GOOD READ FROM Fr. Joel!!!

This is my own take with the issue.

The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land. Thus, it accommodates the “Supreme” good, and it can commit the “Supreme” mistake. However, we cannot pinpoint which is which because we are talking about a Supreme Institution of Justice. Contrary to how the Rule of Law is upheld by this court, I see the issue in a different sense. Though the matter regarding the RH Bill is really moral by essence, the manner by which it is upheld or countered by the Church is clearly political. In a sense, it is conceivable that the Church is taking the issue not only with its moral merits, but also through means that can hamper the real values of the State. This may bring about several things.

Much as this country is democratic by form, it must be noted that mutual respect is the key element for a harmonious relationship within the society and the proper exercise of freedom is seen. In this case, the value of FREEDOM of SPEECH is clearly abused, and the value behind this freedom, mutual respect, is clearly not upheld. There are many ways for us to morally ground individuals, however, dictating their political principles is morally wrong, and is not the solution. Though I understand the dilemma of the Church and the reason for their stance, this method they adopted gives me a reason to draw back from a constricting belief system that harms my own principle, both moral and political. More so, the sentiment of the society is no longer upheld. With the clear mobilization of the Bill, the Church must not demonize individuals who are tasked to forward the goal of the most, by which I mean the clear supporters of the Bill. Rather, if they want their patrons to uphold their values, then they should work on the ground.

Secondly, since there is a non-establishment clause in the Constitution that prevents the government from supporting any religion, the action created by the supreme court hyphenates the bias it may have with moral institutions like that of the Church. My fear is the precedence it may bring about. As of the moment, there is already a form of block voting especially when we refer sects within a religion. This (the move of the Diocese) means already counters the real essence of elections. It being FREE, FULL, and INFORMED. However, if the highest court of the law allows such, it can actually foster this method of voting, which by itself reduces the dynamism of elections per se. Although the issue can revolutionize the who idea of dynamism and discourse, the other side of the coin tells and educates other religions to take their own stance. This harms both the society and the religion. First of, the society is being modeled to be mature in terms of its decisions. However, this method clearly implicates on the moral standing of a person, and thus is considered imposing which clearly backlashes on its already progressive momentum towards maturity. Secondly, and this is an even if logical analysis, it may harm the relationship between the religion and the society. With more rational people seeing the err in this action, it may tarnish the supposedly unbreakable bond between the religion and the society. This may hamper their standing and footing on the ground, and may creates repercussion towards these moral institutions themselves. But lastly, in connection with this relationship, what would it make a religion, or sets of religion, if it fails to uphold its moral standing because it is diluted by its political facade such as what is happening in Bacolod? There are many ways, and in fact many effects, in assessing this scene. However, in one way or another, at least we garnered reactions all over the Philippines. This is another step towards social evolution. Sooner or later, the law will recognize this momentum, I just hope I am not yet dead when that time comes.

<I am not good with grammar, but I hope it is still understandable.>

Fr. Joel E. Tabora, S.J. Blog

The Bishop of Bacolod has won the Supreme Court order restraining the Comelec from coercing the Diocese to take down its contentious poster on Team Buhay and Team Patay based on the Fair Election Act (RA 9066).

The Bishop claims the Cathedral is private property, and the right to put up the posters flows from the Constitutional guarantee of free speech. Comelec officials and many others in the country interpret that poster as election propaganda. As such, in election fairness, it ought to stay within size limitations imposed on candidates.

With all the other cases the Supreme Court has in its dockets, it must now decide this case.

I will not dare to comment on the merits of the legal case. I leave that to the infamous Guro of Destabilization. And the final judgment of Supreme Court.

For me, the restraint required is not matter for the Supreme Court. It…

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savory

I’ve not written for a long time because for a long time I haven’t met the inspiration to write. Yes, sometimes we write about things, ideas, and the most striking for most would be writing about people. Blogs helped in forwarding a message, both of happiness and disdain, of sorrow and unforgettable smile, of metaphors and similes. However we try to calibrate life, there will always come a point that we are going to do something sincere, not coerced, but simply out of the wit to do something.

As far as everyone who has been updating me about their lives and theirs with mine,  it’s been ages since I found reasons to write, out of misery, missing, and even simple means of expressing. Life has offered me with a variety of flavours and months passed since one taste tickle not only my taste buds but also my memories.

