Achieving Happiness

Norman Bordadora of the Philippine Daily Inquirer is a friend of mine. We attended the same college and majored in the same course. We were also in the Philippine Collegian together (he was in News, and I was in Features, along with Bayan Muna’s Amerina Padilla). I know that Norman is a sweet person and he has a healthy sense humor (I’m beginning  to remember certain anecdotes involving him and an ex-girlfriend of his, but that’s  a different story), so when I read the article he wrote on the congressional neophytes and youngest members of the House of Representatives Sharrie Ann Tan, Rexlon Gatchalian and Erwin Tieng, I went "Holy crap, is it just me or is Norman just write a subtle but unmistakably mean report?!"
Is it just me, or am I right in thinking that Norman wrote an personal profile/news report that deliberately made its subjects look shallow, inane, and, well, stupid?

""Like any other young lady her age (Tan), reads fashion magazines.""
Someone please get me a barfbag. I can’t be accused of being a snob because I also read fashion magazines when I see them; but couldn’t she have at least pretended that she likes to read, oh I don’t know, The Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mockingbird?! Sharrie Ann Tan could have tried for wittiness and said that Elle and
Vogue carry articles on political issues of the day such as how even
the Republicans are pulling out their support for Bush’ war in Iraq,
and how feminism does not mean not wearing make-up or  looking like a
sack of potatoes. (Interruption here — while waiting at  the dentist’s office, I read an article in Candy magazine wherein a popular young adult star in her mid 20s confessed that she had heard that To Kill a Mockingbird is supposed to be a good ‘pocketbook’ and so she hopes to read it soon. Reading that I felt my broken tooth throb like hell despite the painkiller I’d taken just 10 minutes before. Anyways. No sarcasm here, pero sana nabasa na niya ngayon ang TKAM.).
So where was I before I interrupted myself? Oh yeah, the new reformers. They were talking about themselves and their legis agenda with the editorial board of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and and they said that they like to hang out and par-tay. What the hell were they thinking? They were talking to the likes of Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc and Isagani Yambot - not to Tim Yap or Tessa Prieto Valdez.
So they hang out in exclusive bars and coffeeshops?! Juice ko. During Ka Bel’s first term in office, he’d get invited to meetings in hotels, and syempre, alangan naman sumama pa ako sa loob so I would wait along with the rest of the security staff in the lobby. None of us dared to go and sit in the small cafes where a demitasse of hot chocolate cost P175!!!
Ano naman kayang klaseng legislative agenda ang maaring mabuo kung ang lugar na pinagpupulungan ay exclusive restaurants, cafes or bars? I hardly think that they would come up with measures like bringing down the costs of electricity, water rates, or  increasing allocations for public housing, health and education if they’re surrounded by so much opulence and throwing P200 per bottle of bubbly water.
And where the hell is  Martinis?! Magkano naman kaya ang beer dun?!
Mabaliw-baliw ako. Makes me feel so angry and desperate that Mong Palatino did not become congressman. He’d have been the best and the brightest young lawmaker in the 14th congress.  He’d run circles around even the older lawmakers. Instead we have the likes of Gatchalian, et al, who discuss their legislative agenda in hotels drinking and having fun ‘like other people their age, and who saw nothing wrong with the manner of how Jose de Venecia was elected Speaker.
Hindi sila ang mukha ng pulitika ng pagbabago o reporma sa konggreso, and as a youngish person myself, I am personally appalled that they will tauted as the voice of the youth in congress. How can be so cavalier as to describe where the heck they gather to ‘talk shop’ ? Okay, so they’re honest, pero nakakahiya. Hindi na nahiya kahit kaunti. Parang laro o hobby sa kanila ang pagiging kongresista. Kakairita.
—
Was burned a nice mahogany  brown last Monday during the BAYAN People’s SONA rallies. My nose is still peeling, but am grateful that at least the sunburn is even all over and I don’t look like a piebald horse.
I missed the anti-SONA protest last year because I was in Hong Kong clearing my head, so was extra-glad to have been able to attend this year’s protests. 
As always, ang galing-galing at ang ganda-ganda ng pagkakagawa ng aswang na effigy ng Ugat-Lahi. I almost cried when it was torched and Sonny Africa kept laughing at me for trying to plead for the effigy (this year a blue-green skinned GMA mananggal in a royal blue and violet satiny dress and a tiara of skulls and bones).
Talked with JL (Burgos) and again it was quite difficult to ask the usual opening question when one runs into friends — ‘Kamusta ka?"
His answer  — ‘Okay lang, walang choice e.’
Still, the waiting, the uncertainty, the barely contained desperation of it all, and the anger over the lies of the government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
JL said no one in the Burgos family is surprised that the AFP is coming out with new counter-arguments and passing on the blame for Jonas’ abduction to the NPA.
They’re more surprised that it’s taken the AFP so long to come with their latest lies. JL said that if it everything wasn’t so despicable and outrageous, he’d be tempted to laugh — "Kung ano-aong kabobohan na lang ang sinasabi nila!’.
But no one is laughing.
I’m relieved that JL didn’t take it amiss when I said, haltingly, that if it weren’t for his brother, hanggang ngayon walang malinaw at kilalang mukha ang mga desaparacido. After the hall, Jonas’ case is the one wherein the abductors have been clearly identified, as well as the means and methods they implemented to facilitate his aduction. The media has also been very supportive and continues to give the story the prominence it deserves.
JL  smiled and said, "Magte-tengkyu na lang tayo kay utol pag nakita na natin siya."
—

