's such a pity he died shortly after being introduced in the series. (DAMN YOU, GRRM for creating such wonderful characters and killing them too soon! HMPH!) Though truth be told I can't wait to see what happens to Tyrion in book 4. (Come to think of it, I have yet to write about A Storm of Swords!)

Ang lately I've been watching as many movies as I can just so I can free up some space in my external hard disk. But I only delete those which I find crappy (rom-coms, lewd comedy, etc.). And I'm still watching Elfen Lied and B't X. I can't wait to write reviews of those two, but many other things are vying for my attention at the moment.

For instance, I started to review my math lessons. And in between I wonder whatever possessed me to take up European Languages in the first place but then I realize that with my knowledge of many languages I can open up new worlds and expand the scope of my research and the like only I am a bit lazy or maybe I'm just lost as to where to start but I know I'll get there somehow since I believe enlightenment will come soon but it will be perfectly fine also if that never comes coz I'm so used to being such a wandering wonderer or maybe it is wondering wanderer? (I guess I owe it to my Spanish to be able to write a sentence which looks like a paragraph...)

Hoping to get busier in September. One of my trips got cancelled but it's okay. I can always travel some other time.

Papa Bravo Romeo: Navy Patrol Boats at War in Vietnam (Wynn Goldsmith)

A week ago I finished reading another book related to the Vietnam War. I saw Wynn Goldsmith's Papa Bravo Romeo in Booksale a few months ago and even deliberated on whether to purchase or not since I still have a mountain of unread books at home (bibliophile's dilemma tsk). Since I greatly enjoyed The Tunnels of CuChi I ended up leaving the store with the book.

The book is a personal memoir about river warfare during the Vietnam War. While I don't find it exactly engaging, I gained a few insights after reading the book. There's naturally the hardships suffered, the usual politics in army hierarchy, the occasional musings on vacations, stories about comrades, etc., but the book is sadly lacking in the author's own views on the Vietnam War. He doesn't mention anything that shows his justifications for the war. The only thing that mattered is to stay alive and to defeat the Viet Congs whom they consider as the enemy. There was no reflections on how the American army was perceived by the Viet Congs, or anything like that. So in the end, the book is largely boring and too self-centered.

Giselle @CCP/ The Octopus 08172013

Last Saturday I woke up to a gloomy day so I continued reading "The Octopus" by Frank Norris. The book is surprisingly a good read. I first had an impression that it would bore me to death when I saw it in Booksale but I bought it anyway. It's about the resistance put up by farmers in California against the monopolistic land-grabbing Railroad and thrown in the narrative are human tendencies for violence, corruption, and oppression.  It's a good read during these times with the issues revolving around the pork barrel.

Just to share a passage from the book, taken from Presley's speech:

"They own us, these task-masters of ours; they own our homes, they own our legislatures. We cannot escape from them. There is no redress. We are told we can defeat them by the allot-box. They own the ballot-box. We are told that we must look to the courts for redress; they own the courts. We know them for what they are, --- ruffians in politics, ruffians in finance, ruffians in law, ruffians in trade, bribers, swindlers, and tricksters. No outrage too great to daunt them, no petty larceny too small to shame them; despoiling a government treasury of a million dollars; yet picking the pockets of a farm hand of the price of a loaf of bread.

"They swindle a nation of a hundred million and call it Financiering; they levy a blackmail and call it Commerce; they corrupt a legislature and call it Politics;they bribe a judge and call it Law; they hire blacklegs to carry out their plans and call it Organisation; they prostitute the honor of a State and call it Competition.

"(...) We talk of liberty--- oh, the farce of it, oh, the folly of it! We tell ourselves and teach our children that we have achieved liberty, that we no longer need to fight for it. Why, the fight is just beginning and so long as our conception of liberty remains as it is to-day, it will continue.

"(...) Liberty is not a crowned goddess, beautiful, in spotless garments, victorious, supreme. Liberty is the Man In the Street, a terrible figure, rushing through powder smoke, fouled with the mud and ordure of the gutter, bloody, rampant, brutal, yelling curses, in one hand a smoking rifle, in the other, a blazing torch.

