I Got Flowers Today
Posted at 01:25 PM

This is a powerful piece and, as suggested below, should be shared with as many female friends as possible. It is particularly important that we share this with our younger sisters, daughters, nieces, friends who may suffer in silence not knowing where to turn. This is really powerful, and I am speaking from experience.



I got flowers today.
It wasn't my birthday
or any other special day.
We had our first argument last night,
And he said a lot of cruel things
that really hurt me.
I know he is sorry and didn't mean
the things he said.
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today.
It wasn't our anniversary
or any other special day.
Last night, he threw me into a wall
and started to choke me.
It seemed like a nightmare.
I couldn't believe it was real.
I woke up this morning
sore and bruised all over.
I know he must be sorry,
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today,
and it wasn't Mother's Day
or any other special day.
Last night, he beat me up again.
And it was much worse
than all the other times.
If I leave him, what will I do?
How will I take care of my kids?
What about money? I'm afraid of him
and scared to leave.
But I know he must be sorry,
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today.
Today was a very special day.
It was the day of my funeral.
Last night, he finally killed me.
He beat me to death.

If only I had gathered enough courage
and strength to leave him,
I would not have gotten flowers today.



STOP DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TODAY!
DO NOT TOLERATE IT!

Everyone, please read this and send it on to as many women as possible. You never know who's going through it until it's too late.


sender: Name withheld upon request


NOTE: This article is taken from BackTalk from the magazine "Woman Today; December 01, 1999"
One Hello by Randy Crawford

I Rock!
Posted at 01:46 PM


Emo! You're very in touch with your emotions and
that's what I like about you! It's all about
the music for you... I have pity for your
tortured soul...you're just like me...


What genre of rock are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Faint by Linkin Park

Moments in America
Posted at 01:26 PM

Every 35 seconds an infant is born into poverty.

Every 2 minutes an infant is born to a mother who received late or no prenatal care.

Every 2 minutes an infant is born at low birthweight (less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces)

Every 11 minutes an infant is born at very low birthweight (less than 3 pounds, 8 ounces)

Every 14 minutes an infant dies in the first year of life.

Every 31 seconds an infant is born to an unmarried mother.

Every 55 seconds an infant is born to a mother who is not a high school graduate.

Every 21 seconds a 15 to 19 year old woman becomes sexually active for the first time.

Every 32 seconds a 15 to 19 year old woman becomes pregnant.

Every 64 seconds an infant is born to a teenage mother.

Every 5 minutes an infant is born to a teenage mother who already had a child.

Every 74 seconds a 15 to 19 year old woman has an abortion.

Every 14 hours a child younger than 5 is murdered.

Every 5 hours a 15 to 19 year old is murdered.

Every 2 hours a 20 to 24 year old is murdered.

Every 2 seconds of the school day a public school student is suspended.

Every 4 seconds of the school day a public school student is corporally punished.

Every 10 seconds of the school day a student drops out of school.





source: Children's Defense Fund, The State of America's Children 1991, Washington, D.C., p.5
Life in Schools by Peter McLaren Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots

