Favorites and Influences.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

FAVORITES. Bandanna handkerchiefs. Obligatory body implements. Never without one in my pants pocket. Cover the nose! Started when I was a boy, as I struggled with asthma, and then my lung got “damaged” as I grew older. I am fine now. Yet the square cotton thingy evolved as a personal “protection” vs. germs along with two-layers of socks, LOL! (I don’t allow my skin to “touch” a stranger’s skin so I don’t usually hug people.) Hence I maintain dozens of “hankies” and bandannas. 🧦🥹🧣

INFLUENCES. Kerala, a state in India that is managed as a social democratic welfare economy. From the 1990s, liberalization of the mixed economy allowed restrictions against capitalism and foreign direct investment to be lightened, leading to economic expansion and increase in employment. The state recorded 8.9 percent growth in enterprises from 1998 to 2005, higher than the national rate of 4.8 percent that time. The “Kerala Model” stays high in my book. 🍃🇮🇳🪜

FAVORITES. I am obsessed with dogs and cats. I wasn’t then although my family back home always had a pet dog. My father even had 12 dogs running around the yard then. These days, dogs and cats are my constant companions. An understatement to admit that without them, I wouldn’t be able to deal with depression (from being away from family and home-country). So I love Arrow, Ching and Fizz as my extended family. My own children. Not drama, just a fact and truth of my life. 🐈🥰🐕

INFLUENCES. Progressive Utilization Theory (or Prout) is a socioeconomic and political philosophy created by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921-1990). An economically progressive approach to social development, Prout exposes and overcomes the limitations of capitalism, communism and mixed economy. In 1955, Mr Sarkar also founded Ananda Marga, a spiritual and social organization that offers instruction in meditation and yoga. I edited Prout’s Manila newsletter in the 1990s. 📚🍎👫

FAVORITES. Old things. Antiques or vintage. Old books, old cars, old houses, old music, old clothes, old appliances, old foods, old ways. My obsessive attachment to/with The Old is heightened by the rapid surge of technological inventions, most of which are not needed. Computer/internet based writing offers many conveniences, sure. Like, we could easily google our name and voila! We didn’t forget our name! Soon, the AI homey will do the googling for us? ☎️📺📷

INFLUENCES. The Bible is a compilation of religious texts or Christian scriptures of a variety of forms, originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. These texts include instructions, stories, poetry, and prophecies. Believers in The Bible consider it to be a product of divine inspiration, but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies. I was born into Catholicism so The Bible is a major influence. But I am not selling Bibles. 📖✝️📖

FAVORITES. Souperman! A true story about me as a misbehaving little boy: Once on the dinner table, I couldn’t wait for my mom to serve my soup, so I pee’d on my soup bowl! Ha! Not celebrating that crazy story but obviously it isn’t TMI anymore. LOL! I used to get annoyed when my older bro shares that embarrassing mischief with my friends. Just saying that I love soups! But soup that is brothy, not the thick kind, like chili. Southeast Asian kind of soup. 🥣😋🥣

INFLUENCES. Galian sa Arte at Tula. A convergence of poets, writers and artists that started in the mid-seventies, during the Marcos dictatorship years in the Philippines. We mostly met in Odette Alcantara’s Heritage Art Gallery, and then in several spots in the University of the Philippines campus. Some of my mentors (“koyang”) have already passed away. I am proud to say that most of what I learned in writing I learned from our workshops in those days. ✍✍✍

FAVORITES. Watching sports. Basketball is the most popular sport in the Philippines. So everybody is into it: Watcher, player, organizer, entrepreneur, heckler. Boxing, chess, and billiards/pool are also widely followed sports back home. We had world champs in boxing, grandmasters in chess, and Filipinos are considered top pool players, globally. Anyhow, I simply love watching sports. Basketball and tennis mostly. These balance my mirth, madness, and moods. (Photo: MediaPost.) 🎱🥊🏀

INFLUENCES. The Beatles. Formed in Liverpool, England in 1960. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr. The most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and recognition of popular music as an art form. Their music incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. Anyone who says he/she hasn’t heard or doesn’t recognize a Beatles song is lying. (Photo: CTTO.) 📚🍎🎼

Photo credit: Enmanscamera.

Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

News: “Climate Protester Glues His Head to ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ Painting.” The artwork by Johannes Vermeer, exhibited in The Hague, was the latest artwork to be targeted by protesters. Seems like this is getting to be a fad or something. Juvenile fit. Why don’t they instead barricade a yacht, smear a golf course, or glue their head to a Lamborghini? Same message, right? Leave art alone. Activism should gain followers, rich and poor—not to push them away. 👎😾👎

Halloween time! Fun time for children, mostly. Trick or treatin’! Yet I read, again, lots of thumbs-downing since they believe this day is devil worship and thumbs-upping because they call themselves witches as sort of honor. So be it. Yet Halloween, and most other “holidays,” is essentially mom/dad’s quality moments with children. Nothing so heavy to intellectualize or politicize about. Halloween costumes to avoid The Immaculate’s sword of “correctness,” you know. 🧟‍♀️🧛‍♂️🧟

To deny the current economic murk, government apologists post memes that infer high inflation is global. Nope. Yet no way to justify an inept leadership, esp. when we talk of economics. Examples of fine inflation rates: China, 2.3 percent; Japan, 3 percent; Saudi Arabia, 3 percent; Russia, 2.9 percent; Ecuador, 0.13 percent. UAE and Bahrain are -2+ percent. Yet as the world recovers from Covid and struggles with high fuel prices, economies gasp. But it is not global. 🥹💵😟

Notice that Goodwill is short of shopping carts. What’s going on? Why, oh why? So I looked it up. Dmitry Orlov, in his book "The Five Stages of Collapse," posits that “lost shopping carts” is a result of the disintegration of society. Uh huh. Commercial collapse. “Commodities are hoarded, import and retail chains break down, and widespread shortages of survival necessities become the norm." Uh huh? I didn’t mean to overthink this, LOL!  I won’t ask again, okay? 

       How dire is the problem of “lost shopping carts,” I must continue. On Dmitry dude’s walk one dreary afternoon, he counted 11 abandoned grocery carts: Five clumped together as if the result of five separate trips; one behind a locked fence at the local rec center; one covered in vegetation in a weedy lot, as if being reclaimed by the Earth; one that seems to live at the bus stop; and one, incongruously, with a new car tire in it, wrapped in plastic, outside a school. Yup. Me, I saw one being playfully pushed by a dog with three cats riding. 🛒😒🛒

Jerry Lee Lewis, 87, was reported dead. He is alive… Careless journalism? Unforgivable is when a person is “reported” dead, with intent to hurt the person, who is alive. True story: A friend’s soon to be ex posted on FB that he committed suicide, when he was absent on Facebook for a day. Turned out the man took a break to be with their son to talk about the impending divorce. She knew it since she’s been texting with the son when he’s with dad. Reason to divorce, uh huh. 👎👎👎

“Model, 57, challenges taboos on female sexuality.” I read a lot of this kind of news that focuses on physical eye-candy or “non-standard, old-school” body shape per female sexuality. Women my age on 2-piece swimwear, full-bodied ladies on TV ads. I get the message. But can we now go back to accentuating attributes beyond figure endowments that equal market economics? What about talent, intelligence, grit. And health—chubby or thin, old or young. 🩱👙👗

Not a fan of Kanye West’s music. I don’t have to—to know that there is a Kanye in this world. He is high-profile for being him, “notoriously.” And so Ye is dropped by his corporate benefactors due to his “incorrect” mouth. I don’t really care what he said; many people say the same albeit non-famous personages. So a Fortune 500 dumped him because of what he said? Or because that’d affect their sales? How many Kanyes are there in your neighborhood? Tell me. 🗣👥🫂

I never shared my funk with my children when they were little. My relationships failed, jobs were hard etc. Those were mine. And despite my Leftist activism, I didn’t bring them to a protest rally, ever. My political angst, not theirs. Many say they do otherwise to protect their kids, prepare them for the future. Well, they will evolve and think for themselves as adults. Why don’t we guide for open-mindedness, not partisan hate. Let children enjoy their childhood. 👶👧🧒