Let me play the “Game”

It was around lunchtime when I arrived at building near the complex station of the ABS-CBN. This is it. Again, I made a leap of faith by actually going to the NSO office and not breaking my mother’s advice/errand/will. I went to the National Statistics Office and paid for another Certificate I get whenever I go to another “world.” I’d like to call it another world because practically, I become an alien again. Someone who actually doesn’t know anything and anyone. I am an entity that once again floats in the glimmer of dust, silt, shining cars, skyscrapers, and metal plates on the road. Let’s not forget the everyday smell of tar being melted by the heat of the sun and the evaporation of fumes from tanks that rage with business. I just wish I will not go there. But a friend of mine, Cristopher Campos (Tope), told me that I have to think it through. He mentioned about my mother crying and my family’s expectation actually crumbling down. OUCH! As I filled-out the form as it is required before I can pay my dues, I saw the long line of people who needs the same type of parchment that I was looking for, that I needed, that was imposed to me and labeled me, Ryan de Lima Olos. God, how I wish I can have another name and another identity. Some type of name that will make me not remember a bad history, one where my mistakes are corrected. The one that is not perfect, yet, I still see myself for who I am. They not only labeled me, but for me to get that label, they numbered my station. 424. Even number, very symmetrical, amoral, weird. What are the chances of me getting a number whose square root is between 2 numbers. another is 111, and 939. It must be a lucky number. But I am still part of this long line, long list, and long waiting. The silence that creeps, except for feet going here are there  made me realize and remember something, the chat. I have to walk out of the office and take a yosi(colloquial for cigarette stick). The chat last night flashed back. The chat I had with Tope. It made me realize that I am a selfish person and that whatever I will do, without the consideration of my surroundings will simply kill me, because I am part of that society, and how I act on it will surely be the same manner and intensity how it will bounce back towards me. How I wish I was born with the least need to fulfill their pressures.

From my point of view, the countryside is calling me. My life belongs to life itself. Truth be told, I enjoyed the life in the forest of concrete. But my nature belongs to that of the paddies, very bucolic. I long for the soft breeze, for a fine weather, for a window of opportunity called a storm, for a carabao’s moo and a rooster’s cock-a-doo·dle-doos. I want that patch of grass beneath my feet, and soil, real ones, growing underneath. I want the mountains, the falls, the ever changing clouds and the consistent location of the stars. I don’t want light bulbs being fixed on walls at night. I want them hanging and dancing with the night chills. I want kids who doesn’t easily get tired of books, because I will surely not show them a T.V. or a cellphone. I want them to learn how to imagine, learn the value of books and friendship like the ones we saw in Bridge to Terabithia. There is a better world than the concretes. I know that. We all know that. It’s just that we are all tied up with the cycle of what we are busy doing everyday, worrying. And here I am, just part of that cycle. And I have a smoke at hand. This is a clear manifestation of my problems. This stick of tobacco that consumes me for a few minutes. An exceptional moment of peace and relief. A puff.

As I began to seep my last piece of smoke for that moment, and the guard nodded his head again to me as a sign of greeting, I took the steps to where I was in the line of numbers. Took a seat, and decided to start a talk. It was with a lady whom I have never dealt with, nor heard of. Simple chat. A simple conversation. Asking her number, why she was there, and the talk just pursued. She talked about her life (I don’t even know how we got there and I know my interest in the topic is just out of boredom). She was a regular Filipina, a mother of two, a professor on one of the colleges in the city, and little bit of a braggart. I was hoping that it would stop, because our noise repercussion to the other end of the room, and the room began a lively conversation from different people of different walks of life. It was beautiful, there was a community. Then, she pursued, and I began to unfold. I found it dangerous, but what can a lady three quarters of my size can possible do with my identity. She told me about college, and I really began being interested. She told about abroad and in the back of my head, how I envy those circumstances. Then, she told me one thing I never expected from a fulfilled person, “Maglaro laro ka lang!” (Just toy with your life). Actually, it should be play instead of toy, but the manner she said it made me choose the word with less meaning, yet, for me, was definitely striking. I was half astounded, and half hoping. She further said that I was young, and the moment I get serious with life will be the same moment I will start to fall. “Kapag na accidente ka, di mamatay ka. ‘Di natin alam kung kailan yan mangyayari, eh ano naman?!” (If you encountered an accident, then you will die. We don’t know when that will happen, but so what?!) It was the impetus I needed. I just need to play the game. Just then, another woman with her child sat beside me. Out of nowhere, I felt a thud on my knee and the kid accidentally bumped me. The playful me, I looked at him with surprise and with a smile, gladly though, he smiled back. Another sign. Another playful being. He began poking me and making funny faces with me. He is intelligent, and quick-witted. As our conversation went on, now involving the child’s mother, our numbers were called. As I paid for my certificate, the bell rang, and the announcer said, “Let the games begin!”