Tapos ko na ang Harry Potter 7! My sister took pity on me and gave me the moolah to buy the book. Harhar, I didn’t have to wreck my eyes reading the electronic version that Kim ripped off the internet. He accuses me of making JK Rowling rich, I said hinding-hindi na mauulit; Ipapamana pa natin ang libro sa mga anak natin…I tried to justify.
In any case, we really had no choice but to buy the hardbound edition because the paperback won’t be out for at least a year, and my mom can’t read the small text without getting a splitting headache. Isa pa, all my cousins on my mom’s side are going to borrow it so cost efficient pa rin (do I sound guilty spending P1,350 on a book? because I feel guilty. Hay).

I liked it a lot. Cried over some parts, laughed over others. Generally, it was satisfying because JK Rowling tied up the  entire story quite tightly and nicely. It’s always great to escape into a well-written novel (ayoko nang magcomplain over the OA touches na win pa rin naman).

I’d write an in-depth review kaso baka marami pa ang hindi nakakabasa so will forego that for now. I will not be a spoiler like Kim who read the electronic version and while he did kept yelling out what he had just read like what happened to Dobby, to one one of the Weasly twins, and it was all I could to stop myself from grabbing a stapler and stapling his lips shut.

–

Nakaka-adik ang Heroes.

Quite possibly, my most favorite novel that ended well is John Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman. I never tire of reading it. Literally not get tired because it doesn’t weigh so hard on the heart although on the brain it’s imposes a hefty pressure. The narrator weaves in and out of the story and he describes the conflict that rages within the protagonist Charles Smithson’s psyche and sense of morality in a way that makes the reader feel quite familiar with Charles — like he’s a cousin you go drinking with ever so often and when he doesn’t need to down so much alcohol to start spilling his innermost secrets.
It’s character dissection, and it’s so amazing to me both as a reader and a writer. I wish I could learn how to do that!
—

These days I wish I could just get on the bus and head off somewhere peaceful. My inner serenity is shot to ribbons and I feel like a cat with a caffeine IV drip. It doesn’t help that Kim is busy with teaching and other important things so we don’t get to spend enough time together so I bitch and moan and complain all by my lonesome (and my right hand is cramping from writing too long in my journal about how I feel like Esther Greenwood trying to lift the bell jar).
Suddenly I miss being a college student. This is just an Avenue Q moment where they all sing  I wish I could go back to college, in college you knew who you were.
I used to walk to all my classes not so much to save on fare but to enjoy the trees and the grass and to see the occasional fuzzy caterpillar on a bunjee jump. In the mornings my blockmates/friends Pia, Gisselle, Marie Anne and Charmaine and I would eat breakfast in CASAA and more often than not breakfast meant pancakes.
In the afternoons when I had no classes I usually went about on my own (this was all before I got into the Collegian and LFS).I loved the main library and how one could get lost among the forest of tall bookshelves, the musty smell of old books and the atmosphere of quiet study (or quiet grief, happiness or desperation, depending on the mood of some of the people who barricaded themselves behind their notes and stacks of readings).

