Untitled poem

I'd like to distill wisdom and knowledge
To gather around
A group of passionate folks
In a semi-dark room
Around a table with books

I'd like to discuss
Philosophy. History.
Literature. Art.
And music.
Even if I know absolutely nothing about
Philosophy. History.
Literature. Art.
And music.
But I'd like to learn

I'd like to read
And share what I read
Summarize the story,
the ideas, the themes,
and give my thoughts on the characters

I'd like to grow in wisdom
and knowledge

I'd like to highten my sensitivity
to the world around me,
to the things that truly matter in life

I want to decipher hidden meanings
in works of art
To delve into stories and novels
and poems
With my heart and mind and soul
And understand their true worth
And relevance in my life

Sad song

Sing me a sorrowful song
You see, I've been empty for a while
Let your music
Measure the sadness inside me

Let the waves of sound from your
Lonely guitar
Echo against the hollowness
Inside me

I never knew how empty I was
Till I heard your singing

Book club

I am so excited with the idea of joining or forming a book club. It would be so much fun, to read and discuss books. Even better is if the club will not limit itself to discussing books, but also include art, films, music, etc. In a word, a cultural group, wherein the aim is to develop one's culture and intellect. I am more interested in politics, current affairs, and social issues.

So basically, what I have in mind is a book club or a reading and discussion group that focuses on things that matter in life.

I wish to start one, hopefully soon. I can start by inviting a few friends and my Pangga.

My concern though is that not many people read books. Plus, books are expensive these days, so most people would rather buy food and clothes than books. But it would be great to develop the habit of reading among people. It improves the intellect and enhances our senses.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Today is the feast day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. We got up early this morning and went to hear mass at our lungsud (town) church. Then we went to Tita Baby's house in San Agustin Heights in Labangon to visit the Pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima, the original statue of our Lady of Fatima, which Mother Mary instructed Sister Lucia to sculpt for her. The statue arrived at their house last night and was supposed to be taken at 11 in the morning, but the Brothers from the Herald of the Gospels came in earlier at 9:30. We were able to catch up with them and the statue at the Department of Labor and Employment office beside Plaza Independencia.

Passing by the sugarfields of Bais

Passing by the town of Bais last Tuesday, we saw quite a lot of cargo trucks over-loaded with sugarcane harvested from the nearby fields. We saw men, mostly middle-aged and some in their late 50s and 60s -- quite old, in short -- chopping sugarcanes under the heat of the noon sun. Some of them were resting under the shade of trees along the highway, having lunch from plastic containers and cellophanes. They looked so tired and exhausted. We wondered how much they were earning and if it were enough. We thought some if not most of these men might've spent their whole life harvesting sugarcanes and their lives never improved.

I read in the Metro Post, a Dumaguete paper, yesterday that the workers in Central Azucarera de Bais went on strike because their union and the management were not able to settle certain issues in their Collective Bargaining Agreement. The workers were asking for a raise in their pay while managment is not willing to give in to the demand citing as their reason their plan to cut on costs in order to adjust to the demands of their US market which is weakening. The management also retrenched several workers. How are they going to settle the issue? And can we blame the workers for damanding a higher wage?

Illegal loggers and government to be blamed for the Luzon calamity

Arroyo rallies nation towards unity amid tragedy

By Joel Francis Guinto
INQ7.net


PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rallied the nation towards unity in the aftermath of the death and destruction recently caused by four typhoons.

“This tragedy will unite the country,” Arroyo said in a speech on Friday at a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in Camp Aguinaldo.

Arroyo also thanked volunteers and private organizations, which have contributed their time, money, and resources to rescue and relief operations.

“It is a time for the country to come together. For individuals to do heroic deeds together,” she said.

“The manpower and resources of the government are stretched thinly, but I am proud that volunteers and private companies have filled the gap,” she added.

“Yoyong,” the fourth storm, to hit Luzon in two weeks, left eight people dead so far, the civil defense office said.

Before “Yoyong,” tropical storm “Winnie” left 407 dead. “Violeta” and “Unding” were the two other storms that ravaged the country.

The president didn't mention in her speech the reason/s why the calamity in Luzon happened, or how her administration is going to go about punishing the culprits of the tragedy. Yes, she did create a special unit to go after the illegal loggers who raped the mountains of the areas affected by the flashfoods, but it's not clear exactly how they are going to go about that, and considering nothing ever happened in the aftermath of similar calamities in the past, notably the Ormoc tragedy a few years ago which drowned about 5,000 people and recently the landslide in Southern Leyte which also claimed the lives of numerous residents.

A shocking fact: in the time of Marcos we had 17 million hectares of forests all over the country, now the number is about 700,000 hectares. If the government will continue to turn a blind eye on illegal logging and the destruction of the environment, and, in fact, continue to play a part in it (For example local officials who protect illegal logging and has business dealings with illegal loggers), calamities like these, and in even bigger scales, will happen again and again. I think we have no problem with regard to laws that protect the environment. It is in the implementing of these laws that government fail.

Paulo Santos

The more I listen to Paulo Santos the more I love his music. My brother listens to him a lot, and before I couldn't stand his music style (I found it irritating the way his voice shifts from low to hight pitch). Only now am I beginning to appreciate him. His music I want to describe as "smooth and easy". No doubt he is a good musician. We saw him live in Ayala Center a few months ago, and he did not fail to entertain his audience with his musical talent and sense of humor. One funny thing we observed is that the guy is pretty horny. He masks his desire for women with his candid brand of humor. Several times during that show he jokingly kept on repeating which hotel he was staying and what room!