Cheers and jeers to UP

There were two major news related to UP today; they also happen to come from extreme poles of the emotional spectrum. Whatever that is.
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Bad news first. Another promising UP student died due to a fraternity-related incident. I still don't get what it is with frats and pain. True, experiencing shared pain helps create stronger bonds among people, but I don't think it refers to shared physical pain, especially those inflicted by the very people who promised to be your "brothers" in the first place. Collective hardship, unfortunate experiences, common tragedies; it is these stuff that make people bond together. Frats foolishly hope that by bludgeoning people they teach the neophytes how to be strong, to be loyal, to feel the bloody tradition they're hurting themselves to be a part of. I don't know for sure if the neophytes do learn the "lessons" afterwards, but I'm sure one could almost expect the certainty of death. In the words of one concerned UP student, the fraternity may not have intended to kill the applicant. And we all say of course, why would they? The truth however is that they intended to hurt him. Badly. Obviously, hurt him severe enough to cause death.

I hope the fratmen involved in this incident show the notorious machismo their culture is known for and be men enough to face the grieving loved ones and friends of the dead. And the wrath of the greater community who suffered a most senseless loss.
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Now the cheery news. The Philippine Madrigal Singers come home after successfully clinching the top prize in the Grand Prix for Choral Singing held in Italy. They're also the first two win the championship twice (in 1997 then this year). With this accomplishment, the multi-national judging panel have noted that the Madz have cemented their stature as one of the best choral groups in the world.

I remember an orgmate who once told me her experience while she was about to watch the Madz in concert. As the audience wait for the performance to start, she recalled how bejewelled matronas in their splendid plumpness seemed unable to contain their awe of the Madrigals (yes, Jamby's family) for the noble deed of funding such an excellent choral group.

We can't help but feel the depression as we realize how ignorant some members of the supposed alta sociedad are and the tragedy of living in a country where the cultured, moneyed ones say things like that. In a situation where the ruling class is capable of such imbecility, where does the privilege come?

The Philippine Madrigal Singers is not in anyway connected to the Madrigals; the group is a actually a UP-based choral group, known to Diliman inhabitants as the UP Madrigal Singers. They assume the "Philippine" title when they go abroad, or when they serenade a larger audience outside the UP community.

And the Madrigal in their name is not a family name but is instead a reference to their musical setting, their choral arrangement. Look it up in Wikipedia or, if you're in a university, go listen to an art history or appreciation class.

If only the matronas can stop admiring each other's rocks and start, you know, reading.

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

It's sad that I'm seriously considering taking this online quiz just so I can finally decide whether I should pursue my grad studies in Comparative Lit or not. Short of a crisis, I am at point where I have not a single clue what I want to do for the rest of my life. Sure, literature interests me, but I doubt if it's anywhere near the top of my hierarchy of values. I am taking a leave of absence from my classes, and I have no idea if it's just for this semester or longer.
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What separates sociologists from writers is that the latter have a lot more fun doing the exact same things as the former.
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Bago magtapos, ang Buwan ng Wika:

Wala na akong load. Hindi dahil sa kaka-text kundi dahil nag-expire na siya. Bakit nga ba nag-e-expire ang load? Pera ko naman yung pinambayad ko, aba't di ba dapat lang na magamit ko yun kelan ko man naisin? Otherwise, ninanakawan na ko ng Talk N' Text, dahil kinukuha nila ang pera ko sa serbisyong hindi ko naman nakuha sa kanila.

Thirty pesos na nga lang yun e, mag-e-expire pa. Hindi naman kasi ako mahilig mag-text. Pasalamat nga sila at hindi ako dumadagdag sa traffic nila sa pagfo-forward ng mga messages na punong-puno ng ka-plastikan (wrng spling p), na maaaring kumonsumo sa resources ng facilities nila. Hindi rin ako kumukuha ng pira-pirasong minuto sa mga buhay ng mga kakilala ko para mag-check ng inbox tapos forwarded message lang pala. Malaki ang economic at social value naming hindi mahihilig mag-text tapos kami pa yung mawawalan. Ano ba yan? Minus 5! Tapos kung tingalain si MVP e akala mong kung sinong may napakalaking nagawa sa Pilipinas...tsk, tsk.

Got...?

...milk? This Hayden Panettiere picture made me want to sack the Alpine and Bear Brand stalls at Save More, Riverbanks so I could join her in milky ecstacy and bliss. I may not always think the world needs saving, but I'll save the cheerleader anytime.



I must give credit where it's due. Paolo, who has the unquenchable drive to find websites like this one, thanks for the Multiply link.

