read my lips

Now that empty words like pabebe, ansabe, boom, and many of their kind are ingrained in our cultural mindset, can we please learn some important, proper, and perhaps even more useful words? Like comeuppance, innocuous, or obdurate? What makes this trend so ironic is that all this comes from imperial Manila people (or possibly from the most parts of Luzon), who are notorious for mocking the Visayan language and its unique articulation. I suggest this not out of snobbery but for simple erudition. Yeah, erudition. Google that. We can’t just have junk food all the time.

size does matter

The comedians are slowly taking over the superhero films. After Chris Pratt’s turn in last year’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Paul Rudd now leads Peyton Reed’s “Ant-Man.” This makes me wonder which cast member of the beloved comedy show “Parks and Recreation” is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe next. I hope it’s Aziz Ansari. But that’s beside the point. The truth is “Ant-Man” is the antidote to the sick and sleepy “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” That movie was one long commercial break. I think “Ant-Man” is the best MCU movie since “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” And those cute little ants make me guilty of the times I crush them with a finger on the kitchen table. Although a portion of its final act goes the mystical route like Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” (2014), the rest of the action is zippy, the humor in the right dosage. That toy train sequence can be a satisfying skit all on its own. This could be a sign that comic book movies are exciting once again. Let’s just hope the upcoming DC movies maintain this energy.

[ photo borrowed from this site ]

just read

Last Friday, an 18-year-old asked me how to be good at mentally processing a question and delivering the answer to the public with ease. I was caught off-guard all I said was, I guess it all starts with a habit of reading. Read as much as you can. Anything. Especially those that are out of your comfort zone. All these challenge you to think. The kid asked if Wattpad counts. “I guess, but I prefer books in actual paper,” I said smiling. The screen is a perfect distraction for more distractions.

I am no expert in public extemporaneous speaking but I think I have given the best advice. Reading, even though it has the reputation as the stuff of boredom in the digital age, is still the easiest means of sharpening and broadening the mind. In fact the skill one would acquire with reading greatly helps in any endeavor one takes. Why? It improves communication, the very basic ingredient of communal understanding.

Ironically, for a country that is liberated or “freed” from the tyranny of its colonizers with Jose Rizal’s works of literature, we are a nation that is populated by people who do not seem to value the art of reading. So logout of Facebook, close that Grindr app, let go of that selfie camera, and stop thinking of the next pub crawl for a couple of minutes. Take time to read. Make your national hero proud. Show his efforts were worth it.

And this brings me to the book haul I’ve had last Monday. Originally priced at hundreds of bucks each, I got books on fiction, poetry, and history that were less than a quarter of their cost. Achievement unlocked: Book Hunter Level no. 76!

a new beginning

The first half of the year is over. How was it? Would you consider it half-empty or half-full? Personally I’d like to think it is the latter. The previous month alone was full of surprises. June has been an eye-opener, and it feels refreshing to get through it, especially its last five days.

Last June 26, following the Supreme Court’s decision, same-sex couples are finally allowed to marry in all of the United States of America. It was a landmark event in history that was felt across the globe. It did not apply in our home country, but it was one important step to humanity. People celebrated, hugged one another, and added rainbows on their profiles. I was one of them. And of course, others deplored.

That day revealed the truest color of many people who I thought were my friends. They are full of prejudice, full of hate. Now I know who my real friends are and who among my tribe I can turn to and have my back. For several years people have been cornering me and my community, condemning and pulling us down with snide remarks, self-centered religiosity, crab mentality, and the seemingly harmless words “Sayang ka.”

It’s as if we only existed for the sole purpose of their twisted entertainment: We can be funny like Vice Ganda but we cannot live protected by our laws and love like everyone else. They say they respect and love us, but their embrace is spiked with barbed wire.

Matters that deal with LGBTQ are sensitive, that is why detractors always couple their disgust with “It’s just my opinion” or “Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.” Then there’s the often used statement “I have nothing against LGBTQ” which unsurprisingly is always followed or preceded by a self-righteous “But.”

These people often quote the Bible, too. It is sad knowing they could only define and limit their understanding of love from a book that is written thousands of years ago, and select from it quotes that only work on their favor and completely disregard those that don’t. Yes, in the Old Testament, the Holy Scripture says any man who sleeps with another man the way he sleeps with a woman is an abomination. But it also says a man should not wear clothing that is made of two materials and a man should not eat creatures of the sea that have scales. The list goes on from no tattoos, no wearing of gold, no braided hair to no wasted sperm. It looks like everyone’s going to hell then.

That is why the Bible is not some kind of buffet wherein one can just select the food he wants to eat. It must be taken as a whole, and this whole constitutes the values of compassion, love, and ultimately respect. After all, our love is not an attack on Christianity or on any religion this world has to offer. It has been very simple from the start: You may not agree with us, but you cannot deny us of our rights. Still, people are up in arms and refuse to understand our community, our plight, and our right to love.

Yet we stayed strong and persevered. There is no other way. Sadly though, some were not as strong, which led to the many young LGBTQ lives spiraling into depression and, worse, death.

That is why this fight is important to me. Our welfare is important to me. And by the grace of the heavens I finally know the reason why some people just keep pulling us down: They are a reminder that they are below us, a reminder that we are in our rightful places. My genuine friends, family, and I are taking this journey whether anyone’s with us or not.

Listen, this is the right thing to do. And like a tree on a hill, we stand tall and firm even in solitude.