Alipin ng Bloga
Posted at 06:02 PM

Ilang araw na din ang lumipas ng huli akong gumawa ng entry dito sa aking malungkot na bloga.
But wait!....lately ako ay hindi nakadama ng kalungkutan, bagkus ako ay medyo masaya dahil marami akong natuklasan na nakakaaliw at nakamamanghang bloga. Yung ibang kaibigan ko rin ay gumawa na rin ng sarili nila. Kaya eto ako ngayon.......isang alipin ng bloga!!!!!
Tuwing umaga pagbukas ko ng aking computer ay go agad ako sa mga paborito kong mga pages.....nandyan ang mga entry na animoy isang tabloid at yung iba naman ay daig pa ang broadsheet sa tindi ng research. Wow, ang galing galing!!!! kaya after every entry nila, eh gawa kaagad ako ng comment. Napaka dynamic ng mga entries....mas masaya pa sya kaysa chatroom kase talagang you are talking or giving feedback out of something na talagang pinag-isipan ng husto o kya minsan wala lang. Yung iba puro pictures lang ang entry tapos you can give your comments na agad. Yung iba naman sobrang heavy ng topic at napilitan pa tuloy akong ibunyag ang sexual preference ko. (hehehehehehehe) Pero ok lang kasi sobrang interesting nung topic na i just can't afford to sit down and not give my two cents worth about it. (hindi nga lang ata 2 cents yun eh, mukhang 5 dollars pa yata) hehehehehehe.... Ang saya saya! Tingnan mo nga naman ang nagagawa ng technology. You meet new friends, you see art, you see how artistic one person can be and how they can express themselves through all types of media. You see sadness, happiness, anger, guilt and everything and everything because you are actually browsing through other peoples lives. Its crazy but its amazing. Fascinating sobra.

In a nutshell.....through the pages of these tabulas I've realized that:
-there will always be room for your opinion. kahit ano pa yan!
-someone will always be there to listen, read and give feedback to you be it positive or negative kahit pabulong.
-we all deserve a second chance.
(buti na lang nakagawa ako ng account dito dahil kung hindi eh hindi ko nakilala si soulfly-he is a former officemate of mine na hindi ko pinapansin at ganoon din sya sakin pero ngayon hindi natatapos ang araw ko na hindi binabasa ang blog nya-hindi dahil sa may hidden desire ako sa kanya kundi talagang interesting ang entries nya)
-you can never really judge a person by their physical appearance.
(you really need to take some time to read and listen to what they have to say for you to understand what they really are about)
-feedback is important.....
(hindi mo alam kung gaano kalaki ang pwedeng magawa ng isang thank you o kaya I love you sa kapwa mo o kahit simpleng oo o hindi)

Grabe ang saya ng linggong ito! kahit na i'm such a poor judge of character. Ok pa rin. Kakainis!!!
These small wonders are really worth celebrating.
Cheers.

DiButante
Posted at 05:16 PM

Asus! May 10 na pala at di ko man lang namalayan. Well this day is definitely one for the books. Talagang historical ito mga friendsters. Makulay, madrama, madugo, maintriga. Ito na yata ang pinaka controbersyal na election sa kasaysayan ng Philippines. Too bad I won't be a part of it even if I wanted to. (tsk, tsk, tsk.....) Well I have work kasi and its one of the things I have to live with-being able to agree to the rules and regulations of my new found career. (career daw o!) In short, "BAWAL ANG ABSENT", "WALANG HOLIDAYS", "WALA LAHAT"..... ang lufet!!!! So even if I wanted to cast my vote at itaguyod ang demokrasya at kalayaan, eh wala akong magawa kungdi sumagot ng telepono at makipag-bangayan sa mga americano. That's the call center life for yah! Well as for me thats how it is, day in and day out. Tanggap ko naman ang ganitong set up. Matagal na akong nagtatrabaho dito sa ganitong industriya, kakainis lang kung minsan talaga, tulad ngayon na hindi ka man lang makaboto upang ipaglaban kung ano ang sa tingin mo ay nararapat, kung ano ang tama at kung ano ang makakabuti para sa bayan. (mag-inarte ba!) Pero totoo yun. Sabi nga ni Celeste Legazpi "Takot Ako...Anak.....Takot Ako" (paki connect nga...pleeez)
Well, enough about me....lets go check out todays election. Go out and vote people!!!
Books by Bob Ong Let it Be by the Beatles

I Can Go the Distance!
Posted at 02:39 PM

Well this is not a surprise (susmaryosep!)....Quizilla strikes again.


