A Post About Pants

I just watched "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" on video. Don’t get me wrong, my mom wanted to watch it, I just “watched along”. Hehe. Spare me my dignity please. Not that there’s anything wrong with it… I AM very much secure with my manhood, thank you very much. A movie that has to do with “sisterhood” and “pants” doesn’t detract the least bit from one’s masculinity, as some of you may have (wrongly) speculated. Haha. Okay enough of the disclaimers…

The story was about close friends, all female teenagers, moving through different life experiences as they go on their individual summer vacations. They communicated through letters and air-mailing each other a pair of jeans (yes… jeans!) that they described as “magical”, because it fit all of them perfectly. (Now how did that happen?? Damn, those special effects were GOOD!) They each had the jeans for one week, and a bevy of interesting stuff happened while they were wearing it. The story dealt with broken families, separated parents, puppy love, lustful attraction, death at a young age, building relationships, seeing beneath the surface, etc. It was a real tear-jerker (for the ladies I presume… coz we “real men” don’t cry, haha). In other words, the movie tried to bring out the “little girl” in all of us. I’m not saying this applied to me though… I was merely a non-participating spectator. The little girl inside of me was NOT permitted to come out. Haha. Whew…

Anyways, as with any piece of media (ie. paintings, music, books, etc.), it got me thinking. I thought about friendships, our relationships with other people. I have always been ideal about this concept and I hold the word “friend” in the greatest esteem. I’ve always tried going to the extreme of really treasuring all my friendships and my relationships to the best of my abilities. But sometimes, a sad reality we all can’t escape from is this: People will let you down, time and again. Why? Because people are just people. People are human. Nobody’s perfect, be it a friend, a lover, even your family members. All of us, at some point in our life, will let somebody down, and will also be let down by someone, whether we like it or not. Even your best and closest friend in the whole world, who you can’t even imagine inflicting you with the least bit amount of hurt, can sometimes leave you hanging in the air with nothing but yourself to grab on to. My point? Each relationship in life we choose to go into is a risk. We risk opening ourselves up, exposing ourselves to hurt, pain, and disappointment. Why then, we ask, do we keep on doing it? Because in every risk we take, we know there is a greater reward waiting for us at the end: the chance at a great relationship, a true friendship, even true love (arguably the most rewarding form of human emotion). I would go as far to conclude that all the hurt, pain, and misery we all feel (at one time or another), is a necessary prerequisite for us to really be able to appreciate true happiness. And I don’t mean the kind of happiness we often describe as “a fleeting moment of joy”, but rather, a state of perfection, pure bliss, ecstatic euphoria, where one could close his eyes, smile and say to himself “I could really die right now. My life is complete.”

Opening yourself up to people in friendships and relationships is a huge risk, but it’s a risk well worth taking. Life is too short and too important to spend trying to protect yourself from hurt, and in the process, preventing the various miracles of life from happening. Wait, all this from a tear-jerking girly movie which dealt with “sisterhood” and “pants”?? Let us never underestimate the power of motion picture. A book could only go as far as your imagination, but movies? Movies can do wonders for the imagination-impaired, and can serve as an intellectual equalizer of sorts. All in all (and much to my own surprise), I liked the movie. It had that feel-good Disney-ish effect which, when watched at precisely the right time and right state of mind, can really be a refreshing (rejuvenating) experience.

Okay then! I really have to stop this now. I can already hear my inner monologue going: “’Argh…’Little girl’ feeling overwhelming…Must NOT let her out, at all costs…these are NOT tears, there’s just something in my eye…Help me…MUST watch sports…NOW!”. Hehehe. Somebody get me a beer…

WOW (wowee?)

“Wow”: interj. - Used to express wonder, amazement, or great pleasure; noun – An outstanding success.

February 4, 2006. It’s another monumental day for the Filipino people. At about 6am today, about 70 people DIED in a stampede at the Ultra, brought about by more or less 30,000 people who were lining up for a certain TV station’s most popular noontime show, WOWOWEE. I mean.. WOW! I am at an utter loss for words. Usually, I remain silent and passive about issues like this, but this time, I have to let it out. It’s simply absurd, utterly ridiculous! Yes, THOUSANDS of people lined up for the 1st year anniversary of WOWOWEE, some were there since 3 days ago, a lot came from the provinces, packed up their banig’s, orocan’s, hard-boiled eggs, instant noodles, and what-have-you’s. Hey, they even packed up their little sons and daughters, even their lolo’s and lola’s, the whole family, the whole community. Heck, what’s a few missed days of school right? Mga anak! Anniversary na ng WOWOWEE! We can’t miss this kids! Ika nga ni Regine: “Tara na, biyahe tayo, ganyan.. ang Pilipino!” I couldn’t agree with you more, Miss Asia’s Songbird. Ganyan ang Pilipino.

