Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Short and Grumpy

I'm behind in my writing so no official blog today. In lieu of thinking, I offer up this trash, a concoction of generally grumpy comments.

Two articles have been posted on the Freethinkers web site regarding the PNP threatening those who criticize the PNP on Facebook with action under the latest Sottolaw, the libel provision of the Cybercrime Law. The first article revealed the intimidating language on the PNP Facebook account, the second the PNP denying that that was the "Official" PNP Facebook account.  I opined in response to the second:

  • Yes, this proves what a fool's mission the internet libel law is. Any Joe Schmoe can post offensive, "libelous" accusations all over the internet under the name "Joe America" and then the libel cops will unplug my blog and file a summons to report for interrogation or whatever heavy handed methods they will use. Probably put my balls in a vise or yank my fingernails, slowly slowly, to make me admit it was me who did the offensive postings. When it was not. That is the slippery slope this idiotic Sottolaw has us on.

On Angela Stuart Santiago's review of the new Enrile novel, I wrote:

  • Perhaps he is a desperate man nearing the end of his life, terribly concerned that his past is a few too many arguments short of significant. It is surreal that he seems determined to exit leaving sourness in our memories when he could have had admiration.

Perhaps you have seen the new Tourism video. It is spectacular. Brilliant. Downright emotional for those of us who see this video in superduper slow motion, in our lifestyle, day by day.


Now we need some creative video wonks to do the match showing the underbelly of the Philippines, you know, the poor, skinny people putting salt on their rice or flopping a dead dog onto the carving table. Rather than the smiles, show the Ampatuan snarls or Sotto dumb looks. Rather than islands of green, those little plastic ones floating down the Pasig, or the mountainous ones of trash with little kids clambering all over them searching for lunch. Or dead motorcyclists without helmets and fat rich oligarchs. The visual opportunities here are endless.

Jun Abaya for President.

Did you know that if you think about ANY Filipino, you find it hard to imagine them as President. They all seem so small and real and human and fallible. Then, you elect one and suddenly, in office, he fits. He's bigger, stronger, more competent, and we grant him our trust.

The office makes the Man* and the  Man* makes the office.

*"Man" is defined in the Humpty Dumpty New World Dictionary to include Woman, as in "mankind", or "one small step for man". You ladies sometimes get real bitchy about these inconsequential word uses. I know, I have to deal with Maude. You don't, and thank your lucky stars. Or your God, whichever you believe in most.

15 comments:

  1. Buying Enrile book is wastefu, reading it is real no brainer.

    At his age, Summary of Enrile memoir without reading the book could be concluded this way:
    "Truth is best revealed closed to real time events
    Decades afterthought is pure fancy imagination"

    Johnny Lin


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    Replies
    1. Right, truth transcribed through the bias of intentional self enhancement and old-age forgetfulness is false. But I think fiction is worth reading if the plot is good, the characters stylish, the lessons profound.

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    2. Joe

      If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then memoire is in the mind of the reader.

      Autobiography memoir is never fiction;
      altered with some action, yes Enrile did it

      Enrile on ABS CBN revealed that his son Jackie was also implicated in another murder case in which he was a primary participant in the altercation but exonerated because it was his bodyguard who was found guilty of shooting the kid.

      Enrile was proud of his son's exoneration because he claimed he went to Japan so as not to have influenced the case because he was then the Secretary of Defense on leave.

      What a scmuck! Is he telling people his son was exonerated because he did not pull the trigger and Enrile was out of the country thus there was no way he could have physically influenced the case.

      This case would have been forgotten because the victim was not famous unlike that other case on movie actor Alfie Anido.

      Enrile is out of his damned mind. By resurrecting this murder case himself, he buried the senatorial ambition of Jackie by ten feet under.

      Who in his right mind would not think that the only reason the bodyguard shot the poor victim was that Jackie Enrile quarreled with the victim first and it was during the altercation when the victim was shot?






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    3. I think all of us are a bit lunatic, defining what we know as "reality" when it can't be because we are all ignorant, knowing about 0.42% of all there is to know. The goal in life should be to strive to be less crazy. I am afraid that reading this book would go the other direction, create confusions, cast a reality that is not a reality. It should have a warning label on it, "dangerous to your mental health".

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  2. Funny. Was grumpy this morning after reading the circus had arrived. There are not enough senatorial candidates for decent pickings.

    That last sentence should be underlined.

    Then Dr Holmes over at Rappler brightened my day by calling me multi-dimensional. I'm stoked.

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    Replies
    1. Dr. Holmes. Is that the sex therapist?

      You are multidimensional? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

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  3. Ahihihi I will buy JPE biography book if it was written by Kitty Kelley or my son will definitely add to his collection if it was arranged as horror by Fangoria....but I will read it still out of curiosity.

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  4. Still cant stop laughing about that Englitches comment on Rappler, Joe.

    ha ha ha ha Had to do it here since I dont know the guy and i think he means well... ha ha ha ha

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  5. True story: an NBA player during a team strategy meeting stands up and goes to the whiteboard and writes this, demanding it from his teammates: "No your roll."

    Glen Rice shouts,"sit down, dumb ass." LOL

    from 7 Seconds or Less, McCallum

    that guy in Rappler could be famous one day, Joe. Ha ha ha ha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny story, andrew. I had to read the blackboard three times before I got it, then I got a bruise from slapping my forehead whilst cracking up.

      Mariano is one of my favorite people because (a) he is bright, (2) he has style. He often will flood a thread with five or six shots, most of them riots if your skin is not too thin. He comments here from time to time. Other bloggers hate him and block him. Perhaps it is my literary bent that finds his work having stylistic character. He ridicules people who criticize him for his Englitches, so my Rappler remark played off of that. Hopefully taken by him in good humor.

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  6. I like Mariano Pacifico or Renato, whatever but he is aloof I tried to poke him once but he won't budge. BTW I was reading Amado Doronilla's "Enrile's memoir: story of sorcerer's apprentice" it was fun, lots of comments too.

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    Replies
    1. I would have titled the piece "The Whack Whack at Wack Wack". You prove my point as to why it is not good to read this kind of non-academic history. It creates its own version of truth, or produces more questions than it answers. I'd rather go to the beach and snooze.

      Yes, flexibility is possibly not one of Mariano's gifts.

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  7. Joe,

    Awesome subliminal messages in this blog.

    amor

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    Replies
    1. Glad you are picking them up. It is always best to read JoeAm's commentary with head tilted sideways to pick up what is between the lines or hidden behind them. He's a sneaky-dog writer.

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