Required Entry #10: Watchmen

Watchmen depicts an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940's and 1960's, helping the United States to win the Vietnam War. In 1985, the country is edging toward nuclear war with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most former superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the personal development and moral struggles of the protagonists as an investigation into the murder of a government sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement. Among the six superheroes in the novel, in my own perspective, Rorschach is the real one or the one who stood out the most. In the beginning of the story, he is introduced as the only remaining active masked vigilante not employed by the government. A ruthless crime-fighter, his beliefs in moral absolutism, good and evil, have driven him to seek to punish evil at all costs. He always seek for what is right. Though he possesses no obvious "superpowers", he merely has his strong will, peak-human physical strength, and finely-honed sense of timing and precision. Rorschach is very resourceful, adapting ordinary household objects into tools or weapons, such as pepper to blind a police officer and the use of a can of aerosol spray in combination with a match to set fire to another police officer, during a confrontation at Moloch's house. I think what differentiates Rorschach with our traditional superheroes like Superman, Spiderman, etc. is that they all possess superpowers that they could easily use when "opponents" attack. Unlike with Rorschach who possesses somehow "real" skills which he uses to fight against evil. Rorschach is well versed in street combat, gymnastics, boxing and even in lock picking. This reflects that having power is not everything. Sometimes, simply being tactically brilliant and skillful make the best superhero. 

10 Qualities To Look For In A Presidential Candidate

The citizens of the Philippines have the duty and responsibility to choose the best presidential candidate in 2016. Superficial qualities such as personality and celebrity should be shunned. A new yardstick based on morals and principles should be the new norm in voting.

1. Integrity or Honesty – Dishonest leaders had been voted into office before with great costs to the citizenry. Money stolen by a mendacious official is money earmarked for public infrastructures and services the citizens will never receive.

2. Ability to delegate – The president has the duty to pick and appoint upstanding people to the Executive Office of the President and the Cabinet. The President needs the ability to delegate, as he cannot do all the tasks needed to run a country by himself.

3. Confidence or Security – A confident and secure leader has no problem believing and engaging others. He/she does not have the need for arrogance or feeling of superiority in order to convey his presence. As they say in the Southern US, “ If you have to tell someone you are a lady, chances are you’re not.”

4. Communication Skills – Communication is done not only by speaking but also by listening. A good leader speaks in clear and concise manner and listens attentively. A good president will need communication skills to keep the citizens up-to date with the government’s performance, successes and failures as well as to find out what his constituents want or need from the government.

5. Sense of Humor or Positive Attitude – Is he/she able to diffuse a difficult situation by looking at its lighter side? A good-natured leader will often make better decisions, as he/she is not afraid to show his/her humanity in public.

6. Commitment or Passion – Committed and passionate people make highly effective leaders, as they are tenacious and persistent. They will see to it that a goal is met and a vision is realized. Their focus and perseverance often pays off so betting on a committed and passionate candidate will likely yield positive results.

7. Ability to Inspire – The ability to inspire is an important quality, as people look up at the president as a role model. “Do what I say but don’t do what I do” will breed societal resistance and sanctimony.

8. Competence – A competent president does not need to be an expert in all theories and practices of public administration but he/she needs to be self-motivated and a fast learner.

9. Courage – A courageous person is not fearless. He/she just has the ability to face fear, danger, pain, uncertainty, intimidation and other difficulties without warping or caving in. Calm self-assurance raises the level of confidence in one’s decisions.

10. Servanthood or Selflessness – The president is still a public servant who is tasked to look after the well-being of the populace. He/she works for the citizenry and not the other way around.

Required Entry #9: Love Poems

Oneness is the desire of all lovers, the finding of a soulmate. Shakespeare starts out by explaining that love does not change when it finds a change in circumstances. He goes on to say that when love encounters sufferings, it bears the suffering and comes out alive, it will always survive it. What makes it so beautiful is that it describes love as something everlasting. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 truly is a pure joy to read. It makes one wonder that love can definitely makes one blind. Given the circumstances, one knows for a fact that he may be in love with the wrong person, yet his love towards his beloved is as strong as stone and is immeasurable. When one is in love, no matter how difficult and unhealthy the relationship is becoming, one will be forever kind and patient to his partner with his every effort to rebuild the relationship; A relationship that is built with a strong foundation of true love. Just as the Bible states, “Love is kind. Love is patient. Love never ends.”

This poem could be interpreted as the persona's undying love for her beloved who begins to count the ways in which she loves him. By counting the number of ways, the persona is trying to show that the love in her heart for her soul mate is present in all her walks of life. It is a way of expressing the beautiful fact that everything in and around her leads her to that love. But as I can see it, there is something spiritual going on that is the heart of the poem. It is expressing love for God. Browning concludes the sonnet with “if God choose, / I shall but love thee better after death.” I sense a deep longing in this line, a longing to become united with God. It is one of my favorite love poems because for me, being united with the Divine is the most perfect moment which anyone could aspire.

Facts About An Extrovert

Being an extrovert, I would just like to share some facts about us that everyone should know, especially with all these stereotypes about extroverts, which seem to be extremely popular now a days. A lot of introverts often complain that they feel misunderstood by their extrovert friends, yet the reverse is also true, since a lot of people think that extroverts are really shallow, that they are awful listeners or that all they think of is partying. Well, this couldn’t be more false because while introverts like to embrace solitude, extroverts like to go out and meet new people, we like to mingle at all the parties we are invited to because we get our energy from being around others. 