I google words before typing `em up. Squeaky, queue etc. Correct spellings. I draft my longer “rants,” file them for days before I finally post them. Dig up more data. Yet I don’t claim whatever I post is it. Just my insight. I notice, when some don’t agree with an opinion, and run out of rudeness, they “correct” your grammar. LOL! We come from different cultural mindsets and English-delivery. So let it be. Don’t be so correct. Click/watch some dog videos, instead. 🧐🤨🤪

A lot of these “correctness” self-righteousness are deodorizing of indolence, laziness. They say blowers and weedeaters worsen noise pollution so rake them leaves and get Dollar Tree scissors to cut those brush, okay? Others lecture not to tidy up your yard or mow your lawn. Grow `em grass as habitat for anacondas, bears and zebras or turn your backyard into a rainforest? Buy disposable, recyclable plates than handwash your dishes with toxic soap. LOL! 🗣👥🫂

JUST talkin’ or rantin’ about stuff.

Previously posted on my Facebook page. Or written years ago, unedited/not updated.

APOLOGIES for hyperventilating. This pollen allergy could be the most irksome physical aggravation (ailment?) that I ever had since my hospital visits in Manila in 1995 and New Jersey in 2000. I'd rather muster a bad flu than this irritation. I couldn't really sleep and I had to contain my asthma almost every 20 minutes (thanks to the nebulizer!) To make this more depressing, my fantastical superhero/superhomey pretensions are now crumbling to pieces that I'm even misunderstood or some people don't really believe that I am this “sick.” It's not like I am about to die—but it also doesn't mean that I have both physical and mental energy to go out at all.

Days ago, I thought I was fine—so I accompanied Cindyrella to some errands (mostly I was in the car). But when I tried to walk inside the store, my faulty breathing scared me. Days ago, when I refused to see some friends to hang out, some thought I was making an alibi or “acting like a douchebag.” That it was my usual aloofness and indifference in meeting people. Not that, please.

I MUST admit however that irrelevant of this allergy, I've cut my so-called social life a considerable lot. Those who know me are aware of how insanely relentless my community activities were (whether it was in the Philippines or in the US). I led a life that seemed to run between rains, a bullet train on hyperkick (sic). Hence the twin near-death trips to the ER (mentioned above) weren't so surprising. Those were all wear-and-tear exhaustion that I ignored or neglected till it almost put me away.

       These days, it's more age catching up on me. Man, I will be 56 in July! I might as well be 96. I am mentally tired and physically exhausted—yet I still got huge energy to focus inward. Write. Create art. Teach. Read. Enjoy family. I still do travel for “non-partying” leisure and to read in support of my book/s and come out to see a good show or have dinner with few close friends—but I am not The Madman anymore who used to supervise two club shows a week, two all-day park concerts a month, edit and layout a fortnightly newspaper, travel to New York and Baltimore monthly, perform almost weekly for years. I don't know. But I tend to plan out my (outside) energy and time more these days. I enjoy reconnecting with longtime friends and talking with family on Facebook. I also got more than two dozens of TV series and shows to follow, LOL! Honestly though, being with friends and family albeit online keeps my peace and quiet realizable, pacifies my homesickness funk.

MEANTIME, I don't enjoy listening to advocacies and rants and ruminations anymore, philosophies and spiritualities that I sought out in four continents and many big city lights and small town barns and bars. It's not like I am ahead of others or I already “knew” too much. Not that. I just feel like I imbibed so much of life and the world that the only way to loosen up and calm down is to write them or translate all these into a more subdued flow (like being at home with the babedawg and koolcat or cooking for friends, gardening and doing housework, teaching younger people what I know about writing etc).

       Yet still I can say, I really don't know when my chakras will run berserk again. I had a self-imposed two-year hibernation, dividing my time between Candler NC and Athens GA, hoping that I could easy-down my fire and churn out a number of writing projects. I did yet I am still struggling to focus (yes and no thanks to Facebook distraction!) 

       As I said, I don't know. Those barbecue invites and gig hellos and partytime hugs will have to wait. For now, I gotta deal with this awful pollen (allergy) onslaught in my system. But I hope that some friends and relations will understand. This is not an alibi and I am not being a douchebag (I do hate that word). I am just indisposed as hell. Allergy is such a bitch! 🥹🙃😉