"Freedom is not given free to any who ask; Liberty is not born of the gods. She is a child of the People, born in the very height and heat of battle, born from death, stained with blood, grimed with powder. And she grows to be not a goddess, but a Fury, a fearful figure, slaying friend and foe alike, raging, insatiable, merciless, the Red Terror." (pp.551-552)

I didn't get to finish the book (and as of writing I'm still a few pages shy from finishing but I'm busy with work, you see). Anyway, I committed one blooper perhaps because I was so engrossed with "The Octopus". I forgot that the ballet performance was at 2pm and not at 3pm. It was already 1:15PM so I ran out of the house and took the LRT. It was raining but who cares? I bought my ticket and I'm not gonna miss it despite the rain. Once I stepped out of the train, I ran down to Vito Cruz and ran all the way to CCP never minding the rain on my face. I was 15 minutes late but I still got to have a seat. Whew!

So I did get to watch the tragic story of Giselle who fell in love with a man who turns out to be a duke already engaged. She dies of too much heartbreak when she learned the truth after a brief period of bliss with her beloved.

But the beautiful choreography was highlighted in Act 2 where, even without words, the duke sought forgiveness and one could see with every step and every dance move the intensity of this scene. Giselle, despite everything, forgives him and even protects him form the harsh punishment due him by the Wilis, jilted lovers who seek vengeance.

One thing that disappoints is that live music was not used. I was expecting to witness again the magnificence of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra but the audience of the 2pm show was denied this. I wonder if the 7pm performance was treated to PPO's presence?

I was reminded of the ballet musical show Rama Hari last 2012. The Manila Symphonic Orchestra played live then and one member of the orchestra stood out: the one who played the drums.

Pardon my crappy phone pics...

Thoughts on "A Clash of Kings"

WARNING: This may contain spoilers. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I finished A Clash of Kings last month after an officemate lent her copy to me. Before that, I was such a slow reader because I relied on an electronic copy of the book and much to my dismay I discovered I'm not one to enjoy reading ebooks.

Book 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire picks up from the ending of A Game of Thrones. Stannis Baratheon is now part of the story, as opposed to just being referred to a lot in book 1. He becomes central to the whole plot as narrated from the POV of Davos Seaworth, an onion smuggler-turned-loyal-supporter. His claim to the throne after his brother King Robert's death is the most legitimate one, since Joffrey is not really Robert's son, but the result of Queen Cersei and Jaime's incestuous relationship. However, his claim does not stand unopposed as his younger and more popular brother Renly also aspires for the throne. Unfortunately, Renly is killed by a shadow concocted by the red priestess Melisandre who supports Stannis.

What I like most about the second book is that Tyrion became the Hand of the King as substitute for his father Tywin Lannister. As Hand, he has the power to oppose his twistedly cruel nephew King Joffrey. Also, we see his cunning and calculating mind put to work as he navigates through court politics. Here we have a glimpse of this small man, together with his small army of mountain clansmen, with his big brains, big heart, and uh, his big c*ck. 

Suddenly kings sprouted just about anywhere. Robb Stark has been proclaimed as King of the North. Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell and his father Balon Greyjoy declared himself King of the Iron Islands. But this is short-lived as his death was reported in Book 3 A Storm of Swords (and I am about to finish this book and have yet to see even an episode of Season 3). To escape possible execution, Bran and Rickon escape with the help of the wildling Osha, Hodor the stableboy, and the Reeds children Jojen and Meera.

Jon Snow's narratives are very boring. Brothers of the Night's Watch visit Craster's Keep for information on Benjen Stark and Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall. One night, Jon Snow accidentally witnesses Craster sacrificing a newborn male child, but is cautioned to speak against it. He kills Quorin Halfhand, once a good friend of Mance Rayder, but is only forced to do so. Quorin Halfhand wants Jon Snow to live with the wildlings and in order to do so, he must demonstrate that he has broken his oath by killing Quorin.

Another interesting part in the book is the suspense in how Arya, Gendry, and Hot Pie fare in Harrenhal where they are captured. There she is granted 3 deaths by Jaqen H'ghar whom Arya saved once. We see here that Arya is one who may commit mistakes but can quickly recognize them and think deeper. This is demonstrated when she asks for the death of two minor Lannister men. For her third wish, she asks help for the Boltons to occupy Harrenhal. Still the outcome was not as I expected because by that time, the Boltons' loyalty to the Starks is put into question.

