About Dogs and Cats and their Buddies.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page. 

CATS are huge fans of the Bee Gees. In fact, some cats have YouTube hits that Fizz The Wiz showed me last night. Check the most popular, “Bohemian Catsody,” “Too Scratch Somebody,” and “Another Cat Bites The Dust.” Abbey is also a little koolcat kitty with an excellent Barry Gibb falsetto. Her “How Deep Is Your Scratch,” “Too Much Catnip,” and “Stayin’ Asleep” are pretty good. Fizz’s favorite is “How Can You Mend a Broken Paw.” 🐱🧑‍🎤🐱

CELLPHONES can spread a variety of germs quickly and easily; however, by utilizing cleaning tools and sticking to a cleaning and disinfecting schedule, people can reduce the chance for cross-contamination and slow the spread of dangerous diseases. I mean, you are the only person who uses your cellphone (duh!) always disinfecting it–so you may not infect yourself. You dig? 📱📲😤

DOGS communicate with humans and other animals through various vocalizations, body language, and behaviors. When your dog makes non-barking sounds, it's possible that they are attempting to communicate or express something to you. These sounds can convey different emotions or needs. But then not many humans get the message. So cats taught dogs how to text their hoomans. This Christmas you may want to upgrade your dog’s iPhone. Uh huh. 🐕📱📲

HEARTBROKEN dogs exhibit symptoms of depression; they may show signs like decreased appetite and water intake, loss of interest in humans and other dogs, sluggishness or laziness. Loss of a loved one, sudden change in lifestyle, or maybe their favorite football team lost? In case you’ve noticed that your PBR six-pack is missing 2 bottles and your Yellow Tail red is half-consumed, the cat must have stolen them to share a drink with her heartbroken dog buddy. 🐈🐕🍻

NOWADAYS, we have different ways on how we communicate with each other, we have cellphones, social media, chats or emails, we barely see people communicating face to face, almost everything is done thru technology. (Yes, this is an AI “talking” to you. You talkin’ to me? Like who the hell else are you talking to? Talkin’ to me?) 🗣📱📲

“DOG attacks on cats are a terrifying experience for the cat, their owner and the wider community. Such attacks often result in death and witnesses can be left with psychological trauma.” FAKE NEWS! Not true. “When vicious attacks take place in public, it deeply upsets the whole community.” ANOTHER FAKE NEWS that only justifies hooman drama upgrades. Rationale for a shrink visit and drug prescriptions. Dogs and cats are not Republicans and Democrats, nope. 🐕🤪🐈‍⬛

HIRING. Let me get serious. Police patrols in Asheville are down. Officers on bicycles are gone, the Haywood Street police substation was closed in 2020, and downtown staffing has shrunk from eight cops per shift to two. Yup, regardless of spike in crime. Cops are gone. Not because of what your “correct” friends are saying. They are gone and many are now doing Uber or DoorDash. So much so that when I got out to receive a package from an Amazon dude, he frisked me. LOL! 👮😜👮‍♀️

CATS sit on you because they seek connection and attention. Cats get on your lap because you're warm. Cats sit on you because they trust you. Now you get it? So don’t move an inch when they snuggle or cuddle up. Don’t even breathe. Okay? 🐱🥰🐱

WHETHER cats or dogs are more intelligent remains inconclusive. Though some data point to dogs displaying greater levels of social intellect, more research is required to settle the debate between cat lovers and dog lovers. (Right at this very moment, Fizz The Wiz is on my left shoulder, reading what I am typing. With that face…) 🐈🥸🐕

NETWORK downtime refers to inaccessibility to part or all of a network due to the failure of hardware, software or some combination of the two. It can involve internal failure or a connection to the external network. No wi-fi, no Facebook, no Twitter/X, no streaming TV, no cable TV. That’d be the moment when mental illness soars to unprecedented heights, in a matter of 30 minutes. 📱📲😭

Stuff and Politics. And Stuff.

