to all pinoys who had their visa applications rejected... typhoon pedring has exacted his revenge for you!!!

 

Pics from this site...

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/13827/tsunami-waves-force-us-embassy-evacuation

sesame street + computer geeks sub cult

PRESENTING THE JOKE THAT MADE MY HECTIC FRIDAY...

some pics taken during a brownout while the storm was busy raping the country...

african american people sub cult

Song that makes you feel black, even if you ain't one...

IT AIN'T OVER TIL IT'S OVER

by Lenny Kravitz

Everytime I hear it, I feel my skin getting a bit darker... and a fro growing higher.

sometimes i get the weirdest email...

Dear Gabriel,

Greetings for the day.

We are pleased to invite you to our 4 days Certified Six Sigma Green Belt Training (CSSGB) training scheduled for

Manila on 27th, 28th, 29th & 30th Oct’11

Our Six Sigma Green Belt training will prepare you for the Certified Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB) exam conducted by American Societyfor
Quality (ASQ)®. Our training completely aligns with the ASQ® Body of Knowledge (BoK) based on which the candidates are examined.

Our unique blended model comprises of both classroom and eLearning content.
ELearning provides you a convenient Anytime, Anywhere login after the classroom session.

Course Overview & Benefits:
4 days classroom training
Course Material aligned to ASQ® BoK
3 months online Audio-Video content
3 full length ASQ® simulation Tests
45 PDUs Certificate - for existing PMP Certification holders
Unmatched Post-Program Support

For more details: Sixsigmatrainingexperts
Course Fee:  Avail Early Bird price of USD 949 if you Register on or before 7th Oct’11 in stead of
                      Standard price USD 1049

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks & Regards,
Rachel Howard
Rachel@sixsigmatrainingexperts.com
+61-2-8005-1484

the westeros sub cult in game of thrones reminds me of one thing only... MY OFFICE!!!

ito na ang big event ng mga shopping sub cultists...

when you're unsubcultured, you post e-posters to events that HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED [and of course you missed]...

game of thrones sub cult

Some "life" lessons learned while watching the first three episodes of GAME OF THRONES...

[1] Bitches are much more dangerous than wolves

[2] Woman on top is gooooooood

[3] Blonde Princes are losers/cowards

[4] Like ABS-CBN, HBO can make good teleseryes too

[5] If you star in a LORD OF THE RINGS movie, you'll be typecasted

    for life

thank you blue eagles for making me smile during the last day of my hell week...

Tapusin niyo na sa Martes!

tiklop bike + manila tourism + toy camera sub cult

Why do I love biking in Manila? The old school shit... where every thing is a photo op! This pics were taken last Sunday, the day before my birthday. My last ride of "43." It was also my last happy moment of the week, birthday included.

some subcultured friends during my birthday...

waiting for the silver lining... wherever, whenever that may be...

Add caption

office shit + smoking sub cult

There was this one time... I got so stressed out... I had to ask for a cig from my officemate. Boy, I haven't been to the smoking area in months...

tugs tugs tugs sub cult

I am clubbing unsubcultured. Or to put it bluntly, I hate clubs and clubbing!

BUT...

I know some DJs...

NIKI, CAO, MARS, PATCH.

What's my point? 

Nada.

I just wanted to write a blog entry so badly. 

i think i need to repost this in order for me to move on and feel better about my bad post-birthday week...

Summer rain,

dripping down your face again
Summer rain,

praying someone feels the same
Take the pain killer, 

cycle on your bicycle
Leave all this misery behind

- from the song PAINKILLER by TURIN BRAKES

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT...

"The alterna-rock band R.E.M has disbanded after 31 fine years!"

... AND I FEEL FINE.

this is on my back right now... it's tough being part of the world of dog-eat-dog-i-worship-money show bizness sub cult...

this is one of the worst days of my work life. and it had to be one day after my birthday. no mercy here at the snakepit!

post birthday angst

I'm disappointed that the "ex-loves of my life" and some "modern day crushes" forgot to greet me today. It's on Twitter and Facebook. My brain, my aortas and ventricles are now unliking and uncrushing y'all. 

