Every politician, every actor-politician, every actor, every news reader, every news writer, has been hailing Manny Pacqiao's victory over Erik Morales as a triumph of the Filipino people. Everybody wants to bask in the reflected glow of the Pacman. The president of the republic, in a phone call ringside--Hello, Manny in the exact same tone of voice she used with Hello, Garci--couldn't resist getting her piece of the victory, too. "Alam kong mananalo ka kasi nagdasal ako." Well, thank you, Mrs. President. If it weren't for your prayer, Manny Pacquiao would have lost. We know God listens to you and not to Vicente Fox. A triumph of the Filipino people, eh? I ask you, if Manny lost, would it have been a defeat of the Filipino people? Exactly. The victory was Manny's and Manny's alone. It was his hard work that did it and he owes nothing to the president, to the government, nor to the media hangers-on who're milking this phenomenon for all its worth. He did it on his own, and this is what we should celebrate. Celebrate Manny without getting on his already tired shoulders.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Terraforming the news
"So you're going to London?," I asked a colleague from Nanjing when I was there a couple of years back.
"Yes. Next week," she said. It was to be her first trip outside China and she feels a bit nervous.
"Don't worry about it. London's just like Nanjing," I said. British colleague looks up from his keyboard, wide-eyed. "They're both cities," I continued, deadpan. "Yes, and there's people in it," Brit bloke joins in. Nanjing colleague didn't get it, though. Language barrier. Or is it humor barrier? Maybe they laugh at different things and deadpan attempts at humor isn't one of them. Anyway...
I was reminded of this story by a news item I read that says scientists using the microlensing technique have found the smallest Earth-like planet outside our solar system. "An international team of astronomers has found the smallest Earth-like planet yet outside our Solar System." Earth-like! That means there are trees in it, too. And beaches. And weirdos trying to be the next American idol. Holy mother of pearl! I read the full article.
Turns out the planet, with the unlikely name of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, is five times the earth's mass, and is so cold you'd see your words, in bold-face Times Roman, fall frozen on the ground the moment they leave your mouth when you speak. The article later admits, rather sheepishly since it knows it's guilty of sucking us in, that the planet "may therefore resemble a more massive version of Pluto." So it's not so Earth-like at all, is it? It's just a cheap publicity stunt to get us interested, eh? What, funding for more research running low? Shame.
"We found a planet! And it's just like earth!"
"No kidding."
"Yes. It's a planet, too."
"Yes. Next week," she said. It was to be her first trip outside China and she feels a bit nervous.
"Don't worry about it. London's just like Nanjing," I said. British colleague looks up from his keyboard, wide-eyed. "They're both cities," I continued, deadpan. "Yes, and there's people in it," Brit bloke joins in. Nanjing colleague didn't get it, though. Language barrier. Or is it humor barrier? Maybe they laugh at different things and deadpan attempts at humor isn't one of them. Anyway...
I was reminded of this story by a news item I read that says scientists using the microlensing technique have found the smallest Earth-like planet outside our solar system. "An international team of astronomers has found the smallest Earth-like planet yet outside our Solar System." Earth-like! That means there are trees in it, too. And beaches. And weirdos trying to be the next American idol. Holy mother of pearl! I read the full article.
Turns out the planet, with the unlikely name of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, is five times the earth's mass, and is so cold you'd see your words, in bold-face Times Roman, fall frozen on the ground the moment they leave your mouth when you speak. The article later admits, rather sheepishly since it knows it's guilty of sucking us in, that the planet "may therefore resemble a more massive version of Pluto." So it's not so Earth-like at all, is it? It's just a cheap publicity stunt to get us interested, eh? What, funding for more research running low? Shame.
"We found a planet! And it's just like earth!"
"No kidding."
"Yes. It's a planet, too."
Monday, January 23, 2006
The project
It's time for the fastest growing quiz sensation...
The Picto-Personality Test When alone, you appreciate being able to do nothing if you want to, and setting your own pace for things. You are romantic, and when you are with your partner you like to woo them with your imagination. In the future you will be happy and live richly. |
| Take this Test at QuizGalaxy.com |
Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism,
Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, That-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m
All we are saying is give peace a chance... la la laaaa
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Ludd me do
I had a rite of passage of sorts. Yesterday I made my first on-line purchase. Bought a used Olympus OM-2n camera on eBay. I've always wanted an SLR and fortunately, a lot of hobbyists are unloading part of their collections and switching over to digital photography. There were digital cameras on sale, too. A 5 megapixel CMOS digicam was being sold at 4,700.00 pesos. Quite a bargain, but I figured digital cameras would be with us for a long, long time, and film photography would slowly fade away and become the sole domain of artists and hobbyists. I figured film photography has a few more years left before it acquires a cult status and would jack up prices for collectibles like the classic OM-2. But that's not really why I bought it. I can say I bought it because I wanted to take pictures that I can control. I didnt want a fully automatic point-and-shoot that churns out "perfect" pictures everytime. But that's not quite it, either.