The comma

I began reading some of the E-books that I have downloaded. NO, I am not referring to the ones that are read for casual reasons such as entertainment, decalogue of emotions that must be reaffirmed by the characters, or for the purposiveness of reading because another subject is subduing the idea that from forcibly making students read, they learn as well. i am reading for the sake of trying to find out the length and depth of my understanding towards what I have been doing, debating. So for the sake of those who haven’t caught up with what I have been doing lately, yes, I have been reading about Charles Dickenson, Virginia Wolfe, and Roald Dahl (most of them just the once I have heard), and yes, I have also started reading books that sequester student friendly topics with heavy ones. By heavy ones, I am referring to those books that students taking majors in various courses make use of to further their knowledge. No, I am not reading a Biology book. As far as I am concerned, I have read a lot of Bio-related books, and the saturation of the knowledge seems to seep my very being that I find it offensive to force myself to further read another book related to Bio. Sooner or later, the necessity for me to read the bio-related books (the “drive,” as they call it, will once again surface, and maybe, by then, I will start engineering my way towards my beloved course). Where was I? As of the moment, I am reading Smart and Haldane – Atheism and Theism. The title itself is cool because it lacks the Oxford comma, which means that the subject is actually related when in fact they are opposites. We can assume that the very negation of the words “Atheism” and “Theism” already presupposes that a negative relation already exists. BUT, if we are to follow this logic, that the two poles of extreme difference are actually related, we may as well vanquish the use of the Oxford comma since in the end, we consider the extreme opposites as related to each other when in fact they are the clear opposite of each other. Yes, it may be silly since I am talking to myself while writing this and this may lead therefore to me being the only one understanding the logic behind my words, but to make it simpler, we need to visualize. In a neighborhood where one street runs from North to South, and that is composed of 5 blocks, the relation of one house to the other (either to its left or right) is called neighboring. Meaning, its close. But if each block is composed of 5 houses. Then the degree of closeness between one house to the other decreases as it we go further downstreet or upstreet. Assuming that the northernmost part of the street is the end of the world, and the other end is the southernmost part and is the other end of the world, then the 2 houses are in the maximum distance a person may travel to be still within the vicinity of the neighborhood and at the same time reach the furtherest ends of the street. If a person stays in one end of the street, then he can hardly relate with that of the other end, simply because he is very far, very distant, and very detached from the other end. Then, the relationship is very hairline, if not, it isn’t recognizable at all. Of course everything is relational, but in the end, we have to keep in mind that a certain degree is always achieved for us to find out whether our use of the word “related” is still within the just middle (mesotes) of understanding that we have, as normal human beings of course. So to say Atheism and Theism is a tough job. You have to make sure that you can fabricate the very essence of the opposition, as well as why the idea in itself is just but related. In short, Atheism, and Theism, are two ideas not far from each other. I just hope I get this much of info after reading the book.

Wow, just explaining the importance of Comma makes me realize, I’m not even done with the Introduction, yet here I am talking about the Title. Anyway, I haven’t pondered much in a while and January 7, 2013 is not a good date for me. I sucked one of my rounds and I wish that thinking about how a comma works, the degree of processing my intel about these trivial matters, would be as fluid as how I think at school. There you have it, reckless and impulsive. How did we get here again? (,)

Social Media

Computer.
On.
(Windows turning on sound – Background music)
(Clacking sound coming from the keyboard due to the need to type the password)
First program to be opened, Internet Browser.
Top sites: Facebook, Tweeter, Google+, Mail, Google.

Funny how some of us can easily relate to this system, to this pattern of action, which is by the way very common. the reason we don’t put so much effort into looking at such is because we are being individualistic with our actions. We tend to lock ourselves in a room, open our pads, netbooks, or even our customized and overly complicated touch screen phones. This is our personal space, and we deserve to have our own sense of “privacy.” But how private are we? Isn’t privacy one of the main ingredients to foster “uniqueness?” After all, in our own isolated and private moments, we realize who we are, and we make our ideals tangible. But the thing is, what we do, is practically what almost everyone is doing. BOOM!

