We beg to differ.
Every now and then I re-share an article I wrote some time back, “Regine Velasquez is ‘Queen of Song’ in a country of low standards” just for fun, and every time I get the same rabid responses asserting the contrary. That Velasquez was crowned “Queen” and that the belief that she is “Asia’s songbird” persists…
It’s not surprising that Filipinos are now called to accept what COVID-19 vaccines they get are better than nothing. Filipinos had it coming for a long time now. A whole national tradition of making do with junk because these were better than nothing marks most of its history since being granted “independence” by the United…
Read More ““Pwede na yan” is Tagalog for “better than nothing”” »
People are so up and about against tyranny in the Philippines recently. They pointed at barangay officials and police beating up and even shooting quarantine violators. The wokes claim the Duterte Administration is a tyrannical dictatorship similar to the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. They always portray abusive behavior as a concerted effort of top level…
Craig Nelson introduces his book Rocketmen, with the story of a 1969 United States Senate briefing (shortly after Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon) where Fermilab physicist Robert Wilson is asked how a $250 million atom smasher he proposes be built will contribute to the security of the United States….
Read More “Does Jover Laurio symbolise for Filipinos what it means to be a great people?” »
Being exceptional in the Philippines is not only not rewarded, it is also punished. Often severely. Being exceptional, in the eyes of Filipinos, means that you are something the rest of them aren’t. You aren’t in solidarity with the rest of them, especially if they’re mediocre. Naging iba ka sa kanila. Di ka nakisama. Leadership…
Read More “Why being exceptional is a bane in the Philippines” »
Basketball, karaoke, and democracy, are favorite pastimes in the Philippines. All three are things Filipinos like to associate with being Filipino. We like to think of ourselves – and are proud of it – as the most basketball-crazy country in the region. When it comes to social gatherings, and Filipinos are involved, everyone is expected…
Read More “What do basketball, karaoke, and democracy, all have in common in the Philippines?” »
I find them funny, these articles, blogs, and Facebook posts that together mount a futile effort to trumpet the dubious “achievements” of Yellow-branded “democracy” over the last 30 years. Authors of these hilarious articles make the whole circus sound colourful and peachy only because they apply a low bar as a baseline for measuring “progress”….
Exceptional. Normally, a race for the presidency involves a cast of exceptional people. These would be the men and women seen to be at the top of their respective games and, as such, worthy of the privilege to serve the Filipino people as their chief executive for the next six years. In a presidential race,…