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

IS it just Facebook? I don't know. Are we human beings really doomed as hell? Just in case our chosen political leader didn't make it? What if Donald Trump wins? Or Hillary Clinton? Will ONE president make a country what it is? Really? People show disgust and frustration with the system--online. Why do we instead go out there and usher change right in our community?

 

       Check this out. Bell Chere is gone. Lex Av Art Fest is gone. What do we have for a community convergence? Festivals that are reeking with alcohol. Our neighbor got shot yet do we talk over dinner? No, we don't because you may serve antibiotics from an Ingles meat. And then we post, "Namaste! Let us heal!" on Facebook! Hallelujah! Post a cool blues/rock gig, 55 will like it but only 5 will show up. Post a beautiful butterfly in nirvana, get 155 likes. Post how great life is because heaven is all in our heads--and that meme of the Himalayas. You'll get 255 likes. All those 410 who "liked" you plus more will show up again in your next Facebook talking cat/holy be thy rainbow post first thing in the morning. A Universe of Likes! 

       Whoever wins as next president, life moves on as is. Cyd The Koolcat and Georgia The Babedawg don't care as long as they're fed on time. Food stamps will be given out and wheat bread will be sold regardless of whether you supported Bernie, Hillary, Trump or Eric Clapton. Why can't we simply say, "Ah!" And start brainstorming something awesome for one and all this summer? We can do that, whoever sits in power. Because it's us the people who will do it, not Bruce Springsteen The President. Politics sucks and those who glorify it? I don't know. Chill. Loosen some fibers and get naked (in the tub, I mean) and say more, "Ahhh!" Now I gotta go get Mexican lunch. Fried pescado/veracruz fish and sweet rice. 🏛🗽🏛

Compilation of short MORNING THOUGHTS.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Academia invents words and phrases relentlessly so we’d understand life better. But these only shuddered balance, used to criticize/reject others more. Terms: Ethical concern, cultural appropriation, political correctness, critical race theory etc etcetera. When it is an instinctive feeling. Primal action/reaction. What grandma used to remind us kids: “You know what is good and what is bad, don't you? The people around will reward or punish you for whatever you do.” Common sense.✍️ ?✍️

I had to unfriend Friends because I realize I am grandpa-old now and not anymore 14. Sadly, some older people behave exactly what they don’t want their 14 year old grandkids to behave. I can’t tolerate such brat kiddo “mischief” anymore. Out there, I just ignore it. Unfortunately, I am on Facebook. I go to my Homepage and I get immature inanities, one-line smart-ass retorts. Not even funny. And since these people don’t even have dog pics to share, sorry. Out you go! LOL! 🗣👤👥

My first job/s from childhood to high school to adult age: Circulation apprentice, proofreader, English to Tagalog translator, researcher, beat reporter, desk editor, editor in chief/publisher. I kept a huge database at home. OCD with facts and data. On internet days, I still miss or misread data. Though I read a lot of erroneous, misleading, incomplete, or worse, fake data—that proliferate via memes. Don’t people double-check after they click and before they share? ?✍️📜

Passive racism. With what I previously wrote, I made a meme and attributed it to a name that sounds English. A dozen or so “liked” it. Five shared it. Normally, I don’t get quick “approval” when I write as Pasckie Pascua. Worse, I get ridiculed for whatever I wrote. I guess, my name sounds like I emanated from an island so far away where peeps are all dumb. But nope! I am not changing my Russian or French-sounding name to a more “race-accessible” alias. 

       Historically though, many Filipino(a)s changed their name to English when they landed in America to gain easier “acceptance” or assimilation many years ago. Examples: Evans from Evangelista; Grace from Gracia; Cruise from Cruz. Same with the Chinese when they moved and started business in the Philippines. They are Chinese but they assumed last names like Monteverde, Santos, or De la Merced. But then those were the 16th century. 👀😏😂

For some morbid reason, I regularly read the Obituary in newspapers. Curious about the life of those who passed away. These days, I read the New York Times’ obit. Since Covid-19 hit us, most reasons for death read “…complications from Covid-19.” I noticed though in the past month, NY Times doesn’t put “…complications from Covid-19” anymore. Makes me think. Aren’t most or all fatalities resulted from “complications” brought by other agents/viruses other than the ailment per se? 🩺💊💉

