We beg to differ.
The impropriety of a public official plastering his or her name all over a public-funded facility or piece of equipment had recently come to light. Apparently people now feel a sense of outrage at the sight of the names and images of local politicians adorning projects and initiatives made possible by taxpayers’ funds. Don’t get…
The re-introduction of Spanish into the education system of the Philippines was brought to the fore during the visit of Queen Sofia of Spain this week. Though originally mandated by former President Gloria Arroyo in 2007, President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III happened to be in a convenient position to herald the return of the…
Read More “Re-introduction of Spanish mandated by Arroyo in 2007, trumpeted by BS Aquino today” »
The definition of compassion that is common to several sources is that it is a feeling of deep sympathy and/or empathy for the misfortune of others. If we want to further go down this line of thought, then eventually we find ourselves face to face with the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would…
Read More “Is compassion misapplied in Philippine society?” »
The symbol for the Filipino everyman is called Juan de la Cruz. In that essence, it is similar to the way Americans use John Doe to refer to people whose identity is unknown. Juan de la Cruz is also particularly used in the sense that it a very common name here in the Philippines. He…
Read More “An alternative personification of the Pinoy: the spoiled brat” »
The following was captured from an image of one of three ads uploaded to the Belo Men Facebook Page at 6:15pm 01 July 2012 (AEST). The ad images had apparently since been removed from that page. The ad features a fair-skinned Filipino(?) man standing in front of what looks like a white Korean-made economy sedan…
Read More “Fair skin equals 100 percent ‘sosyal’ screams Belo ad!” »
So the Philippines is the “social media capital” of the world, is it? What exactly does this mean? Apparently “capturing” the title — a title supposedly “awarded” the country by “pundits” — is seen to be some sort of achievement. Celebrating this “achievement” is the occasion of “a gathering of Twitterati, bloggers and other internet…
Read More “Kimpoy Feliciano and the social media capital that is the Philippines” »
“Co-hosting detracts from my essential specialness in the marketplace”. Larry Sanders mantra to himself as coached by his agent Stevie Grant How many of you saw this? How many of you believe this? How many of you know people who saw this and believe this? Like I have said many times before there is nothing…
It is on rare occasions that I suddenly recall, out of nowhere, a random scene from a movie I’ve watched in the distant past. As I sat in front of my computer, lamenting the loss of my butter cookies (which I’ve eaten up a few days ago), a scene from one of Keanu Reeves’ so-so…
Read More “Addressing the Filipino nature: we shouldn’t stop at merely coping” »