When I was 13 and the Jefferson Cultural Center in Makati was still open, I applied for a borrower’s card and lied about my age because one had to be at least 15 to be eligible for a card. I broke out in hot and cold sweat when I submitted my application, and when it was approved a week later and I was given my card I was so nervous that I’d be found out. My mom said that if the US embassy ever found out I’d be denied a visa and I’ll never be able to go to the States and I’d regret lying about how old I was.

Now almost two decades later natatawa ako. Going to the US is the least of my problems. in the meantime, my sister is going to the US next month and I warned her not to say anything about me, her sibling and what I do.

"I lied about my age to the Jefferson Center and the US embassy might find out. Baka i-block ang visa application mo dahil kapatid mo ay sinungaling!"

That’s it! I need to go to a library to regain my equilibrium.

—
Countdown to the SONA on Monday. Let the wild rumpus begin!

I wonder how the hell Pres. Arroyo faces herself in the mirror every morning when she knows damn well how she is so loathed. And how does she live knowing that during her watch, over 850 have been killed and the death toll continues to increase and  she cannot risk alienating the Armed Forces of the Philippines so she declares her full support for them and the atrocities they perpetrate against mass activists and human rights workers?

As for the economy, gad, don’t let Sonny Africa get started!

***

Who’s trying to kid whom? Jose de Venecia will again be elected House Speaker. The man has practically glued himself to the seat. It’s embarrassing how all these senior politicians have no shame when it comes to staying in power. It’s pure, unadulterated greed.

Dapat hindi  bibinigyan ng sweldo ang mga pulitiko, allowance lang. Their bank records should be strictly monitored by the public and anti-corruption groups. Let’s see how long they’ll want to stay in office and work in government.

Expect no changes in how work is conducted in the House of Representatives with JDV again at the helm. The politics of compromise and accomodation reign supreme. It’s sickening, it’s disgusting.Vote for JDV and get P1 million in travel allowance!

–

Yesterday I admitted that I was evil. Today am admitting that I’m lazy.
If the Macapagal-Arroyo government ever intends to have me arrested, it should be for laziness because am such a sloth. Am too lazy to be a terrorist.. (little joke there, hehe; although I know it’s really not a laughing matter. Okay, so am laughing nervously…)
To jumpstart my brain I frequent bookstores and flog myself for being a lazy writer. i look at the rows and row of new publications books and magazines and newspapers at the newsagent’s and I mentally bang head against the closest wall and chide myself SO WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR OUTPUT?!
I’m a lazy reader as well because instead of reading new things, I keep rereading books I’ve read, oh, hundreds of times before. I hunt for bargains in Booksale (and yeah, there’s this ukay-ukay bookbin in the building next door to Alimall and I brought two books by British contemporary authors I  read about somewhere) and then I stick my finds in the bookshelf where dust will gently but inevitably settle. Oh the sadness of being an unread book on the bookshelf! I imagine them crying at night, insulted and almost mortally hurt at being surrounded by other books well-read and well-worn.
Anyways, I’m lazy.
Jut last night as I plodded my way home I thought to myself how come I don’t make new friends anymore. I mean, am really lucky to make at least one friend a year (I was lucky last year in Hong Kong when I made more than three — jackpot year for me), but then am so lazy in keeping up friendships. The more recent, newer ones, I mean. I simply cannot be bothered anymore. On a Friday night after I’ve changed and gotten into my pambahay and I’ve settled on the couch like milk almond pudding, not even the summons of two of my closest friends in the world could get me up and out for iced tea and cake or whatever.
I wasn’t like that before. Not that I was ever a party-goer, but I did like hanging out.
Now, well, am milk almond pudding settled on the couch.
—
Macapagal-Arroyo delivers her sixth SONA on Monday. Prepare to throw up on her on offering of lies and deceits.
I hope it doesn’t rain, but just in case, I wish there’d be a command that participants would wear swim suits under their clothes so there’d be no need for umbrellas, etc. It’s such a hassle, carrying umbrellas.  I frequently lose them, so more often than not I don’t bring one. Also, if it doesn’t rain, the government will make it rain through one way or another: cloud seeding, or having the fire department take out their fire engines loaded with filthy water and threaten the rallyists with an sudden shower.