First, extroverts are not shallow. A lot of people think that extroverts are shallow but this is just not true, we just process information in a very different way. Even though we like to meet new people and we talk a lot, that doesn’t mean that we are not interested in deeper topics of conversation or that we don’t care about important issues. Actually, by listening and talking to more people, we will have more information on a certain topic and we will be able to have a better idea about it. Second, extroverts are not naturally happier than introverts. Even though there is evidence that extroversion is associated with a more upbeat, exuberant, high-energy affect, it doesn’t mean that extroverts are happier than introverts because most introverts are happy in a different way. For example, introverts may enjoy staying alone on a Friday night and reading a good book. Introverts get easily over-stimulated, so they feel the need to recharge more often. That doesn’t make them sad or less happy than extroverts, they are simply happy in different ways. Lastly, not all extroverts enjoy public speaking. Even though we talk a lot and we like to meet new people, it doesn’t mean that we enjoy public speaking because talking in front of a room filled with people you don’t know can be pretty scary, even for an extrovert like me. Even though we have a faster pace and cadence in our voice and even if we can express ourselves more easily in a social situation, we still need to do a lot of work in order to become amazing public speakers.

There are a lot of differences among people since we all are extremely complex individuals, and just like Susan Cain said, “Your introversion or extroversion will interact with your other personality traits, personal history and the culture you grew up in.” 

APEC 2015

 

What will the Philippines gain for hosting the APEC 2015? As leaders from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies gather in Manila for the second time after 19 years they will visit an economy that is about 3 times larger and to be hosted by a leader now seeking to spread the region’s prosperity to microentrepreneurs and poor farmers. The Philippines will be the world's biggest stage for one week. APEC summit is a good networking event. Under this year's APEC theme "Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World", the Philippines, along with 20 other member economies, has been pushing for inclusive growth and empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises among others. In the weeks leading up to the high-profile economic leaders' meeting on November 18 to 19, the Philippines has initiated to make the region bike-friendly, scale up disaster preparedness, and help micro, small and medium enterprises secure links to global value chain. On the other hand, The cost of the APEC Summit is huge, and Filipino people will bear the brunt of it. The Philippine government has allotted 10 billion pesos for the summit. Importantly, though, many workers in Manila who get paid by the day will be hard hit by two days of national holidays forcing them not to work, especially those who live hand to mouth, as is the case for many daily-wage workers who don’t get paid on holidays. In addition, poor and homeless people are being detained in the name of “cleaning up” Manila for APEC. As the Philippines aims to put its best foot forward and show off its developmental gains to visiting APEC leaders, Manila’s poor and homeless people have been rounded up and taken out of sight and out of mind ahead of the summit.

 

Hosting this year's APEC Summit has advantages and disadvantages for the Philippines and its people. I just do hope that there will be a huge change in our economy after all the sacrifices the Filipinos have done to cooperate in this remarkable event.

 

 

Required Entry #8: Cinema Paradiso

"Once upon a time, a king gave a feast. And there came the most beautiful princesses of the realm. Now, a soldier, who was standing guard, saw the king's daughter go by. She was the most beautiful one, and he immediately fell in love with her. But what could a poor soldier do when it came to the daughter of the king? Well, finally, one day, he managed to meet her, and he told her that he could no longer live without her. The princess was so impressed by his strong feelings that she said to the soldier: "If you can wait 100 days and 100 nights under my balcony, then at the end of it, I shall be yours." Damn! The soldier immediately went there and waited one day. And two days. And ten. And then twenty. And every evening, the princess looked out of her window, but he never moved. During rain, during wind, during snow, he was always there. The bird shat on his head, and the bees stung him, but he didn't budge. After ninety nights, he had become all dried up, all white, and the tears streamed from his eyes. He couldn't hold them back. He no longer had the strength to sleep. All that time, the princess watched him. And on the 99th night, the soldier stood up, took his chair, and went away."

 

At first, I really thought that the soldier was such a fool to sacrifice for so long and yet, give up just before just before its about to end. But then at the later part of the movie, the conclusion is: In one more night, the princess would have been his. But she also could not possibly have kept her promise and it would be terrible. In that way, at least for 99 days, he was living under the illusion that she was there, waiting for him. I think that this is also connected to the reason behind the ending of the story where a montage of cinematic kisses was shown and Elena didn't have a proper closure from the life of the protagonist. It's perhaps the greatest montage of motion picture kisses ever assembled, and, as Salvatore watches it, tears come to his eyes. The deluge of concentrated ardor acts as a forceful reminder of the simple-yet-profound passion that has been absent from his life since he lost touch with his one true love, Elena. Truly, there's a weird pleasure on loving someone who doesn't love you back.

END WAR TODAY!

"No peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions. No dialogue between the religions without investigation of the foundation of the religions" -Hans Kung

 

My heart felt sadness and sorrow when I heard about what happened to Paris last Friday, November 13, 2015. The City of Love became a city filled with darkness, grief and anguish. I really don't understand why the ISIS had to do it to them but I know that it is rooted from the conflict in religion and this will not be the last time they would attack. What's more threatening is that France took revenge and has already declared war against them and it will surely cause more death for all the nations involved.  ISIS even released a new propaganda video praising  the Paris attacks and threatening to launch an attack on Washington and other countries involved in the international coalition bombing its militant strongholds in Syria and Iraq. This season should be the most wonderful time of the year. Not a season of war, violence and hostilities. Conflict causes death, poverty and diseases. Despite of all the issues our world is facing today, I still think that there are a lot of reasons we should be thankful and hopeful for. I know that God is with us and all these chaos will end soon. There is nothing more important than praying and being faithful to Him, especially this Christmas season.