No sense in hating China or Russia. The Cold War ended in 1991. No more World War. Superpowers are now trading with each other. If we don’t like what comes from China, we simply cease buying—although it’d be hard. APIs for meds are imported from China. But governments are not perfect. Countries are not Shangrila. Yet China’s expansionism is based on trade, not military; Russia is anchored on oil/natural gas. But America is still #1. Business, not war. Let’s give peace a chance!☮️☯️☮️

We are expostulating atoms of active contradictions. I am a person who prefers to be alone. Aloof, “minor” recluse. But I like watching people. Aside from journalism, I created a life as an event organizer because I like to watch people get together for dialogues, negotiations, and fun—as I intently listen. I like asking questions but I don’t dig answering questions, especially personal stuff. I get lost in a crowd of voices. But I like one-on-one conversations. 😒😞🤐

“Banned books” is a hot topic at the moment. Not a “new” hubbub. Fact is, all these “banned books” can be obtained on Amazon, eBay, your indie bookseller, Goodwill, flea markets, thrift stores, and some at Barnes & Noble. I have many in my personal collection. So there! Have you bought “Maus” yet? Perfect sales pitch! Thing is, what is such a big deal? The issue to me, these days? People don’t really read books. They prefer books compressed to a meme. So quit protesting. LOL! 📚😂📚

I don’t go to podcasts so I don’t know what Joe Rogan talks about other than Neil Young doesn’t agree with him. As a practice in my old age, I don’t watch News TV as well. CNN or Fox et al. Nope! But reading is an obsession. 24/7. So I read all the cussing, cursing, namecalling, shaming, insulting etcetera on Facebook. Hence I don’t get it that Mr Rogan is reminded of his “language.” Especially by those with nasty mouths on their typing fingers. Hypocrisy? 🗣👇👥

Maybe I am a cold, pragmatic dude. Not a fan of flattery. Super emphatic drama. Exaggerated superlatives. Public exhibition of obligatory niceness. But I guess these are the times of bloated hallelujahs. 1 million clicks in 15 seconds. Post a pic that is your ugliest; expect “You are beautiful!” though you are just being silly. Friend performs in an open mic and it sucks! Homeys: “Man, that was awesome!” I don’t mean be rude, harsh, or smart-ass. Just be honest. Or hush. LOL! 🤨😏🤨

About Dogs and Cats and their Buddies.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page. 

RESEARCHERS found that dogs performed similarly to some dolphins and whales in the ability to be creative, and that there were individual differences in the fluency, flexibility and originality of the dogs' behaviors. Get that? Now you may ask cats for their exhaustive documentation of dog behavior, complete with tally chart or frequency table, line graph, pie chart, bar chart, histogram, scatter diagram, distribution graphs plus DNA analysis, photo gallery, and video records. 🐕🐳🐕

GENIUSES at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics find the word "pet" derogatory. They advocate the terms “animal companion” or “companion animal” instead. Pet is/was defined as a domestic or tamed animal kept for companionship or pleasure. Apparently that definition isn’t correct, says the Immaculates of Academia. Fizz: “Just be nice to us. You may call me and my sister any name. We don’t care. It’s all about you, anyways. Not about us.” 🐈🥸🐈‍⬛

OFFERING abundant targets to laugh at and about, authority is a perpetual source of humor for stand up comics and late night rabble rousers. For a time, I was laughing then I got old and grumpy, and the societal divide got eerily wider. Not funny anymore. Insult, shaming, ridiculing, putting down. I miss the days of Jerry Lewis, Amos `n’ Andy, Robin Williams, Gallagher Brothers (not Oasis), Richard Pryor, The Three Stooges. “Boingg! Whap! Toink! Boom! Ewwwk!” 😅😂🤪