I admit it: I am an evil person. Evil, evil evil. I have a short fuse, often my tolerance is limited, and my biases are very sharp and defined. It’s really a wonder that I became an activist considering how much I dislike being around other people. Because of this I
walk around guilty, carrying my guilt like an albatross around my neck. I prefer children and animals to adults; I have better fun on my own, and I hate hate hate it when people disappoint me by being effing unkind, inconsiderate, indifferent to the pain of others.
People who really know me know that I have a very short temper and am capable of exploding like a hand grenade. Right now I feel like a tightrope walker who does not fear falling, but if she did, would very much to fall on someone extremely annoying and unlikable so as to do the world a favor.
—
As a consequence of my foul mood in the last three days, I went off to watch Ratatouille yesterday afternoon. For an hour or so I forgot how wretched I was. Watching a talking rat enjoy a plate of cheese, strawberries and crusty French bread does wonders for one’s stress.
Why am I wretched? My brain is tired from too much writing, and from writing too fast. I’m also pissed off with my husband who refused to lend me his flashdrive last Sunday (sobrang damot) so I was forced to pay for wi-fi just so I could get a file out and send it somewhere (am soooo pissed off).Also, my right arm  hurts like a bitch because I banged against a door (yeah, yeah, I’m a klutz).
So while everyone else was protesting against the implementation of the Human Security Act, I’ve been writing about it and getting angrier and angrier by the minute. And I’m not done writing and I’m still angry.
Of course I still smile at my newly-released boss while I tell him or show what I’ve written recently. It’s funny how Ka Bel’s image in the media is (I think) one of a  hard-nosed labor leader who’s all seriousness; but the truth is that he’s a kindly, funny person who’s easy to please.
Ang chief of staff niya ang salbahe.
Oh well.
—
Napanood ko na rin ang HP 5. Hindi maganda. I loved Luna Lovegood and loved to hate Prof. Umbridge. I think the script could’ve been written better - I don’t demand the impossible such as having the entire book translated on screen; but there are ways and ways to not sacrifice the essence of the story, I think.
–
Clem has been kicked out Orange and Lemons, and because of this I don’t care to follow the band anymore. Clem was the soul and the brains of ONL, and it will never be the same without him the band. Sayang talaga. What dopes the rest of the band members are!

–

I wish the best for the Supreme Court and its justices. I really hope that it’s not all just talk, Chief Justice Reynato Puno’s brave declarations on how the SC will wield its authority and powers to protect civil and human rights!

Am crossing all fingers and toes that the SC will look with favor upon all the motions filed seeking a TRO on the implementation of the HSA.

It’s horrible, horrible knowledge, knowing how unsafe your are in your own country. It’s not just the pickpockets, the snatchers, the rapists, the drug addicts, the drunk drivers you have to watch out for — but the soldiers, the police, the Department of Justice, and the National Security Council. Voldemort is out and about, ladies and gents.

Since am so dead tired (but very, very happy), so I can’t really think straight much less creatively right now. Yesterday, July 10, 2007, is definitely a red-letter day, and I’ve been told my friends that the mass movement was most inspired by the developments. In lieu of a rambling account of the exciting, tension-filled but ultimately happy events that took place, I will instead post these two news releases:

Newly-released Beltran calls for unity between all sectors
and politicians in opposing anti-terror law; says his ordeal pre-HSA
already a
preview of what could take place when law is imposed

Newly-released Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran in a
press conference this morning in Quezon City reiterated his thanks
to his supporters, allies and friends who stood by and
supported him throughout his 16-month ordeal as a political detainee charged
with rebellion. He also repeated his
thanks to the Supreme Court for standing firm in its decision to junk the
charges and ordering his immediate release; and to the Makati Regional Trial
Court Branch 150 judge Elmo Alameda for immediately expediting the decision.

