Out of my mind

This is my column today, my last for 2008. Last Monday, I wrote about what I thought and felt were some of the major events of 2008 that made major impact on our lives. In this piece, I will continue where I left off but will mostly focus on the events of 2008 that fall into the general category of “unfinished business.” Easily topping the list would be the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008. There was great anticipation that the controversial bill would finally get passed by Congress before the end of the year. The anticipation had valid basis—there was initial groundswell support for the bill when it was filed. Unfortunately, as the year drew to a close, a number of representatives were reported to have already withdrawn support for the bill on account of unrelenting intimidation from the Catholic Church. One congressman I know, who incidentally will vote for the passage of the bill but does not want his support for the bill publicized as he does not want to g...

This is my column today. The end of the year is always a good time to look back at the events during the year that made living in this country exasperating and frustrating but also exhilarating and exciting. So here then is the list of events in 2008 that rocked my world. Obviously, it’s a personal list and what’s in it may not sit well with others. But as has been said many times many ways, the relevance and gravity of an event is determined and measured by the personal circumstances of the person viewing it. It’s called subjective reality. I think the two major global events that defined 2008 and which will have far-reaching implications on the world are the financial debacle that saw the collapse of major financial institutions and the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. The two events represent two extremes —on one hand, financial wreckage and devastation; on the other, hope and inspiration. The financial catastrophe brought to their knees institutions once ...

Only those very close to me and well, those who have been inside my office at the Bank, are aware of my other passion, which is collecting artworks. It's kind of difficult not to notice it given the fact that practically every inch of wall in my office is occupied by a painting. Yeah, I know. People automatically assume that it's an expensive passion. It can be, of course, if one sets his sights on the works of national artists and the more established artists. But there are also a lot of young, budding (sometimes starving) artists out there who need all the help they can get - this means more art patrons who buy art pieces. The prices of the works of some of these young artists are actually reasonable - they are probably comparable to a few action figure figurines. The problem is that not everyone appreciates or wants to invest in artworks, they'd rather spend their money on expensive gizmos of dubious quality and aesthetic value such as those really tacky wall hangings so...

Nothing like good old-fashioned showbiz chismis to keep any reunion or get together alive and buzzing. From the many Christmas parties that I went to this year, here's some of the juicier stuff that I gathered: 1. The supposed definitive story of what really happened to Marky Cielo. If the story that was being whispered about was true, it seems the scion of a powerful political clan in a province south of Manila has a lot of explaining to do. According to a very reliable source, which, as we all know, really means the information was gathered from a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend... Marky Cielo had something going on with an up and coming young singer-actress who was being linked with the actor-scion of the political clan. Allegedly, death threats were made. Etc. Etc. But then again, this story may just be another yarn...just a product of someone's very active imagination. I think everyone should learn to take showbiz stories with shovels of salt. But if...

Given my physical condition, which is best described by weaknesses rather than strengths, it is obvious that I am not referring to a different, more physical kind of marathon. I'm taking advantage of the lonnnggg break to catch up on my reading and my DVDs backlog. Here's the list of books that I intend to finish before January 5: 1. A Prisoner of Birth , Jeffrey Archer 2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard , J.K. Rowling 3. Fragile Things , Neil Gaiman 4. Culture and History , Nick Joaquin 5. Passages , Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo 6. Militant But Groovy , compiled by Soliman Santos and Paz Verdades Santos 7. Ultimate Blogs , Sarah Boxer 8. When You Are Engulfed in Flames , David Sedaris 9. The Whole Truth , David Baldacci 10. The Flip Reader , Jessica Zafra 11. The Reader , Bernhard Schlink 12. A Thousand Splendid Sons , Khaled Hosseini 13. Soledad's Story , Jose Dalisay 14. Breaking Dawn , Stephenie Meyer Yup, good luck to me. Hahaha. I have issued an advisory to kith and kin that...

As part of the homily, the priest at church today asked the community: If Jesus Christ were to be born today in Makati, where exactly would He be born? Then he went around soliciting responses. Someone answered OSMAK, which is what Ospital ng Makati is called. Someone else said Makati Med. A third said The Peninsula. Obviously, the priest was not getting the answer he wanted so he continued to solicit more answers... Finally, he blurted: Of course he would still choose to be born with the poor!!! And then he enumerated the possible modern-day versions of the stable - a shanty in a squatter's colony, in a makeshift house under a bridge, perhaps in a sidewalk. I didn't quite agree with what the priest said, but Catholic masses are not exactly platforms of democracy so of course I kept my ideas to myself. But the news was on when I got home and there it was: Reasons why I think Jesus might not have to be born in squalid conditions today. On the news were stories of people reaching...

This was my column yesterday. Merry Christmas! Isang tulog na lang, pasko na. It’s the season to be more giving and consequently, forgiving; it’s supposed to be the time to be kinder and to be more tolerant. And it is in this context that we let pass the controversial statements made by former President Corazon Aquino last Monday at the launching of Jose de Venecia’s autobiography. Aquino’s statements, as expected, were splashed across the front pages of the major dailies yesterday. Ordinarily, people would find a lot of things to say about former President Aquino’s very public request for forgiveness from former President Joseph Estrada for having led Edsa Dos, which as we all know, caused Estrada’s disgraceful exit from Malacañang. But since it is Christmas, I think we can all be allowed some latitude for statements done “in the spirit of the season.” Of course some people might want to factor into the equation the former president’s current medical condition but I don’t think it is ...