The on-going trend of using FB and tweeter to be able to communicate, to befriend, and to “personalize” a relationship has been up and going for more than a decade now. True enough, not everyone has the juice to continuously use Fb(mainly), and other social media sites. The thing is, even if they don’t have the juice to do that, they still try to cumber the need to do so. Let us not forget that whatever we do as a habit, and whatever keeps our ego bloated and high will always turn into a need, an ecstatic drive for us to continue using it. More than that, if the trend is in your 10 friends 7 are using this mean to be able to “connect,” then the rest will have to follow, simply because this is the newest type of interaction. In fact, as superfluous as it sounds, we are already turning this leisure into a full account of need. This is the same model that happened 20 years ago with cellphones. We make them a necessity, and now, we are way too dependent to them compared to a relatively more profound way of “connecting” and interacting. Maybe the reason why I am writing this is because I miss the old times. Playing, talking, chatting (as in gossiping), writing letters to relatives, receiving letters from them and smelling the package, the envelope and the penmanship that aureates feelings, emotions, and memories. Sad. It’s almost gone, and I guess I am to become one of those people who will miss that, but will not do anything to bring that back. I guess from here onwards, lesser time on the net, more time with the Real Life.

This is Ryan, Signing Off.

i simply can’t be as humorous as this person, but heck, i’ m happy i’m a kababayan…
🙂

THE PROFESSIONAL HECKLER

Christmas is for kids.
New Year’s Eve is for adults.

NARITO ANG INYONG gabay sa pagpili ng mga paputok na sisindihan sa pagsalubong sa taong 2013:

Enrile Firecracker:
Ang pinakaunang firecracker na ibinenta sa Pilipinas. Ilang beses na rin itong ipinagbawal ng pamahalaan pero tuwing magpapalit ng administrasyon, nagpapalit rin ng packaging.

Noynoy Firecracker:
Fifty-two years na sa market; medyo hirap nang pumutok.

GMA Firecracker:
Hindi na uso. Wala nang bumibili. Ayun, nabubulok sa stock room.

Erap Firecracker:
Ilang dekada na rin itong ibinebenta. Malakas pa rin ang hatak sa publiko kahit minsan na rin siyang ipinagbawal. May newer versions ang Erap firecracker: dalawa – parehong mataba ang hitsura pero magkaiba ang manufacturer.

Miriam Firecracker:
Medyo kumplikado ang pagkakagawa rito. Pati instructions kung paano dapat paputukin, kumplikado rin. Bawal sa bobo!

Sereno Firecracker:
Mahaba ang buhay. Kahit abutin ng 18 years… puputok pa.

Gwendolyn Garcia Firecracker:
Kahugis ng kwitis. Kaya…

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There is a reason why we cannot stop ourselves from reading. Like most bloggers, I am an expressive type of person, and I write about many things. But there is something more commendable than just writing. It’s Reading. Just like how most people prefer listening than talking, the pair reading-writing goes with the same logic and sense.

Tonight, I am going to read, read, and read. I am going to finish some business I have left hanging around 5 years ago. I need to finish the Inheritance Cycle. So to speak, God Speed to everyone, and I have to leave and venture to the world of Mysteries, Magic, Wonder, Elves, Dragon, Dwarves, and most importantly, LOVE and FRIENDSHIP. Nacht!

🙂

 

BTW, thanks to USAMA, the owner of the blog from which I got most of the books… Thanks a lot my friend!

🙂

A Letter to Romeo

Dear Romeo:

When you delineated love, it’s as if it defies even the meaning of eternity. I, young sir, desires that you learn that I am one of your greatest aficionado, and however you made your life worth the living, the moment of spending thy life, I envy it as well. But help me, dear prince of Montague, how I am to define love right now. I may say preclude at the onset to state that I am in no correct state of mind to converse with you of my tale, but talk about it not for in the meantime, help me with how I am feeling.

Love today, our dear fulfillment of the feud, is like a flower. It starts with a seed, it grows flamboyantly, and blossoms with smell that can awaken Shakespeare, thine creator. Yet, how lovely it began its being, how bitter things see the end. How stupendous idiosyncratic of giving the feeling will end in a nightmare, in an eternal longing, in an abyssal despair. My dearest prince, taker of maidenhead, I have no courage to take my life the way you did. For thy sacrifice is nothing but everything. For thy words and actions are but the epitome of purity and is not stained by any factitiousness. You dear prince, together with the flower of the Capulets, momentously showered the world with the ideology of loving. And my grief, my shallow and acrimonious grief, is replaced with a shrug, not even the slightest consolidating hug, but a shun, a mellifluous treacherous goodbye. How I wished that I died long before this tragedy struck me. How I wish that your story became our story, and that I will not regret, even taking everything from me, even my breath, even my life, even my soul, for I know that what I felt was veritable, was genuine, was devoted.

This moment, my dear prince, I cannot understand! Should my feelings rot, should my soul break, should my body tear open, I still long for one person. I still hold on to the same feeling. I still pervade myself with tears. Even if my lover’s words are cold. Even if my lover’s words were harsh, even if it exudes loathing, I still hold on, I still cry. Tell me dearest amongst the Montague, what should I do?