 
Beltran cited senators Jamby Madrigal, Ramon Magsaysay Jr.,
Mar Roxas, Joker Arroyo, Juan Flavier, Francis Escudero, Manny Villar as
lawmakers who helped fill the ‘massive gap between my hospital bill and my
personal capability to pay’

 “As for my colleagues in the House of Representatives, there
are far too many of them to mention here, but I long forward to the opportunity
to personally make known to them my gratitude for their moral and financial
support. Despite the differences in political advocacies, they all supported me
in my time of need in one way or
another.”

 
“I sincerely pray and
hope that there will be more venues for all of us to unite. My case was a case
of blatant political persecution, and it
was no secret to anyone, especially not to the Macapagal-Arroyo government. Now
that I have regained my liberty, I continue to seek the help and support of my
colleagues both in the House of Representatives and the Senate in protecting
and defending the civil rights of other Filipinos by opposing the Human
Security Act or the anti-terror law. I was arrested and detained for 16 months
on false testimonies, fabricated evidence and fraudulent allegations, and this
was before the implementation of the anti-teror law. I gravely fear that what
was done to me – even in my advanced age—will be done again and again to
hundreds of pther Filipinos who choose to take a stand against political
repression, government corruption and economic exploitation,” he said.

 The activist lawmaker in the meantime repeated his desire to
attend and participate in the July 16-17 summit of the Supreme Court on civil
rights and the issue of extrajudicial killings. He said that he wished to give
his personal support and thanks to SC Chief Justice Reynato Puno and the rest
of the SC judges for their courage to stand up for civil rights in the country.

  “There are very dark
clouds overhead because of the impending implementation of the anti-terror law.
Now is a time for unity against worsening authoritarianism. For the sake of
millions of civilians who who will be further victimized by a most paranoid,
vindictive and repressive government and its armed forces and so-called
intelligence agencies, all sectors of society must unite against the
anti-terror law. I extend a hand in unity with other progressive political
forces as well as the the leadership of the Catholic church and other religious
formations in opposing the HSA,” he said.

 
Beltran said that later this afternoon his office will file
four bills – the first seeking the repeal of the HSA; the second repealing the
expanded value added tax law; the third calling for the legislation of a P125
across-the-board wage hike for workers in the private sector; and the fourth a
measure increasing the salaries of government employees by P3,000
across-the-board.#

 
2) Legislative bills
and hospital bills comprise immediate concerns of freed Anakpawis Party-List solon

 Newly-released Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran and his
party-list are facing two kinds of bills these days – legislative bills that
the third-termer will file in the 14th Congress, and his exorbitant hospital
and medical bills which accumulated during his 16-month stint as a political
detainee/patient at the Philippine Heart Center.

 Beltran filed four measures today, two bills repealing the
Human Security Act (HSA) and the expanded value-added tax; and two increasing
wages and salaries of workers and government employees. He is also scheduled to
refile bills repealing the oil deregulation law and the privatization in the
energy sector.

 As for his other bills, he has no definite schedule.

 “I am thankful to the administration, medical and
non-medical staff of the PHC for taking care of me the last 16 months. My
doctors led by Dr. Raymundo and the nurses – as well as the janitors and other
staff helped make my detention less depressing. As for the administration, they
have been very lenient and understanding when it came to my hospital bills.
They understood my personal and political circumstances and allowed a system of
delayed payment,” he said.

 Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Women’s Rep. Liza
Maza negotiated with the PHC administration last night so Beltran would be
given a hospital pass and allowed to leave the hospital despite the outstanding
bills. Ocampo said that the administration as ‘understanding. They said that
there was no problem if Ka Bel would leave a promisory note in lieu of
payment.”