Hercules
Go the Distance

The Burden of Desire
Posted at 05:42 PM

Pinanood ko ang pelikulang ito last Biyernes. Maganda naman ang movie sa pangkalahatan. Kitang-kita na pilit pina-aarte ng director si Brad Pitt. Pero since hindi sya magaling umarte, dinaan na lang nya sa ganda ng katawan ang mga manunood. Wala naman sigurong umangal since hindi naman ini-expect ng mga fans nya na umarte sya. Sapat na ang makita nila na nakausli ang pwet nya at pinagpapawisan. Kung bibigyan mo ng atensyon ang mga ginawa nya bilang si Achilles, mapapatingin ka na lang sa kisame at itatanong mo sa sarili mo: Meron nga ba syang ginawa? Ano nga ba ang ginawa nya na hindi pwedeng gawin ng ibang actor sa Hollywood? Naghubad, nagpakita ng pwet, nakipagsex, nakipag-espadahan, tumalon, tumakbo at sumigaw ng Hector ng ilang beses na animoy isang batang galit dahil inagawan ng candy. Well, if Brad's performance is not gay enough for you marami pang ibang scenes sa movie na ito na sobrang Homo-erotic. Sobrang pang bading ang pelikulang ito, sobra. Here are some things I noticed about the movie that makes it sooooo gay:

1. The title: Go out and ask anybody about the name Troy and they will tell you its just sooo gay. I read in Details a couple of years back that guys in the straight porn industry don't go for this name due to the fact that it gives a very gay impression. A definite no-no in the straight porn world. A fil-am starlet named Troy is also rumored to be gay.

2. The costume: Hellooooo!!!! I don't know about you, but seeing a number of guys clad in nothing but sweat and a piece of metal is way too gay for me. And take note, if they're not wearing those armors or those girly robes they're having sex (naked of course). Definitely, this is another movie pleading to be ripped off by gay porn producers. (i think i'll get a dvd copy of that one instead. hehehehhe)

3. The story: I don't know but there are some changes made to this movie for cinematic bullshit. I don't know what they're trying to prove here but my God, its a myth for Aphrodite's sake!!! Ok I get the point of taking the magical-fantasy part out of the entire movie to deviate from the Lord of the Rings league, but the thing is; a myth is a myth and it should involve some magical chuva. And whats this about Paris asking "Do you love me brother". I know its not meant to suggest anything other than that of brotherly love. But hey the character of Paris is portrayed by Orlando Bloom. How can you not put malice into that? I mean c'mon, two hunky guys on a boat talking about love....isn't that romantic? (fiesta ito mga pare) Not to mention Priam the father/king of Paris and Hector who after the fall of his son kissed the hands of the slayer which is of course non-other than Achilles! (grabe itodo na natin mga 'tol)

4. The characters: Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana....Do I need to say more?

Achilles (portrayed by Brad): a warrior fighting just to cover his true nature. He claims that he doesn't want to fight because its pointless. (ayaw pang aminin na talaga namang cover lang yung "greatest warrior" na yan sa tunay nyang gustong mangyari-which is to take the so-called great warriors and make them great boyfriends)

Paris (portrayed by Orlando): now this character is definitely a queen in the making. When hector said "make me proud" ang nasa isip ni Paris ay "don't worry someday I'll be the queen and rule this kingdom with my beauty". Remember the battle scene? Now you have to admit, that scene would probably be the run away winner for the "queerest scene of the year".

Hector (portrayed by Eric): now here is a guy who is almost perfect if not pefect, right? I mean, a faithful husband, a respectful son, a loving brother, a caring father, a loyal friend, a brave warrior, an intelligent general and a person who values the idea of family and nationality. Oh, and yes he's cute too. Now tell me, do you know a straight guy with these qualities? I don't think so....

Well, as gay as it may seem over all the movie is still very much inspiring. The idea of love and respect is very evident all through out the film. It's still a-must see movie. If you don't like the story, well just relax and feast your eyes on the abundant display of bronze sweaty muscles.

I know I did.
We are the Champions by Queen

A Day in the Life of a Filipino
Posted at 10:17 AM

My entry for today is taken from a daily newspaper. Read and be inspired.