Word.

'TY-FOUR yrs old

'Scuse me while I go EMO. It's my BIRTHDAY after all... and it's my blog anyway! 

This is going to be cheesy but I have to do it... I have to be THANKFUL for all 'TY-FOUR years I've walked this planet.

• I am thankful for all my friends [disc, surf, college, high school, advertising, office, etc] - for getting me drunk, laughing with me, traveling with me, chatting with me, etc.  Special thanks goes out to my friends who are also my "crushes"[all of them from disc]. for making my day every time I see them. Too bad some are in a relationship and the others, well, let's just say I'm just friggin' scared of crossing the "friend" barrier. Yes, you probably don't know who I'm referring to.

• I am thankful for my general health. I may have gout and high blood and probably angina [google it, don't ask me] but at least it ain't debilitating. I can still bike but not do Ultimate. Yup, I've retired. Also, I'm thankful I'm just fat. At least I aint fat fat or even fat fat fat.

• I am thankful for all the shoes I can afford to buy. I may have gone overboard already but what's done is done and all I can do is wear all of 'em, Imeldifically.

• I am thankful for all the gadgets I was able to purchase despite my relatively low salary as compared to my peers in the ad industry. My Lumix, iPad, iPod, LG LCD TV, Samsung Galaxy Mini mobile phone, etc. have made my days and nights fun. In fact I'm writing this shit on my new Macbook Pro hehehe.

• I am thankful that through sheer hard work, I now own Apples, my Honda City. Now I can sell her and get a new one.

• I am thankful for my job. Despite all the flak my group has been getting lately, and despite all the nagging, whining clients, I can still deliver.

• I am thankful for my officemates. Most of them are okay. Some aren't. But who gives an f right?

• I am thankful for my family. Thank you for having a cool mom, great cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces. 

• I am thankful for this blog for keeping me sane... and insane, sometimes.

• I am thankful that my favorite basketball team, the Ateneo Blue Eagles are going for their 4th straight championship. For those who hate us for being dominant, you don't understand. You see, this is payback for us being in the dark ages for a long, long time.

• I am thankful for myself... for being the coolest, funniest, wittiest, most good-looking, smartest, etc person I know.

Thanks for all the 'TY-FOUR years. Here's to 'TY-FOUR more years.

my last saturday of "43"

office sub cult

My workmates gave me a surprise merienda for my upcoming birthday on Monday. Damn, call me emo but I was really touched. Almost got teary-eyed. Really. Made my busy day. 

I was also surprised because how were they able to bring all the food inside the conference room without me noticing? Was I that busy? I usually know when food is around. Geez I must be losing it. 

running sub cult

The only AXN marathon I'm doing is the one in front of the TV, with chips and soda --- THE WAY IT'S MEANT TO BE! 

toy collectors/hobbyists sub cult

Looks "geekishly" interesting... 

my last friday of "43"

uaap sub cult

Ateneo wins against UST in the final four.

69-66

BLUE EAGLES NOW IN THE FINALS... AGAIN.

[When UST missed that potential game-tie-ing trey in the last seconds I gave ONE BIG SIGH OF RELIEF ]

unsubcultured does not know what a #hashtag is damnit!

my last thursday of "43"

Go arreneow... beat the tigers!

the unsubcultured license to wreak havoc on manila street with apols just got renewed!

THIS ALSO MEANS I AM DRUG FREE!

[now back to doing "bud" things]

blue eagle sub cult

Why am I still loyal to my alma mater slash BLUE CULT after all these years? One of the many reasons is this...

It may not mean a lot but it still is important. I mean, do you still get letters like this from your school? With some schools, they just get your money... give your ass a diploma and then good riddance, see ya. Onto the next victims.

late bloomer

It took me years to realize this: WTF am I doing working in this snakepit? It's not in my nature.  

my last wednesday of "43"

guilty as charged...