 Anakpawis secretary-general Cherry Clemente said that
Beltran’s hospital bills and medical expenses (medicine, food and other related
expenditures) amounted to
P1,362,340.70 as of last night when the
lawmaker was released 9:30 pm. The total is the combined hospital charges
and medical expenses.

 Of this amount, outstanding charges are pegged at
P757,140.70, but Anakpawis has so far been able to give a downpayment of
P75,000.00. Donations from friends and allies through trust funds and guarantee
letters amounted to P548,576.00. The hospital’s reader’s fee amounted to
P4,424. The P757,140 was reduced to P143,188,70.

“When we add the professional fee of Ka Bel’s 10 doctors, we
have to add at least P300,000 if the fee stands at P30,000 per doctor. Hospital
bills plus professional fees amount as a whole to P443,188.70. This P443,
188.70 is what we have to pay now,” she said.

 Clemente said that they are not embarrassed to ask for help to settle Beltran’s oustanding bills.
“Quite honestly, we are wiped out. Our party-list never had much to begin with
– pangalan pa lang, Anakpawis nga. When Ka Bel was arrested, we had no one else
to turn to but allies, friends and
supporters. The May 14 elections also ate up a lot of our party-funds – we were
even forced to dip into the funds for Ka Bel’s hospitalization-detention so we
could bolster our electoral campaign. This is all the doing of the
Macapagal-Arroyo government, from Ka Bel’ incarceration, to these financial
problems our group is having due to these enormous bills. All this because we continue to fight for the
rights of the poor and marginalized sectors of society.”

 “We continue to solicit the financial support of sympathetic
individuals and groups to help settle Ka Bel’s hospital bills. We would very
much welcome support even from the leadership of the House of Representatives
who once promised that they would pass the hat for Ka Bel,” she said.

  Among the lawmakers
who released guarantee letters and cash
to cover Beltran’s bills are Sen. Jamby Madrigal (P100,000), Sen. Ramon
Magsaysay Jr (P50,000), Sen. Franklin Drilon (P50,000), Sen. Mar Roxas
(P50,000); Sen. Serge Osmena III (P25,000); Sen. Pia Cayetano (P20,000), former
congressman and now Sen. Francis Escudero (P20,000), Sen. Juan Flavier
(10,000). Some P56,488 was covered by
Beltran’s benefits as a government employee, and P156,788 came from Philhealth.
Other donations also came in from friends in the international community allied
with the Free Ka Bel Movement.

 Beltran’ ‘kumpare’
Atty. Romeo Capulong and the lawyers of the Public Interest Law Center Attys.
Rachel Pastores and Amylyn Sato as well as te PILC staff rendered their
services gratis et amore.#

‘Kamikaze Girls’ is such a fun movie, and it has heart. Improbable and hilarious,  it nonetheless makes one feel that anything is possible if one has a  strong will and self-confidence: be what you are, express yourself, and stand up for what you think is right. I wish I had seen this movie when I was in high school.

—-
I like learning thing from my friends. I am such a slowpoke and a stick in the mud when it comes to new music, new literature. I tend to read and listen to the same things over and over again, and on my own I never go out to find out what’s happening in the rest of the world (of music and literature. I have no choice but to try and always keep up with political and econ developments kahit nakaka-stress talaga).
Anyways, I’m grateful that my friends are not as lazy as I am. From Walkie I learned about ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’; from Elias I discovered Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine (check our richardcheese.com. If you want to listen his songs, I have  three of their albums).
Back in high school my bestfriend was the smartest person in class (smart not just academically, but intelligent in the sense that he was, well, he THOUGHT about things beyond schoolbooks), and we talked about literature and fish and stars and religion as politics as we walked around and around the quadrangle (that’s a mixed image, I know). I appreciated his friendship because, well, I really thought he was the only person I felt honest and sincere with. He cared about things outside of school, and beyond the usual concerns of most teenagers.
–
Kim recently brought DVDs of Boston Legal and Alan Shore makes me wince, be aghast, and admiring all at the same time.It would be great to have him as your own personal lawyer though — he could probably argue for the repeal of the HSA and humiliate Macapagal_Arroyo, Esperon, Gonzales and Gonzalez into dumb silence.
Also, we’re into Japanese anime cartoons now. I know it’s nothing new (huling series na sinundan ko Astroboy saka Daimos pa), but Detective Conan is funny and action-packed and very creative. The Japanese blow me away.
My friend Raymond lent me his History of Impressionism and it’s pretty interesting; it’s just too bad that there’s no way for me to see the paintings up close and personal.
The world is such a big, big place and there’s so much to see, learn and enjoy. This makes it even more terrible that there’s also so much exploitation, inequality and injustice. Millions are denied the right and the opportunity to learn and discover things that will contribute to one’s enjoyment; help one sharpen one’s intelligence; or  develop one’s more altruistic tendencies.
The other day Kim commented how grateful he was to the music and movie/tv series pirates and the illegal DVD/CD trade. Otherwise, well, we would never be able to watch or listen to anything new. Parang ang mayayaman lang ang may karapatang mag-enjoy. The rest of the country and the world have to contend with the pressing life and death issues of nutrition, health and housing.