MICE are an easy target for cats. Much like birds, another favorite feline prey, mice are the perfect size for little paws and don't put up much of a fight. Cats are also attracted to a mouse's flittering, skittering, unpredictable movement. But that is old-school. Cats and mice have forged a tactical alliance versus stink bugs in the house. You can’t see the mice in your house because cats taught them ninja tricks. Invisibility, you know. But cats and mice usually ride at dawn to hunt stink bugs. 🐈🐁🐈‍⬛

CATS sleep between 12–16 hours a day. To humans, who need about seven hours of sleep during adulthood, that seems like a lot of time spent snoozing. Not too surprising that cats spend so much time resting. Hunting and exploring things in the house are energy-consuming activities, for Ching. For Fizz, googling stuff and reading books/magazines exhaust her. Yet before I wake up, Ching and Fizz are already up and about. They, in fact, wake me up at exactly my set time to get up. 🐱🦊😴

MEETING friends or new friends these days can be tricky. We are now used to “talking” or chatting on Social Media and obviously many forgot how to talk like humans. So you won’t offend your friends when you see each other in person, just stare while you text her/him–as you sit face to face. But be nice with your texts. Don’t send that annoying laughing emoji. Very offensive. You dig? 😶🫥😐

DO cats have a favorite in the house? Yes. They will show the most affection towards the person who spends the most time caring for them. But while others will be more comfortable loving you from afar, some of our feline friends are very secretive and private. Like Fizz. To know Fizz’s personal whatever or favorite spots, YouTube channels, toy, or food, you need to hack into her laptop. At an early age, she is writing her memoir. (As though what she wants aren’t so obvious.) 🐱🐈🐱

CATS can naturally find someone being so close to their face a bit intimidating, so it's very important that you stop if you think they're uncomfortable and, if you know this is something that your cat struggles with, it's best to avoid a selfie with them. Not with Cyd then and Ching now. Ching even asks sister Fizz to “groom” her face hair before a photo-shoot. And Ching prefers to be always on the front as the camera clicks. Although Fizz isn’t so cool with that cellphone cam silliness. 🐱📸🦊

THE average hooman spends 7 hours staring at an e-screen per day. Yup, what Fizz told me is accurate. Fizz: “One major reason why extra-terrestrials don’t bother to colonize earth despite numerous UFO sightings. They don’t dig hoomans.” Fizz argues that animals are better. She and Ching spend just 15 minutes max watching bird/fish videos, daily. Arrow doesn’t like a cellphone screen at all. She used to watch Jeopardy! with Cyd but not anymore since drama took over the game show. 👽👎📲

CATS are not pack animals the way dogs are. In a natural state they would choose to live alone or pair up with one buddy. Fizz and Ching are “paired up” not just because they are sisters. That’s just the way it is. Fizz though is more “leave me alone” attitude but Ching is very sociable to everybody. Do they blame Arrow for their shenanigans? No. They get along pretty well. They even sleep on one bed, Arrow’s bed in the bedroom, where I am the lucky guest. How lucky I could be! 🐱🐈🦊

Children and Us. And Memories.

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

THERE was a time when mom and dad used to admonish us children for watching too much TV. Junk, they said. I may have done the same to my kids when they were little but not as strict as my dad was. But then these days in the Age of the Internet by way of Social Media, I'd rather motivate teen-age and 20something youths to watch TV series like “Homeland,” “The Americans,” “Hell on Wheels,” and “The Newsroom” than spend time on Facebook trapped in those silly political so-called discussion. 

       Most people tend to simply shoot one-line blurbs that diss or praise without the “why.” At least, the shows that I mentioned offer compelling arguments and well-formulated/researched information very significant in discussion and dialogue, especially in educating the young. 

       I grew up and was trained as a journalist. Facts. Double/triple-checked facts. We had to fight for those facts. Not even my dad could sway me with sermonized ramblings about stuff. I will not debate him but I had to investigate further. Facebook election-related hubbub is replete with whimpers and echoes that may seem harmless. But due to the amount of false information in the guise of funny memes and “websites of folly” plus exchanges of barbs that stream in and out of the Homepage, these become dangerous. 

