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.