This is funny.

Watched ‘Transformers’ last night at the Block and it was the best fun I’ve had in years. No, I don’t mean to imply that I haven’t been having fun in the last years, but that the movie was so amazing. Brilliant! Optimus Prime rules! The movie even had Peter Cullen reprise his role and give his voice to the movie Optimus! Eighteen billion stars!
I remember all those  Saturday mornings my
sister and I spent watching cartoons on RPN 9 (Saturday Fun Machine) and one of our favorite cartoons (bukod sa Gummie Bears, Pandamonium, Black Star and syempre, the Superfriends)was the Transformers. Ate Majalla’s first love (hahaha!) was Optimus Prime, and when he died in the movie cartoon about three years later, waaaah!
What I liked best besides the robots themselves and the goofy but lovable Witwickys was the fact
that US military supremacy was dunked liked so many mushy donuts in a vat of boiling joe. 
US military might took a serious beating in that film — the troops  were reduced to reviving antiquated telegraphs and walkie-talkies that looked like car batteries for all their size and heft just so they could communicate with the Air Force and seek help.
The Decepticon attack in the first part of the film wiped out an entire US military base in Qatar — flattened and leveled everything. I had a hard time not cheering and yelling ‘Yay, Decepticons!’ because, of course, we are all supposed to be on the side of the the Autobots. 
When Starscream (whom I particularly hated in the cartoons)  shot a few military jets clear out of sky later on in the film, I wanted to hell ‘Stupid Airforce! How the hell do they think they can fight against a robot plane that’s like 20,000 years technologically more advanced?!" )
There were some reviews on Rotten Tomatoes saying that the movie was brainless and heartless.
On the brainless issue, well, if you lack an imagination and you take the movie too seriously, you won’t like the film (and you shouldn”t go because it’s all about crashing  and twisting metal and debris flying every which way); but on the accusation that it’s heartless?
Sam and his family were pretty likable. They were a happy, normal and close family, their relations warm but never syrupy, and it felt good to watch the three of them interact (and how they took care of their pet Chihuaha, Mojo).
It was also touching how Sam fought for his car which turned out to be the Autobot Bumblebee (in the tv cartoons, Bumble Bee’s ‘owner’ was a younger boy named Spike)when the military swooped in subdued Bumble Bee by blasting him with cryogenic sprays.

I don’t really mind that the Autobots in the movie didn’t have carry their original car models as in the cartoon; pero I did feel a little annoyed that Bumble Bee wasn’t a VW Beetle.

So here I am and I keep making the sounds the Transformers make when they , uh, transform and i think it’s getting on the nerves of some of the people here.
Go watch Transformers and have a real blast. I am indebted to Michael Bay for bringing my childhood back to life. I’ve heard that there are going to be TWO sequels. Walang sinabi ang Spider-Man.

Beyond Good. Beyond Evil. Beyond Your Wildest Imagination. This was the theme of the Transformers movie cartoon.

Sana sa susunod gawing pelikula na rin ang pinakagrabeng science fiction soap opera na Voltes V.