Thousands lined up because they wanted to be picked to participate in the show, where a selected few could win cash prizes ranging from a thousand to a million pesos. When the gates opened, 30,000 free-money-hungry people flocked in. Thus, people at the back, also hungry for a shot at easy money, did what was naturally expected of them: they pushed. And pushed. And pushed even more. Literally thousands of people were trying to get through a bottle-neck which led into the WOWOWEE studio. Women fainted, pandemonium broke out, people tripped and fell. Soon, people were stepping on other people. Oh gosh! Fancy that, I stepped on someone’s arm. No wonder it felt soft. Nothing the matter.. I HAVE to get picked by Willie! Willie! Anak, lolo, lola, tulak din kayo! Sige! Push on! Tuloy! Laban! Parang si Pac-man! And after a few moments.. ~70 people died in a full-blown stampede.

Hah! Imagine that? I was seriously torn between laughing and crying. Heartless bastard you say? Not nearly as heartless as the people behind this stupid tragedy. Bottomline: they should have expected something like this and they should have taken the necessary precautionary measures (eg. pre-screening the audience, setting up lines, getting the police involved, use your imagination! Hmm? On 2nd thought, sana naghanda na lang agad sila ng mga kabaong para dun sa mga mamamatay, pwede din noh? Stampede prophylaxis kumbaga?). They say they gave people hope through the show. Hope! Hope for what? Hope that makes them strive harder? Hope that makes them work more diligently with whatever they have? Hope that makes them better people? Nope. Hope for money they didn’t have to work for. Easy. Let’s join WOWOWEE! I see it everyday on TV, I could do that! Hence, “hopeful” people flocking in immense numbers. Hence, the stampede. When I first heard about the incident, I was amused. I thought: Huh? Are there bulls in Manila? Pamplona sa Ultra? Stampede ba kamo?? Ah.. baka rally! And boy, was I wrong. It was a stampede courtesy of Willie Revillame’s WOWOWEE. Wow talaga. I mean.. WOW! Those same people they say they gave hope to, were reduced to animals: stepping on each other, literally killing each other just to get some money scraps handed down by a “generous” television network. They say WOWOWEE is for the people? Oh come on guys, lay off the act! You do it for the ratings, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. You’re giving back?? Bullshit, you’re just getting more. And adding more insult to injury, look at the people you’re doing it to: the poor, simple folk from the provinces, god-fearing families who believe that their luck will turn, any minute now, if God so wills it. Come to think of it, ~70 people’s lucks DID turn today.. they were given FREE coffins to be buried in. Gosh.. it don’t get much better than that huh?

Webster defines a stampede as: (1) a wild headlong rush or flight of frightened animals, (2) a mass movement of people at a common impulse. Hmm. So which one is it for our little stampede at the Ultra? Easy! I’d go with number one! I bet if we were there, we’d see nothing but a bunch of frightened animals: cattle, if you will. I can already imagine Willie Revillame in a cowboy outfit, on a horse, a toothpick between his teeth, herding his “cattle” (read: hoards of grateful adoring fans) into his stable of free money, his Our-luck-will-turn-soon Ranch, the poor people’s Mecca, where everybody gets a chance to win (read: die in a stampede) if God (read: TV station execs and owners, but ultimately: RATINGS) wills it. Don’t you guys feel so proud to be pinoy today?

On another note, and “in fairness”, the station feels really REALLY bad about what happened. I saw Willie Revillame crying in front of his fans and telling them the show wasn’t going to push through. Malamang. Imagine the sighs from the audience and some of them going: “Nakampucha naman o… tatlong araw na ako naghihintay dito e. Tuloy na lang natin Willie! TFC subscribers!” Hehe, sorry I just HAD to put that in for comic relief. Anyways, all the hosts and all the “ka-pamilya”’s wore black, to show that they were mourning. Nice. So sincere. They prayed for the souls of the departed every so often… before commercial breaks. They gave food and drinks to everybody at the site. They even gave “tsinelas” to those who didn’t have slippers (At least yung iba may nakuhang libre diba?). They showed cute, angelic children dressed in white (probably sons and daughters of celebrities or owners) with teary eyes and frowns on their faces… except for that one brat I caught smirking (who suddenly managed a frown when he noticed he was on camera). Wow. Talk about genuine. Melts my heart. The subsequent shows that the station aired gave updates about what happened: from the hospital (where ~400 more people were injured, some in surgery, some in critical condition), from Arlington memorial, and even live from the Ultra, where (surprisingly) people were still hanging around. Help stations were put up where people could voice their troubles live on TV, reporting missing relatives and such. Take this scene where Ogie Diaz interviews some people, live:

Ogie: Tay bakit po kayo nananawagan?
Bystander 1: Nais ko po manawagan kay Willie Revillame at sa WOWOWEE
Ogie: Bakit nga po?
Bystander 1: Kasi pumunta pa po ako dito galing probinsya. Kanina pa po ako naghihintay. Gusto ko po kasi sumikat at magkaroon ng maraming pera…

Oh and there’s more:

Ogie: Nay bakit po kayo nananawagan? Sino po ang nawawala?
Bystander 2: Kasi po iniwan kaming mag-ina ng asawa ko…
Ogie: Ah so nawawala po si mister? Sige nananawagan po kami sa mga nakakita sa mister ni…
Bystander 2: Ay, hindi po siya nawawala. Nilayasan po kami nun, 4 na taon na. Tsaka pag bumalik po yon, ipapakulong ko po siya sa pulis. Sinapak din ako nun sa mata e… kaya pumunta ako dito para makakuha ng pera para gamutin yung mata ko…
Ogie: Kelan po ba kayo sinuntok?
Bystander 2: Nung lumayas po siya (4 years ago)

Wow. Imagine… all this concern in the midst of death. Awesome. Just peachy. They also interviewed some poor pedro who lost his 54 year old mother. Suddenly, lo and behold, the “ka-pamilya” host goes something to this effect: “Bakit naman kasi sinama mo pa ang nanay mo eh matanda na yan? Dapat nagpapahinga na lang yang mga yan sa bahay…” Wow. Was he serious? Bakit ika mo?!? Dahil nagwagayway kayo ng pera sa harap ni lola, at ginusto niya sumali sa TV show nyo, para makakuha ng konting barya, para mai-ahon ang pamilya niya sa kahirapan. Is there anything about that that you don’t quite understand? Isn’t it clear enough for you, mister host? Now you have the balls to insinuate that it could possibly be their fault?

~70 people were killed, almost all were female, some were little children, most were middle-aged or elderly women. Some are still missing. Wala man lang kalaban-laban.

Good thing is, there’s a silver lining! Really?! For the people? Umm…not much. Okay okay, none at all. But for the TV station? They’re milking this event for all its worth! Coz really now, let’s be realistic.. What else spells more ratings than a stampede where a lot of people were killed and injured, and we show that we’re doing all that we can do to help them? Ka-ching ka-ching ka-ching! HEL-LO mister moneybags! Uh-huh. They’re even postponing the launching of PBB (Pinoy Big Brother) Celebrity Edition, to give way to a concert to be held later tonight for the benefit of the victims and their families. Brilliant! More return on investment! Makes me wonder if some network genius devised all of this just to boost ratings. Kudos to you mister network exec! Imagine? A stampede?! That’s a hard thing to pull off! Excellent work. Proudly pinoy! Could someone please check if we can get into The Guiness Book of World Records for this? In international news, they just said the stampede was caused by a lot of people wanting to get into a televison show. Hah! If they only knew. Good thing “we” didn’t mention the bit about the free money. Onli in di pilipins my prends…

“Wowowee sinong di mawiwili…” Sa pera? This very popular TV show theme song poses a very good question. Sino nga ba ang di mawiwili sa pera? Now we have ~70 caskets which answer just that. I seriously can’t think of a lower point in Filipino history. Thanks to our outstanding media (which also dictates our country’s politics by the way) and a noon-time television show gone bad, people literally DIED for a chance at some free pesos. Wow. What a way to go huh? So I guess the next question would be: Who’s to blame? Who do we point the finger to? To answer with another question: What for??? Unless someone can bring back the dead…it’s pretty much final already. Period. Rant concluded.

Too bad… I really wanted to watch PBB Celebrity Edition pa naman. Haay…just my luck.

P.S. Ending on a slightly better note, let’s pray for the souls of the departed… and the other souls (unfortunately still living) which badly need saving. Yes, you guys know who you are…

Being (1994)

Something is wandering listlessly across a lifeless planet. Alone, it reminisces and mourns over its past life. It remembered once being a boy, a human being. Dying at the young age of fifteen, he took the form of something resembling a spirit, his presence unseen and unfelt by mankind, and discovered a new life, still in this earth but entirely different from the one he used to lead. He began to exist only to himself. His immortality had slowly let him witness the death of his friends, his loved ones, and eventually everyone else on his planet, the Earth. The end of the world had finally come along, haunting and remaining with him, as he is forced to tread continuously, endlessly, among stars, planets, and galaxies, searching for any trace of life, a companion of some sort. His long, hard trek had been in vain and his sorrow had developed into something far vaster than the unfathomable distance that he has already traveled. He wished his death had been more final, his existence more concluded. He would rather be obliterated than to stay another millenium in dark, solitary confinement, his eternal damnation. The search for companionship became a search for an end. Not only for him, but for the others exactly like him, also roaming the universe, alongside him, but not together with him. They were not alone, but were never aware of it, in their futile search for one another.

Puyat (Sept 1996)

Ang ula’y tumatagaktak na sa labas
Kape ang naging tanging tagapagligtas
Ang tulugan ko’y naging mistulang Hudas
‘Sang mura’y muntikan nang maibulalas

Mga mata ko’y wala nang kasimbigat
Patiklop-tiklop at di man lang mamulat
Nananaginip. Naglalakbay sa dagat
Araw ay unti-unti nang sumisikat

Biglang nagising ng orasang maingay
Sa kagulatan ko’y umangat ang kilay
Napuna ang kaliwanagan ng bahay
‘Di na nagawa ang proyekto sa Soksay

Isipan ko’y bigla na lang nabulabog
Sa pagmamadali’y sa sahig nahulog
Pulang dugo’y umagos na parang ilog
‘Sang kakaibang kahimbingan ng tulog

Moving

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At one of life's crossroads...