Last but definitely one that is of the most interest to me is the narratives concerning Daenerys Targaryen. She and her dragons are seen as a wonder in the City of Qarth where powerful men want to get hold of the last three remaining dragons in the world. Her dragons have grown a bit stronger and Drogon even burns down the House of the Undying. Daenerys gains two companions after she is saved from an assassination attempt. (In Book 3, it will be revealed that the old man Arstan Whitebeard is actually Barristan Selmy, banished knight of the Kingsguard after the death of King Robert.)

With all these happening, I cannot wait for Dany's dragons to grow bigger and stronger in Book 3. Also, I wonder about the fate of Sansa Stark who have been held hostage until the most part of Book 3.

July 2013

One of the highlights of July is my return for a week to a life of a pseudo-student. I attended an interesting workshop which I think may be useful for my thesis should I continue my archaeology studies. It was good to interact with archaeology students again. I terribly miss UP life--- wearing t-shirt, shorts, and sandals, with no one to judge you why you wear pambahay clothes outside. I just wait for someone to comment on what I wear and I would proudly retort that UP is my home so please leave me alone. :P

Aside from that, I have been busy with a lot of reading. I finally read Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale", a dystopian novel about the removal of women's rights. It tells the story of Offred, in the form of a memoir where she narrates life before the military coup when women enjoyed having a job and earning money as well as the right to read. With the military government, women's status is determined largely by their capacity to bear children as Gilead (the former U.S.) suffers from population decline.

Also, I finally finished "A Clash of Kings", book 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire. I am quite disappointed at the number of deviations the series made from the book. While a TV series as a different medium is free to employ its interpretations and can even be quite independent of the book which it adapts from, I still seem to have a great difficulty in accepting wholeheartedly those deviations.

As of writing I'm currently reading "A Storm of Swords" and many things are made clearer now. For instance, we get to see the somewhat good side of Jaime Lannister as a one-woman man despite the incest taboo issue. This compared to his power-hungry twin/lover Cersei who, since Book 2, have been engaging in other sexual affairs. As always, it is always a pleasure to read Tyrion's POV parts.

And there, nothing much happened in July. My only travel was to Laguna. It was a field trip on the last day of the workshop. I would have loved to have a  full day's mountain hike. But for now, this short hike will do.

Sad to say, I failed to attend the Eiga Sai. I failed to watch DUP's Adarna. I failed to attend Cinemalaya 2013.

The Body and the Blood: The Middle East's Vanishing Christianity and the Possibility for Peace (Charles M. Sennott)

Having read Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World earlier this month, I am all the more interested in the Middle Eastern conflict. These days we often hear news of the Syrian conflict which now resulted to the loss of approximately 100,000 lives (see link to be in the know as to how the civil war erupted in Syria). Living in a third-world country with its own problems and crises to pay attention to, we are not much concerned about the chaos happening in the Middle East. One thing is certain though, sooner or later, we will feel its impact since other countries (US, Iran, Russia, etc) have stepped in and have taken sides.

A few years back, I bought the book The Body and the Blood with the goal of educating myself on what lies in the Middle East. As we all know, world history is mostly centered on Western Europe which undoubtedly produced great advances in both the sciences and the arts. But I wouldn't want to believe that other nations are mere consumers of Western-led culture, I adhere to the belief that all cultures have their own strengths and weaknesses, and that their respective peoples are interesting in their own way. Also, I'd like to see through other people's eyes how Muslims are since more often than not, they are equated to terrorists, a very unfair idea since I hold the belief that there are both evil and good in every culture.

Going back to the book, Sennet, the bureau chief of the Boston Globe in the Middle East, attempts to investigate the dwindling population of Christians in the Middle East, that region in the world where the three great faiths originated and which now are in conflict with each other--- Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The Israel-Palestinian conflict over land territories bore a huge impact on the lives of not only Muslims and Jews, but also of the Christian minority who, as Sennet finds, is caught in the middle and suffers from the hands of the clashing giants.

What started as a pilgrimage to trace the path Jesus followed during his life turned into a mission to record the lives of the already diminishing Christians. In that respect, Sennet vividly describes the build up of tensions between the Israeli military and the Muslims, as well as the gradually growing aggression and persecution against the Christians. The Body and the Blood records cases of injustice and inhumanity and one particular chapter stands out which makes one question how other people see other people's life.