WHY WE ARE SHALLOW by F. Sionil Jose

Why we are shallow
HINDSIGHT By F Sionil Jose (The Philippine Star) Updated September 12, 2011 12:00 AM 

I was visited by an old Asian friend who lived here 10 years ago. I was floored by his observation that though we have lots of talented people, as a whole, we continue to be shallow.
Recently, I was seated beside former Senator Letty Shahani, PhD in Comparative Literature from the Sorbonne, watching a medley of Asian dances. The stately and classical Japanese number with stylized movements which perhaps took years to master elicited what seemed to me grudging applause. Then, the Filipino tinikling which any one can learn in 10 minutes; after all that energetic jumping, an almost standing ovation. Letty turned to me and asked, “Why are we so shallow?”
Yes, indeed, and for how long?
This is a question which I have asked myself, which I hope all of us should ask ourselves every so often. Once we have answered it, then we will move on to a more elevated sensibility. And with this sensibility, we will then be able to deny the highest positions in government to those nincompoops who have nothing going for them except popularity, what an irresponsible and equally shallow media had created. As my foreign friend said, there is nothing to read in our major papers.
Again, why are we shallow?
There are so many reasons. One lies in our educational system which has diminished not just scholarship but excellence. There is less emphasis now on the humanities, in the study of the classics which enables us to have a broader grasp of our past and the philosophies of this past. I envy those Hindus and Buddhists who have in their religion philosophy and ancestor worship which build in the believer a continuity with the past, and that most important ingredient in the building of a nation — memory.
Sure, our Christian faith, too, has a philosophical tradition, particularly if we connect it to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Remember, the first Bible was in Greek. But Greek, Latin and the classics in these languages are no longer taught in our schools the way these are still studied in many universities in Europe.
We are shallow because we are mayabang, ego driven, and do not have the humility to understand that we are only human, much too human to mistake knowledge for wisdom. We can see this yabang in some of our public commentators, particularly on TV — the know-it-alls who think that because they have so much knowledge — available now on the Web at the click of a button — they can answer every question posed to them. What they do not realize is that knowledge is not wisdom. Until they recognize that important if sometimes awful difference, they will continue to bluster their way to the top at our expense because we, the people, will then have to suffer their arrogance and ignorance.
We are shallow because with this arrogance, we accept positions far beyond our competence. Because there is no critical tradition in this country — a tradition which will easily separate the chaff from the grain, we cannot recognize fakery from the real goods. That outstanding scholar, Wilfredo Villacorta, is a rare bird indeed; when offered a high position in government, he refused it because he knew he was not qualified for the job. Any other mayabang academic would have grabbed it although he knows he can’t handle it. And so it happens always — the nitwits who hold such high positions stubbornly hold on to their posts, bamboozling their subordinates who may be brighter than them for that is the only way those who are inferior feel they can have respect. On the other hand, the intelligent person will be aware of his shortcomings. He does not hesitate to ask the opinion of those who know more than him on particular subjects. If he is a government hierarch, he will surround himself with advisers who he knows can supply him with guidance and background possessing as they do more knowledge, experience and wisdom than him. Such an official is bound to commit fewer mistakes because he knows himself.
We are shallow because we lack this most important knowledge — who we are and the limits to what we can do.
We also lack the perception, and the courage, for instance, to deny these religious quacks and the thousands who listen and believe in them. Sure, religion is the opium of the masses as Marx said. So then, how can we prevent the masa from taking this poison without recognizing their right to make fools of themselves? Again, shallowness because the good people are silent. Ubi boni tacent, malum prosperat. Where good men are silent, evil prospers.
This shallowness is the impediment to prosperity, to justice, and men of goodwill should emphasize this, take risks even in doing so. As the late Salvador P. Lopez said, “It is better to be silenced than to be silent.”
We are shallow because our media are so horribly shallow. Every morning, I peruse the papers and there is so little to read in them. It is the same with radio — all that noise, that artifice.
I turn on the TV on prime time and what do I get? Five juvenile commentators gushing over the amors of movie stars, who is shacking up with whom. One of the blabbering panelists I distinctly remember was caught cheating some years back at some movie award. How could she still be on TV after that moral destruct? And the telenovelas, how utterly asinine, bizarre, foolish, insipid moronic and mephitic they are! And there are so many talented writers in our vernaculars and in English as the Palanca Awards show every year — why aren’t they harnessed for TV? Those TV moguls have a stock answer — the ratings of these shows are very high. Popularity not quality is their final arbiter. They give our people garbage and they are now giving it back to all of us in kind! So I must not be blamed if, most of the time, I turn on BBC. Aljazeera, rather than the local TV channels. It is such a pleasure to read The New York Times, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post, to listen to “Fresh Air” on US public radio and public TV where my ever-continuing thirst for knowledge (and good entertainment) is quenched.
We are shallow because we don’t read. I go to the hospital on occasion — the long corridor is filled with people staring into the cosmos. It is only I who have brought a book or a magazine. In Japanese cities, in Korea — in the buses and trains, young and old are reading, or if they are not holding books and magazines, they are glued to their iPhones where so much information is now available.
In these countries and in Western cities, the bookshops are still full, but not so much anymore because the new communications technologies are now available to their masa. How I wish my tiny bookshop or any Filipino bookshop for that matter would be filled with people. I’ll make an exception here: BookSale branches are always full because their books are very cheap. But I would still ask: what kind of books do Filipinos buy?
We are shallow because we have become enslaved by gross materialism, the glitter of gold and its equivalents, for which reason we think that only the material goods of this earth can satisfy us and we must therefore grab as much as can while we are able. Enjoy all these baubles that we have accumulated; sure, it is pleasurable to possess such artifacts that make living trouble free. And that old anodyne: “Man does not live by bread alone,” who are the thinking and stubborn few who believe in it?
I hope that those who read this piece still do.