Lie to Me

Found this blogthing from Paolo's interesting but rarely updated LiveJournal, and decided to try it out myself. I'm a sucker for online quizzes that claim to tell a bit myself, especially those that only have 10 or fewer items to answer. Everyone wants to hear something said about ourselves, don't we? Even if it comes from a computer. This day and age, I don't think there's many who have an inkling who they really are, or what others really think of them.

I'll gladly rely on a website to tell me who I am. Just so I can be more honest and realistic about myself.

Your Love Life Secrets Are

Looking back on your life, you will have a few true loves. You're a little scarred from your past relationships, but who isn't? You expect a lot from your lover - you want the full package. You tend to be very picky. In fights, you love to debate and defend yourself. You logic prevails - or at least you'd like to think so. You have a hard time ending relationships, even if the other person says it's over.

Your Love Life Secrets, Revealed

I know you can't save me.

After Life

Oh dears, you have to read the latest issue of BtVS' eight season . I know a have very limited exposure to comic books, but I must say that the experimental, almost innovative storytelling style (narrator boxes mingle with dialogue bubbles, in one scene involving Giles; Andrew's TV advertisement about the slayers' support group), and the inspired lines ("I tried to feel it. I tried to face the darkness like a woman and I don’t need anymore than that. You don’t have to remember me. You don’t even know who I am but I do."), will just blow you away and change the way you look and appreciate comic books. Whedon's masterpieces are slowly becoming classics of the genre.

The weight of the world

Lately I noticed how everyone's been using the term "bayani" in the same breath as "ano" or "tsaka". I originally thought it is only used to refer to someone who has offered the greatest possible sacrifice for a cause greater than him- or herself. I even thought it is reserved only to those who have given up their lives for others, otherwise there sure are other things greater worth sacrificing. Living heroes sound oxymoronic, more so partying, decadent heroes.

It began when my colleagues and I passed by the Bantayog ng mga Bayani memorial along EDSA near Quezon Avenue, depicting a woman raising one of her arms while the other is holding on to a slumped (unconscious?) man. The first thing that came to mind are our dometic workers abroad, majority of whom are female. Despite the glaring sexism and whether my interpretation was correct or not, what bothered me most is the labelling of Filipinos seeking greener pastures abroad as "bayani". While I certainly agree that they help a great deal in keeping our ailing economy from complete collapse, I doubt whether we should apply to them the greatest title a country can give its citizen. For one, they're probably in a much, much better place and condition than where we currently are, save for the many DHs who work under abusive and oppressive employers. And even if they don't exactly enjoy where they are right now, I doubt if it was the greater good that brought them there. I have never heard of a hero even from another country who's ticket to the history books is the burning desire to buy his or her family their own townhouse or a brand new car.

I mean let's thank them with all our hearts for sending us dollars, and let's sympathize with them that they have to leave their families behind just to earn a living. But I think "bayani" is more fitting a title to those who choose to work their butts off in this God-forsaken country, not because there is no way out, but because they simply want to.

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Just imagine my irritation upon seeing ordinary Ateneo students wearing t-shirts with a really humble and unmistakably modest print saying "Bawat Atenista, Bayani." I swear I could have laughed my shallow brains off, but annoyance engulfed me faster than I could muster enough courage to point to that Atenista and laugh at him while at, where else, what they call quad.

Since when did students who give a token what, semester or two, in the company of maralitas and then proceeding with their capricious and decadent lives after receiving their class cards ever qualified for the term? I sure didn't mean to generalize, as I have very good friends and relatives who are Atenistas, but the idea does. Notice the "bawat"? So pardon me if I do, too. I doubt whether these students really are up to offer anything for something greater, seeing how reluctant they are to give up even a few minutes of their sorry lives to vote in their student government elections.

It still amazes me where this institution - where I'm currently working - gets its school spirit aside from playing really good basketball. Sure, if I'm a university I would certainly get it from really good research outputs, which they don't really put out. I hardly saw any citation from this school by ISI-indexed journals when I was still doing coursework in my MA and undergrad research, and haven't read any studies from this school making it to the dailies' headlines. Spirituality- and formation-wise (I'll give this to them, even if I don't think any decent university here or abroad would really care that much about their students' beliefs), I don't see it as well, judging by its "exclusivity" and stratospherically high fees. I don't think Jesus would ask me eighty grand per sem just to hear his teachings. And then of course, there is the general snotty feel of the place.

I wish UP had great basketball players, too.

I must admit though, they produce really good talkers. And I must stop my envious blabbering before it turns into serious school bashing. Advanced happy sesquicentennial, ADMU!;-)