       I am not siding with any political candidate or preaching a Church creed or something. I just have to admit that many times I am moved to ask, “Really? Tell me, send me links and data and stuff to support your allegation.” None. The person in question either scoots out or continues to coax me to a sidewalk grubble. That's the time that I fall in a sewer of stupid debate over nothing.

       Since high school, I've always loved sociopolitical, economic and cultural discussions, especially from a historical and scientific point of view. My college years were backstopped by endless soirees and convergences where most of what we talked about were stuff around, mostly political. And I always got good words, new knowledge. When I shared something that needs to be corrected, I wasn't called a “moron” or “a dick.” Those around me offered additional information. That was the way it was before.

       These days, I don't know. I really want to know more about people. But I'd like to listen to someone who's got something to say in 15 paragraphs than someone who's got something to spit out in 4 words. Maybe that's the problem—we've lost the patience to listen and the ability to speak. 😏😒🤨

Aloneness is an understatement. And other thoughts.

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

MY immediate family are oceans away. Yet I never really felt loneliness the way I hear it from some friends, including those who are with loved ones. But I do feel sadness sometimes. Of course, I do. But living in this mountain idyll for almost eight years now has blessed me with sublime quiet and warm intimacy—and familial love from my friend Cindyrella—that negates whatever that may be defined as "loneliness." Life evolves. I enjoy my blessings. I write stuff that I know makes people feel better somehow. My sappy poems could still win a smile or two, albeit online. Well, that's all the little hero that I could ever be. I am happy being that kind of pasckie. Meantime, Georgia The Babedawg and Cyd The Koolcat are such transcendent gifts of presence. 🌬💨🥹

ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. I feel that at age 55, a relentless five decades of life that not many of my current friends have witnessed in me, I already experienced most of what life has to offer. I was a totally different person when I was in my 20s to early 40s. But although I experienced a lot more than an average 80 year old has, I didn't do the "wild" stuff. I mean, I've never experimented on drugs or engaged in any form of casual sex or never violated the law--apart from my rabid activism when I was in my 20s to late 30s which I call, civil disobedience. I've never been (legally/lawfully) charged with anything or ticketed for whatever--despite a very active life out there in communities in so many big cities and small towns in two continents. 

       Among many other adventures and misadventures--I have been to places that a few will dare tread, covered events that journalists refer to as "hot spots," raised kids at a very harsh time, been into life and death situation twice, "ran between the rain and bullets" as a traveler, backpacked like the road was my home, traveled my worst road trip ever beyond physical danger (which happened recently), and been to a most difficult relationship. 

       My emotional wear and tear supersedes my physical exhaustion--yet the spiritual growth that I derive from all these negates all the mental tiredness. But although you and I might say, we also experienced a most ideal relationship sometime years ago, till we wasted it so foolishly--that doesn't mean we can't experience another one. A lot better. There are a few thousand more miles left to negotiate. After all these crazy years, I haven't been healthier since my surgery in New York City in 2000. No vitamins, no food paranoia, no viagra--yet I can still sweat it playing basketball or doing yard work. No regular trips to the doctor for checkups, no pills, no let up with steamed white rice. I drink yet I know when to quit (gone down to two beers or two shots of tequila or vodka), no debts, no court dates--but sigh (!) still no wife and no girlfriend.

       Meantime, in life, we should accept in humility and surrender where we faltered and failed in those attempts and so we should know how to succeed the next time. They say save the best for last. Absolutely! As for me, for sure, next year will be closer to what I was. Just older and wiser. But a different life. I still got time to engage some entrepreneurs to a business hook-up in an Asia/US route, write more books and read them in cafes and universities, brainstorm a movie or two with my son, write more songs with my former band, fundtraise for typhoon victims, deliberate political upheavals and economic trends locally and globally with a think tank, play pickup basketball with my four brothers and nephews, visit France and Italy and Greece and the rest of the 7,641 islands in the Philippines that I haven't set foot on, and make love from dusk till dawn (if there's another chance, that is). 

       Therefore, the journey isn't over yet though. It just took a different route leading to the ultimate destination. On layovers, there will be chilled raw oysters and mango mojitos on the seaside and lots of laughter by a roadside cantina. 🌬💨🥹

About Dogs and Cats and their Buddies.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page. 