PINAY WINS IT BIG IN LONDON

By Alfred Yuson
The Philippine Star 05/16/2004


Patricia Evangelista, a 19-year-old, Mass Communications sophomore
of University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman, did the country proud
Friday night by besting 59 other student contestants from 37 countries in
the 2004 International Public Speaking competition conducted by the
English Speaking Union (ESU) in London.

She triumphed over a field of exactly 60 speakers from all over the
English-speaking world, including the United States, United Kingdom and
Australia, reported Maranan.

The board of judges' decision was unanimous, according to contest
chairman Brian Hanharan of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC).

PATRICIA'S SHORT SPEECH WORTH READING....

BLONDE AND BLUE EYES

When I was little, I wanted what many Filipino children all over the
country wanted. I wanted to be blond, blue-eyed, and white.

I thought -- if I just wished hard enough and was good enough, I'd wake up
on Christmas morning with snow outside my window and freckles across my
nose!

More than four centuries under western domination does that to you. I have
sixteen cousins. In a couple of years, there will just be five of us left
in the Philippines, the rest will have gone abroad in search of "greener
pastures." It's not just an anomaly; it's a trend; the Filipino diaspora.
Today, about eight million Filipinos are scattered around the world.

There are those who disapprove of Filipinos who choose to leave. I used
to. Maybe this is a natural reaction of someone who was left behind,
smiling for family pictures that get emptier with each succeeding year.
Desertion, I called it. My country is a land that has perpetually fought
for the freedom to be itself. Our heroes offered their lives in the
struggle against the Spanish, the Japanese, the Americans. To pack up and
deny that identity is tantamount to spitting on that sacrifice.

Or is it? I don't think so, not anymore. True, there is no denying this
phenomenon, aided by the fact that what was once the other side of the
world is now a twelve-hour plane ride away. But this is a borderless
world, where no individual can claim to be purely from where he is now. My
mother is of Chinese descent, my father is a quarter Spanish, and I call
myself a pure Filipino-a hybrid of sorts resulting from a combination of
cultures.

Each square mile anywhere in the world is made up of people of different
ethnicities, with national identities and individual personalities.
Because of this, each square mile is already a microcosm of the world. In
as much as this blessed spot that is England is the world, so is my
neighbourhood back home.

Seen this way, the Filipino Diaspora, or any sort of dispersal of
populations, is not as ominous as so many claim. It must be understood. I
come from a Third World country, one that is still trying mightily to get
back on its feet after many years of dictatorship. But we shall make it,
given more time. Especially now, when we have thousands of eager young
minds who graduate from college every year. They have skills. They need
jobs. We cannot absorb them all.

A borderless world presents a bigger opportunity, yet one that is not so
much abandonment but an

extension of identity. Even as we take, we give back. We are the
40,000 skilled nurses who support

the UK's National Health Service. We are the quarter-of-a-million
seafarers manning most of the

world's commercial ships. We are your software engineers in Ireland,
your construction workers

in the Middle East, your doctors and caregivers in North America, and,
your musical artists in London's West End.

Nationalism isn't bound by time or place. People from other nations
migrate to create new nations, yet still remain essentially who they are.
British society is itself an example of a multi-cultural nation, a melting
pot of races, religions, arts and cultures. We are, indeed, in a
borderless world!

Leaving sometimes isn't a matter of choice. It's coming back that is. The
Hobbits of the shire travelled all over Middle-Earth, but they chose to
come home, richer in every sense of the word. We call people like these
balikbayans or the 'returnees' -- those who followed their dream, yet
choose to return and share their mature talents and good fortune.

In a few years, I may take advantage of whatever opportunities come my
way. But I will come home. A borderless world doesn't preclude the idea of
a home. I'm a Filipino, and I'll always be one. It isn't about just
geography; it isn't about boundaries. It's about giving back to the
country that shaped me.