this is my 1331st post. it might not be a lot as compared to other bloggers but these 1331 posts have kept me sane while doing office work...

my last tuesday of "43"

pinoy slang sub cult...

Don't know if this is true but the old skool slang word "SPUTING" [which means wearing stylish clothes] came from the English word SPORTING. 

Again, I don't know if it's BS or not. 

tomorrow the gay sub cult of the Philippines will have their version of the SUPERBOWL, NBA FINALS, WIMBLEDON, UAAP FINALS, WORLD CUP, WORLD SERIES, GRAND PRIX, ETC... it's called...

the zombies are coming... i can smell 'em!

boxing sub cult

I was late for work this morning because I caught this documentary on HBO...

For the boxing unsubcultured, a few facts... this was one of the greatest prizefights ever, and it was held in Manila in the 70s. I was a kid at that time and all I knew was that Ali was such a popular guy, they even named a mall after him. Would have been stupid to call the Ali Mall the Frazier Mall anyway. 

Learned a few things too... 

• Ali had a big motormouth that just wouldn't stop. He used the "race" card to promote the fight and to paint a bad picture of Joe Frazier who he referred to as an ugly gorilla, dumb and an "Uncle Tom [a black man subservient to the white boys]"

• Joe resented this and used all his might to stand toe to toe with Ali in Manila. Frazier lost but he earned the respect of Ali who apologized afterwards for all the things he said to Joe.

• Ali, the overconfident, arrogant, popular & richer fighter who got better of the bloody rivalry gets Parkinson's Disease while Frazier, the loser, the man who always lived in the shadow of Ali, grows old with no debilitating disease.

I GUESS KARMA'S A BITCH.... THAT OR LIFE HAS THIS UNCANNY WAY OF EVEN-ING THINGS FOR ALL OF US. 

on unsubcultured's "wish lust" --- the MINOX DCC Leica M3 5MP Digital Camera

my last monday of "43"

family reunion. bored. short attention span kicked in. went photo tripping...