SOME 70 percent of today’s children spend at least 3 to 5 hours on devices every day. Which is a modest estimate, of course. So much of how children interact with each other, do their homework and entertain themselves has become more digital. Many even identify now with indoor cats. When offline, children now meow to tell mom they want dinner. Other children who ID as feral cats are “shamed” online as populists, evangelicals, or Chinese. 👧📱🧒

ARE bears really dangerous to humans? Bear behavior is unpredictable. Friendly or hostile. Each bear and each experience is unique. Yet most bear encounters end without injury. Meanwhile, there have been reports of ahimsa cats who are negotiating a truce with bears. Ahimsa cats are good at diplomacy. They can also teach bears how to google stuff or open a YouTube account so they can also watch fish videos. That’d distract bears from eating interpolating hoomans. 🐻🦊🐼

CHINESE officials have said they do not want war with America. China simply wants to do business. But you may ask, why are they buying all the chopsticks and woks in the U.S.? Nope. Those koolcats are Japanese merchants from Aoshima. Fizz and Ching also descended from that Japanese cat island, but they are mixed. The Wiz and The Zing’s ancestry are traced to Icelandic Viking Freydis Eiriksdottir and a greatgrandson of Samurai lord Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Hai! 🐱🥢👲

CHEAT, verb. Cheating, gerund or present participle. Act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination. Now, please don’t give me the correct definition, woke translation, Right-wing elaboration, or Left-wing explanation. Cheat, cheating. Done. 🤨🧐😝

DOGS can learn a lot of words in the English language or any other language that they're raised with. They can also pick up on our tones and distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar languages. Hence, they can also be taught how to write. Cyd then knew and now Fizz knows. Fizz also writes/meows in French, Says she: “Oui, les chiens peuvent apprendre à écrire.” Oui! 🐱👩‍🏫🐱

WHAT does “the world revolves around you” mean? To think you are extremely important; showing arrogance and conceit. But then, in case you’ve been isolated or indoors a lot even before the pandemic, and you spend 99.9 percent of your days in your bedroom, that’d mean your world is your room. Surely, your cats get offended by your arrogance and conceit. That is why they bitchlap you all the time. Now you know. 😁😒😾

RESEARCH shows dogs can help to reduce stress, anxiety and depression on a chemical level. There's ample studies highlighting the efficacy of trained service dogs, particularly those who are bred to have a calming temperament. So in case you are having “long Covid,” start sitting with your dog an hour a day. Your dog can prescribe you better treats to eat and lead you to the best spots in the yard to sniff-sniff. Good for your mental health, I guess. 🥹😭🐕

CATS have been shown to respond very positively to cat-specific music. Cat-specific music is mostly classical music, which also mimic/s sounds like purring. Cats tend to enjoy cat-specific music much more than music made for humans. Ching enjoys Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedie #1” and Franz Schubert’s “Schwanengsang D. 957” as background to fish and bird videos. Fizz though doesn’t dig the word “cat-specific.” She says it is an “incorrect” word. 😼🎼😽

THE Philippines is the country that takes the most selfies. Top selfie-madness people live in Makati City and Pasig, urban areas in Manila, with a population of around 500,000, who take around 258 selfies per 100,000. So you know why I have 5,000+ selfies stored on my FB. My nieces CD, Denise, Chien, and Chynna have 7k each; my nephew Rael Kobe has 1 million+. But the selfie winner in the family is my youngest bro Alvaro, with 3 million selfies, excluding 4 million videos, LOL! 📱📲🇵🇭

DOGS can use surprisingly complex tricks to deceive humans. Dogs aren't as honest and obedient as they might like to have us think. Especially if your dog lives with a cat. Cats teach dogs so many tricks. Such as the Lee Strassberg Method Acting. Almost all domesticated cats went to that school in New York. Feral cats got their lessons from shinobi koolcats in Aoshima cat island in Japan. These smart vagabond koolcats snuck in American merchant ships to go elsewhere, such as in Asheville. 🐕😹🐕‍🦺