And that's going to be more important to me than seeing snow outside my
windows on a bright Christmas morning.

Mabuhay and Thank you.

Hufflepuff?
Posted at 08:29 AM



be sorted @ nimbo.net

Well what do you know! I belong to Hufflepuff. I may not be a geek, but I definitely have a heart of gold. I actually can't figure out which one is better. *sigh*
Oh well, I can't wait to see Harry potter. I'll watch it with my cousin next week. See you guys in the movie houses! I just can't wait!
Morning, Noon and Night Time

The Origin of J
Posted at 10:48 AM

My entry for today was originally posted as an email in ManHunt (an internet community/group created to help bi/gay guys to find their perfect partner by organizing regular forums, dinner meetings and activities). In response to the query "what is jologs?" Spanky Hardon posted this reply which is taken from an actual class discussion.
Here goes the email.....

------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 08:28:03 -0000
From: "waltzang"
Subject: jologs

this message is off topic from movies, but i thought it interesting enough
to share. enjoy. WA.

FW: Subject: The Origin of Jologs
The writer is a Palanca winner for poetry.

I asked my students the origins of the word and they gave me all these
palusot (weak reasons)--that it's the baduy, bakya crowd of the 90's, that
like cockroaches, their number is legion, and they are here to stay. Seems
that to most of them, it's even cool to be jolog, better than being coño.
And though the pa-coño kids (junior social climbers) are frowned upon, the
worst type of poseur, according to them is someone who's feeling jolog.

But they can't quite define it. A few things we agreed upon, though:

1) It seems that anyone who's past a certain age can't be jolog, so there's
no such thing as an old jolog. All of them are young. Jolog isn't actually
baduy, but if you're old and baduy, you're just that: matanda na kasi.

2) Someone can be jolog and not be aware of it, in the same way that someone
can be coño and not be aware of it.

3) People can be in denial of their ka-jologan or ka-coñohan.

4) "Jolog" and "coño" are not antonyms (though the student that everyone
hates in my last class insists that the two terms are synonymous).

5) The term "jologz" is not the plural of "jolog" (and that same student
insists that the former is an adjective and the latter is a noun. A bit of
trivia though: this is the same student who declared in class that "a gay
[sic] is a bad and sad person", to which his seatmate replied: "Yes, but a
closeted one is even sadder."

6) The term "jolog" is different from "squatter," "squating" and
"squattah." Though it might follow the tradition of "bakya" and "baduy",
there's more to being a jolog than the two terms.

Then we came to the etymology of the word. Where the hell did it come from?

The True: Jolog came from Jolina. It's what a fan of hers is called. "Jol"
from Jolina + "og" like the suffix -ite or -ian. "But we've never heard of a
suffix -og to mean 'follower,'" complained one of my more inquisitive
students. Besides, the word was in existence before Jolina became a star.
"Besides," my student added, "Jolina's not jolog. At most, she's baduy."

The Good: The word originally referred to the Pinoy hiphop, or hiffhaffers,
especially those seen walking as a group in malls. Hiphop fashion includes
those very loose and wide pants that were huhulog-hulog (kept falling).
"Hulog" later was spelled "Julog" until it was pronounced "ju-log", then
its final form: "jo-log". Many students were shaking their heads. "That
sounds too easy, too obvious."

The Beautiful: The etymology I'm familiar with (and that makes the most
sense to me) is geographically specific. The term was coined by high school
students in Quezon City, specifically those familiar with Quezon Avenue in
the 80's. Back then, across National Bookstore, Quezon Avenue, was a disco
that was rumored to be owned or co-owned by Edu Manzano. This disco was
cheap compared to the popular discos of the time that were in Makati. In
fact, the place was called "the squatter of discos".

This establishment had a pretentious name: Jaloux. The disco played really
baduy disco music, and people who frequented the place were young fashion
victims who were quite feeling and baduy themselves. High school students
from private schools would tease each other: "Hey pare, I saw you at Jaloux
last night." This was such an insult.

