Gloria, the Queen of Comebacks

Unbelievable. And yet here she is. She is back ladies and gentlemen. You hated, vilified, cursed, loved, praised her. We thought that was the end of her. Whatever happened to that disease she had? To that wheelchair? The neck-brace? Her big fat fool of a husband? The little piglet of a son?

We all though she would go down straight to hell, but not even Satan himself could bring her down. She is the new Enrile, female and younger version.

 As she holds the third most powerful seat in the land, the country is poised again for another wild ride. New chapters in our history will be written again, and other chapters will be burned and forgotten. The sheep nation will be bleating a new chorus once again; another one of those glaring bullshits.

How did she do it? How did it all happen?

So many politicians have tried and succeeded in coming back, but no one else did it so smoothly, skillfully, treacherously than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

I was an Arroyo supporter. But there’s still a bit of a perverted sycophant Arroyo  sympathizer inside me. In some ways, I am really happy to see her holding the Speakership of the Philippine House of Representatives.

I believe she can handle this Congress very well. And whatever the legislative agenda of the Duterte administration is, you can bet your ass that this little megalomaniac dwarf can and will deliver it, by all means, at the expense of freedom and democracy- even with all the absentee congressmen and shit.

We can all thank St. Luke, twisted justice and Philippine social amnesia for this.

So let’s sit back and watch it all unfold.

Welcome back GMA.

Lakompake: Ang mabuting balita mula kay Senyora

Grabe, dedication pa lang, hagalpak ka na sa katatawa.

One of the most amusing, and perhaps, important work of genius for the millennials and modern society in general.

Senyora Santibanez, the richest, most beautiful, most dede-full, icon of pinoy social media has graced us hampaslupa with her book on many issues that has troubled her, tested her patience, at mga hampaslupang salot sa lipunan.

So I started reading this and followed this instruction

So ngayon hindi nako shunga shunga, LOL!

Madami kang malalaman at mapupulot na aral kasi mahilig mag research yan si Senyora (at sa tingin ko, minsan may mga hugot din, ayaw pang aminin).

Mula sa mga usapang nagpapainit sa ulo ni Senyora, mga paasa at mga malalanding pangit, mula dede hanggang sa mga paminta, lahat ng yan matutunan mo, magpapasaya at magbibigay ng good vibes sayo, at babawas din the katangahan mo.

Trust me. After reading this, less na ang pagka shunga ko. Pramis.

For some good vibes and easy read, Lakompake is for you.

Fall of Giants: In case you want more of Downton Abbey

Ken Follett is simply the best among historical fiction writers, a rock star in the literary world of little nerds like me.

After reading his monolithic works of the Kingsbridge series- “Pillars of the Earth” and “World Without End” (the third book has come out, A Column of Fire), I embarked on another journey as I began to read the first of the Century Trilogy, “Fall of Giants”.

A book and tea time….

It is the early 20th century. Somewhere in England, Earl Fitzherbert had a fling with his smart housekeeper who has dreams of rising above her station. Lady Maud, a suffragette, fights for women’s right to vote while keeping a secret affair with a diplomat who has a secret of his own. Billy, a working class miner grows up to know more about faith and about the truths of their society and started questioning the authority of the establishment. Somewhere in Russia, two brothers struggle to earn their wages and save money to buy their ticket to the land of the free, the United States of America. Somewhere in America, Gus Dewar prepares himself for a visit to the Old Continent while working for the US President.

It all seemed that the pristine lives of the upper-class will remain in power and grace, and it seemed that lives of the working-class were condemned to perpetual struggle to fight and work for some comfort and peace. They didn’t realize that the balance of power and the boundaries of all social classes will be shattered with the murder of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, that will eventually throw the whole world into war.

Follett gives us interesting details and vivid imagery of people’s lives in the early 1900’s, and how the war has changed everything and everyone. It is the most interesting history book I’ve read, and it is the most heart-endearing and powerfully dramatic historical fiction I’ve ever loved so far.

Forget those Netflix series. Read this book. You will learn history, fall in love, shed a tear, be moved to love your rights and freedom, and get smarter.

The Pact

One of the most moving and thought-provoking novels I’ve read so far. Jodi Picoult just proved that she is one of America’s finest contemporary writers.

The Hartes and Golds were not just neighbors. They were almost like family. They shared almost everything. They were best friends. And more than that, they thought that they would become in-laws since their children were in a relationship.

The friendship and love that blessed these families is something of a fairytale that everyone would wish to have. Until one day, when their children decided to commit a double suicide, and everything went from beautiful to haunting, and heart-breaking.

This book will lure you to the beauty of life and love, make you dream, but in the end it will impose upon you questions on life and death, suicide and the sense of living, on how much love will do to make someone happy. It will haunt you and sometimes break your heart.

When you thought you’ve already figured out everything in life, that your career and the wisdom you’ve gained over the years and friendships you’ve built will be the very foundations that will hold your future together. Then here comes one tragic death and everything falls apart. Is there hope after death? Is there a future for you when you’re slowly losing everything in your life?

Highly recommended for everyone, even to those who are contemplating death or those who are exploring suicidal thoughts.

Tripster A.D. part 02- The Search for the Cleaner

Coming back to Italy reminded me again of that peculiar thought I had on my way to Vienna. Who will clean up my stuff after my death? I need a ‘cleaner’.

People  usually hire lawyers for this stuff, but the exorbitant fees of their services are just enough to kill your dead self again. And besides, lawyers are much more concerned on the legal stuff. I need someone whose services and silence are free, whose loyalty is unquestionable.

You don’t just pick any person for this job. You don’t just bestow a tricky role to anybody, not even to any family member. This is about leaving behind a legacy, clearing up browsing history, and throwing away undesirable things that would have been unthinkable to be associated to your persona, your own High Priest who will dwell in your inner sanctum.

But what exactly would the Cleaner do?

He starts as the Confidante. This is the period when he starts to build up a certain professional relationship with the client- knowing his personality, character and background. In this period, the client will assess whether this confidante is trustworthy enough, loyal and able to handle all his innermost deep dark secrets.

Once he passed the test, he will become the client’s Confessor. This is the phase where the client will share all his secrets and perversions, things he couldn’t utter with anyone else. And this is the time when the client will share the knowledge of what to do after his death, where to look for certain things, and how to dispose everything.

He becomes the cleaner soon after the death of the client. The client must leave a certain will saying that the Cleaner is given right and exclusive freedom and duty to oversee certain items of the dead, leaving such instructions to his lawyer, if he has one.

I have thought this through and perhaps I might go through some details and polish them.

I realized later on, as I was writing this, that I was so occupied on drafting the job description of a cleaner, and so busy writing down names of possible candidates, when at this point of my life, what I really need is a LOVER.

Sigh. Life is so complicated.