Remember when CDs first came out and everybody heralded it as the ultimate in audio technology? Rich sounds in a medium that would last forever, it was supposed to make vinyl obsolete. Well it turns out that analog recordings on vinyl sound much better than digital recordings and guess what? CD's would probably last you 10 years before that laser thingie causes the medium to deteriorate. In the meantime, collectors still have copies of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album playing perfectly after 40 years. Same goes for eBooks. Your best bet is still to collect books on paper. There still are books in museums that are a thousand years old. MP3s? The way they compress the whole thing is to sample the digital files even worse than they do CDs and cut off sounds beyond the range of human hearing, the very thing that gives recorded music its warmth and "live-ness." It'll do in a pinch, but really, do you want to collect or enjoy music that way? Relaxing in your favorite lounge chair with a glass of wine, and then slipping on your iPod? MP3 is for the morning commute and nothing else, a job it does well.
If you look at the OM-2n I bought, you won't be surprised that it's over 20 years old. It's solidly built, heavy and reassuring. You could brain somebody with it. Fortunately I found a hobbyist who knows how to take care of his equipment. He even took time to meet me and show me how to use the camera properly, an old fashioned way of selling things. I showed the camera to an officemate who's also a hobbyist and he was amazed at the pristine condition it was in. Not a scratch anywhere. The leather case is pretty much beat up, but that's ok. It just means that the machine has been put to use and has given its owner lots of good times. For the price I bought it with, I wouldn't be able to buy a simple, mostly plastic, point-and-shoot digital camera that won't be able to do half what the OM-2 could. It's only advantage is you can immediately see what your picture looks like. Perfect for the I-want-it-and-I-want-it-now generation. "I don't care. Just give it to me now."
Maybe I find the digital world a bit offensive. It represents a philosophy that's all flash and no substance. It makes promises it doesn't keep and lulls us into a false sense of security. They market it as an improvement, but really, all it is is convenient, if anything. The internet hasn't changed anything. All it did is make things faster. And when you're heading towards Armageddon, you don't want to get there in a hurry. Civilization doesn't move forward with convenience. It moves forward with patience and attention to the finer things. I'm all for that.
Remember when CDs first came out and everybody heralded it as the ultimate in audio technology? Rich sounds in a medium that would last forever, it was supposed to make vinyl obsolete. Well it turns out that analog recordings on vinyl sound much better than digital recordings and guess what? CD's would probably last you 10 years before that laser thingie causes the medium to deteriorate. In the meantime, collectors still have copies of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album playing perfectly after 40 years. Same goes for eBooks. Your best bet is still to collect books on paper. There still are books in museums that are a thousand years old. MP3s? The way they compress the whole thing is to sample the digital files even worse than they do CDs and cut off sounds beyond the range of human hearing, the very thing that gives recorded music its warmth and "live-ness." It'll do in a pinch, but really, do you want to collect or enjoy music that way? Relaxing in your favorite lounge chair with a glass of wine, and then slipping on your iPod? MP3 is for the morning commute and nothing else, a job it does well.
If you look at the OM-2n I bought, you won't be surprised that it's over 20 years old. It's solidly built, heavy and reassuring. You could brain somebody with it. Fortunately I found a hobbyist who knows how to take care of his equipment. He even took time to meet me and show me how to use the camera properly, an old fashioned way of selling things. I showed the camera to an officemate who's also a hobbyist and he was amazed at the pristine condition it was in. Not a scratch anywhere. The leather case is pretty much beat up, but that's ok. It just means that the machine has been put to use and has given its owner lots of good times. For the price I bought it with, I wouldn't be able to buy a simple, mostly plastic, point-and-shoot digital camera that won't be able to do half what the OM-2 could. It's only advantage is you can immediately see what your picture looks like. Perfect for the I-want-it-and-I-want-it-now generation. "I don't care. Just give it to me now."
Maybe I find the digital world a bit offensive. It represents a philosophy that's all flash and no substance. It makes promises it doesn't keep and lulls us into a false sense of security. They market it as an improvement, but really, all it is is convenient, if anything. The internet hasn't changed anything. All it did is make things faster. And when you're heading towards Armageddon, you don't want to get there in a hurry. Civilization doesn't move forward with convenience. It moves forward with patience and attention to the finer things. I'm all for that.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Fijacion Oral vol 1 (or musings on Shakira's Lebanese-Colombian ass)
Why is it called Latin music when all it is, really, is Spanish music? Or South American music since there's a category for Brazilian music in the Latin Grammies. Why isn't French music considered Latin music? Why isn't Italian? Or Romanian? Why isn't Gregorian chant considered Latin music when in fact it's sung in Latin? They really ought to change the name of the genre. Spanish-Portuguese music? Or Music-Performed-By-Latin-Americans-and-Iberians?