In chapter VII titled "Egypt: The Flight", Sennet describes Egypt as the place "where people, especially the lower classes, love in fear of the police force" (p.175). And they have cause to fear, especially when the police is known to grab any family and torture them for the alleged crimes they know nothing of. Also in the same chapter, the author narrates how a riot resulted in the death of 20 Christians and 1 Muslim and yet half of the arrested were Christians. This grave injustice caused many Christians to flee.

In this book, Sennet does a wonderful research on the current conditions of life in the Middle East and traces  it to history and the current economy. He speculates on the impact of low employment rate and the correlation between financial success and aggression. Ultimately, he sees the ruling elite and religious leaders, their greed for power and wealth, as the factors that play a major role in the destiny of the region. 

Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science (Carl Sagan)

I find it weird that I have suddenly become interested in science books when I got out of school. I guess my brain craves something other than the usual literary forms I grew up with. Lately, fiction has taken the backseat after dominating 15 years of my life.

Since I became engrossed with chaos theory, I would often find myself buying science books from Booksale. For some reason, my lack of science courses in college gave me this thirst, this feeling that my education lacks something essential for me to have a clearer grasp of the natural world. One of the books I bought is Carl Sagan's Broca's Brain, which struck me at first as a sci-fi novel. (I didn't know any scientist named Broca, that's why!)

One thing I like about the book is that it is written for the lay reader, for those like me who are not science majors. The book on the whole is very engaging as Sagan not only focuses on scientific findings and discoveries but also touch on myths and pseudoscience. Reading the introduction part, one is already tempted to read the book from cover to cover in just one sitting. There's just this excitement that I felt when I read the following words:

"We live in an extraordinary age. These are times of stunning changes in social organization, economic well-being, moral and ethical precepts, philosophical and religious perspectives, and human self-knowledge, as well as in our understanding of that vast universe in which we are embedded like a grain of sand in this cosmic ocean. As long as there have been human beings, we have posed the deep and fundamental questions, which evoke wonder and stir us into at least a tentative and trembling awareness, questions on the origins of consciousness; life on our planet; the beginnings of the Earth; the formation of the Sun; the possibility of intelligent beings somewhere up there in the depths of the sky; as well as, the grandest inquiry of all--- on the advent, nature and ultimate destiny of the universe. For all but the last instant of human history these issues have been the exclusive province of philosophers and poets, shamans and theologians. The diverse and mutually contradictory answers offered demonstrate that few of the proposed solutions have been correct. But today, as a result of knowledge painfully extracted from nature, through generations of careful thinking, observing and experimenting, we are on the verge of glimpsing at least preliminary answers to many of these questions."

In Broca's Brain, Carl Sagan successfully captures the attention of readers to hear the side of science as he tackles major claims made by pseudoscientists. In particular, he debunks Immanuel Velikovsky's Worlds in Collisions which explains why catastrophes were experienced by ancient cultures, as reflected in their myths and religions. After a detailed critique, Sagan suggests that science should not be kept in an ivory tower and should be demystified so that technological initiatives can be supported by the people since scientific research is expensive and more often than not, funds are sourced from the taxes that dutiful citizens pay.

Sagan also offers a personal snippet of his life as he traces his early interests in science through science fiction, though he has come to think that science is way cooler than fiction. While sci-fi is too romantic and too full of speculations, he notes one benefit of sci-fi is that it becomes an avenue through which readers can learn bits and pieces of scientific knowledge. He is quick to point out though that one downside to science students having been exposed to sci-fi would have prejudices which would be difficult to detach from when they do their own experiments.

Another point of interest in the book is how the celestial objects got their names, as well as the widely debated extraterrestrial life. At the end of the book, Sagan juxtaposes sciences to religion, touching on the question of origins and which inevitably would lead to the question of whether God exists or not. To this question, Sagan plays it safe by saying that "we simply do not know" (p. 337) quoting the passage below from the Rig Veda:

"Who knows for certain? Who shall here declare it?

Whence was it born, whence came creation?

The gods are later than this world's formation;

Who then can know the origins of the world?

None knows whence creation arose;

And whether he has or has not made it;

He who surveys it from the lofty skies,

Only he knows--- or perhaps he knows not."