Eventually other schools picked this up. "Si John, pumupuntang Jaloux."
"Wow, John, Jaloux ka pala." Eventually it became an adjective too. "Kadiri,
Melanie's Jaloux." How it jumped from "jaloux" to "jolog", I'm not quite
sure. But some of my students say, maybe the patrons couldn't pronounce the
pretentious name of the disco properly, they said it "Ja-Lou-kh",
"Ja-Look", until it eventually became "Jaloog" then "Jolog." Jaloux disco
is gone, but the jolog remains.

They lost their dancing shoes and disco outfits and went to the malls as
hiphoppers. Eventually they got tired of that and decided to wear all black
and hang out at Club Dredd when it moved to Cubao. This was parodied in
the "Circus" album of the Eraserheads.

The Definitive: "Sorry, sir," said one of my students, "but I think you're
mistaken. We discussed this in our philosophy class by accident and it
seems that the "jolog" word's origin comes from food." "What?" "You don't
recognize it now because the spelling's changed, but it was actually
originally spelled as 'diyolog' which stands for dilis (anchovies), tuyo
(dried fish) and itlog (egg)--the food of the poor. And it was used like
this: 'Oh, look she eats diyolog.' Later it became 'Look, diyolog, o.'
Until the 'diy' got changed to 'j', hence 'jolog.'"

A brief pause. Then one obnoxious student raised his hand: "I like her
definition more than yours. Yours is too complicated, naman." What could I
say? "I like mine." Then one student: "We like hers." And another: "Oo nga,
sir."

Soon most everyone in class agreed that the food explanation was better
than the disco explanation. One student even had the gall to lecture me:
"Sir, the saying is, 'You are what you eat,' not 'You are what you dance.'"
"Oo nga," said the class echo. "Si sir talaga."

At least almost everyone had a strong opinion about it, everyone except that
student who everyone in class doesn't like, who everyone suspects to be a
closet case. He was miles away, looking out the window. "And what does he
prefer?" I pointed to him. "Men," whispered the mousy girl in the front row,
loud enough for the whole class to hear.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------end

Tugon: Hindi ko rin talaga alam kung saan nagmula ang salitang ito pero ang alam ko Jologs ako. Based sa mga aklat na na-publish na naglalayong bigyang linaw ang subject na ito, ang JOLOGS daw ay katangian ng isang tao. Its a state of knowing several trivia questions. Yung mga information na kahit malaman mo eh hindi naman ikauunlad ng iyong pagkatao. Hindi mo kailangang malaman ang mga ito para yumaman kungbaga.
Ang salitang geek ay tantamount sa salitang jologs. Yun nga lang inclined ang salitang jologs sa mga bagay na patungkol sa pelikula/television/radyo/commercial at lahat ng may kinalaman sa showbiz.
halimbawa: jologs ka kapag :
"kilala mo kung sino ang ka-love team ni Maricel Soriano sa pelikulang Horsey-Horsey, Tigidig-Tigidig" o di kaya'y
"kilala mo kung sino ang gumanap na teacher sa pelikulang Tender Age kasama si Gretchen Baretto" at
"kilala mo kung sinong politician ang bida sa pamosong Kampanerang Kuba".
Kung mahilig ka sa trivia questions at ginagawa mo na itong habit, malamang jologs ka na nga. Tulad ko mahilig ako sa mga ganitong bagay.....mga bagay at kaalaman na tinatawag na useless knowledge.

EXTRA: For additional info about this, you may check out Bob Ong's book, "Bakit Baliktad Magbasa ng Libro ang mga Pilipino" and you can take the jologs exam yourself to know if you are a true-blue jolog.

Credits goes to Spanky Hardon:
http://1980.blurty.com
http://1980.deviantart.com
Bakit Baliktad Magbasa ng Libro ang mga Pilipino Noypi