Friday, January 13, 2006
Obits and pieces
Solomon said some pretty strange things.
Solomon. The ultimate party animal. Celebrated ladies’ man. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines and said whatever his eyes desired, he did not keep from them. Erich Von Daniken even said he probably owned a flying machine and he showed the Queen of Sheba around in it. The wisest man on earth wrote some of the most depressing things in all of literature. Probably not a coincidence.
He thought about death a lot. Probably because he had such a full life. He thought about death because he’s seen it all. We, on the other hand, don't think about death that much because we aren’t through with life yet. Solomon thought about life, and his grand conclusion? It’s all pointless. Like Paul Weller said, “Oh heavenly thing won’t you cleanse my soul. I’ve seen all on offer and I’m not impressed at all.”
An entry on the Twisted blog is about the death of the writer Bienvenido Santos. A funny piece on an impromptu send-off given to him by his friends and fans. This got me looking for more obituaries. The New York Times obit section has some fine ones. They give a summary of the person’s life and achievements and when applicable, mention the… survivors?
I don't know, but I dont want to see that in my obituary. (Assuming, of course, I’m not really dead but still alive somewhere and conscious and watching over you. Solomon didn't believe in that stuff, by the way.) I mean, ‘survived’… that’s a word I always associated with someone who has gone through a harrowing ordeal and made it out alive. “The earthquake struck and the roof came down on me and I was trapped in the rubble and I had to drink my own pee and eat cockroaches for three days before the rescuers came and found me. It was rough. But I… survived.”
"He is survived by his wife, his children, Eanie, Meanie, Miney, and Mo, and his pet duck Maurice." What, was living with him such an ordeal, such a struggle for survival?
Those at my funeral after reading the obituary, would ask those I left behind, "Oh my God, are you allright? How did you survive him?"
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
--------------------------------------------------Ecclesiastes 7:1-4
Solomon. The ultimate party animal. Celebrated ladies’ man. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines and said whatever his eyes desired, he did not keep from them. Erich Von Daniken even said he probably owned a flying machine and he showed the Queen of Sheba around in it. The wisest man on earth wrote some of the most depressing things in all of literature. Probably not a coincidence.
He thought about death a lot. Probably because he had such a full life. He thought about death because he’s seen it all. We, on the other hand, don't think about death that much because we aren’t through with life yet. Solomon thought about life, and his grand conclusion? It’s all pointless. Like Paul Weller said, “Oh heavenly thing won’t you cleanse my soul. I’ve seen all on offer and I’m not impressed at all.”
An entry on the Twisted blog is about the death of the writer Bienvenido Santos. A funny piece on an impromptu send-off given to him by his friends and fans. This got me looking for more obituaries. The New York Times obit section has some fine ones. They give a summary of the person’s life and achievements and when applicable, mention the… survivors?
Mr. Schoemaker is survived by his wife of nine years, Anne Faulkner Schoemaker; three daughters, Maureen, Katherine and Anne; and one son, Matthew, all of the Philadelphia area; his parents, Paul and Betty Schoemaker; three sisters, all of whom live in the Netherlands; and one brother, Paul, who lives in the Philadelphia area.
He is also survived by a son, Reed, and by his fiancée, Janet Davis, both of Skillman.
He is survived by his wife, Virginia, a researcher at the Investor Responsibility Research Center and the author of several books on corporate governance; a daughter, Dorothy, of Bethesda, Md.; a son, Daniel, of Washington; a brother, Marcus, of Washington, a senior editor at National Public Radio; and two grandchildren.
I don't know, but I dont want to see that in my obituary. (Assuming, of course, I’m not really dead but still alive somewhere and conscious and watching over you. Solomon didn't believe in that stuff, by the way.) I mean, ‘survived’… that’s a word I always associated with someone who has gone through a harrowing ordeal and made it out alive. “The earthquake struck and the roof came down on me and I was trapped in the rubble and I had to drink my own pee and eat cockroaches for three days before the rescuers came and found me. It was rough. But I… survived.”
"He is survived by his wife, his children, Eanie, Meanie, Miney, and Mo, and his pet duck Maurice." What, was living with him such an ordeal, such a struggle for survival?
Those at my funeral after reading the obituary, would ask those I left behind, "Oh my God, are you allright? How did you survive him?"
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