With all the candor I can commiserate,
Ryan

I had this thought after watching the Movie above… There is something with reality, it can’t and doesn’t obscure the truth… I hope Romeo can hear me and be a buddy to drink this problem up…

After all, what is wrong if I live with this fantasy?

Happy Holidays!

I miss my childhood.

During these moments, usually, I’m out. I ransack every house with biscuits, food, and tell my friends to do the same to their relative’s house, and I’ll go with them to make sure that they do exactly what I do. That’s how I ransack houses. I was such a user. I practically made use of my innocence to make get what I want. Time passed by and we started drifting away from each other. It could have been good if we drifted towards the same direction, but no. Friends, people change, and so do we. We just don’t realize it. Quoting from my friend Merryl, “Hayaan mo na dear, it’s just that people change.” My wise friend keep on telling me that mistakes aren’t always a personal fault.

Life can simply misconstrue what we really want to happen. I have a sister, I hated her, and please I beg someone to implant some good genes into her. That’s a clear misinterpretation for my wish to not be lonely. Hay, How I wish Christmas to be better. I want to experience Chestnuts on an open fire, or ham on a platter smothered with glazing. It could have been better if I live in Alaska. Don’t get me wrong, I always realise my blessing. But in the end, we have to consider the fact that we always want something more.

This Christmas, I promise to set that aside, and more than that, I promise to look for a better pasture to live, and to love. Too much tears has been shed, and Christ is there for me anyway. Sabi nga ulit ni Merry, “Huwag ka ng paapekto, nahihirapan akong nahihirapan ka.” I so love those people who truly care for me.
🙂

You see, when I was a kid, never did I think of these things. I think I grew a little bit, just a little bit.

Happy holidays!

What is the End?

“When was the last end of the world?” A silly question I asked myself upon realizing that today is the predicted end of the world. It is silly because if we are going to look at it, it’s as if we are trying to doubt the end of something. We doubt its former end, because it still continuous existing, a midst the fact that it once ended. We can also say that it is a metaphorical approach, what does “the end” mean? Does it mean total obliteration, or are we all just talking about the damnation of something or someone? We can also presume that the end of the world is a mark of a new beginning. But if that’s the case, can we consider that an end, given that the word is only adept to one perspective, nonetheless, in another perspective, it is simply a continuation, a furtherance of something that already existed? Then, when can we say that something already ended? This epic of demise has run to different generation, and in fact, it has run over different cultures making phenomenon of the “end of the world” a common notion for each and every one of us. The question is, which version is real? Are we even supposed to believe in the end of the world simply because it is culturally based? And of course, the most important question, after the end of the world, what will happen to us? Realistically though, there is an END FOR EVERYTHING, it’s just that we don’t know when that will happen.

What is this end all about? Is it an interlude or a punishment? Are suppose to feel anything, or it will be excruciating that we all will manifest our own fears and agony?

 To tell you the truth, I am afraid. I still have lots of things to hope for, and now, I am losing all of my hope for all the things I am anticipating simply because it is the end of the world. Maybe, this form of attachment, for both the future and the past, makes the present too discerning for us. It makes us attempt to stick to something that is long gun, and its “end” does not dawn because we continue to fuel that very essence of existence past and future in the metaphysical sense. In one way or another, there is no such thing as an end for them, there is still continuation, a protraction of existence thus, not a single strand of end effectuates the immaterial. More so, I am fearful with the notion of after-end. Assuming without conceding that this end presupposes a new beginning, and that the after-end we are referring to here is a new beginning of existence and not a continuation of what we have formerly, an abysmal thought can make one run out of sanity. Is it even part of our present existence to think of our next “life?” It is very ironic that this existence is being misled by that longing, by that notion that we are going to have a new life. It is unfair that we have to sacrifice this present existence for the reason that this is not the finality of what we are supposed to have. What is finality when we all look for the new beginning where we take a role, a part of another degree of evolvement?

There is one big package I cannot let go that makes me realize the importance of the present. It is my memories. It’s not because I want to be stagnated by things that I have been a part of neither because I learn something from the past. The reason why memories are important to each and every one of us is because it makes us feel that we existed, especially if these are memories that are significant to our identity and our personhood. It actually completes us but at the same time complicates our very existence. It may be the flaw of “programming the universe” this way, but it all makes perfect sense. Our fruition is based on our memories, and whatever we remember is our best weapon to face anything, may it be big or small. So, based from this, are you ready for the “end?”