That’s the request Frances and I are crying for. Everytime we see Pia in Eat Bulaga!, we are disgusted. Vic, it’s time to dump her ’cause she’s becoming an over-acting bitch. Her outfits are not trendy, rather they need a call for a stylist. She should avoid wearing shorts also because her knees are horrible. Pia, we are begging you, hire a stylist and bring back style on TV.

So many thoughts are left unpublished. Mostly forgotten, but a few remain in an imaginary cloud hovering atop my head. Of the few, many are left dormant for I’ve been lingering trapped in lackluster state of mind. Frustrating. Unproductive.

It has been months since my last post. Many things have happened. Changes have been drastic. It is only I that’s been idle. Thus I proclaim my return with a stockpile of random thoughts.

The recent economic recession has a slight effect on me. I have not been following the news on the issues and I complied with tips online about not checking my 401K account to avoid further personal breakdown. It’s not that I lost much, it’s tedious and unproductive on my part.

Many school of thoughts have risen on the cause of the meltdown. They are all experts, so there’s no need for me to argue. I would however throw my unproven two cents on the matter. I’m not learned or deligent enough to work things that concerns the actual causes or possibilities. I have neither a degree in economics nor in politics. Herein are my thoughts driven by a limited logic that I possess.

Many have said that greed caused the havoc. On this note I agree. Since the inception of massive labor outsourcing the US economy have been suffering. Outsourcing labor means that unemployment in the country increases. Corporations resorted to outsourcing because of lesser overhead. The cost of one person in the country could pay for five in an English-speaking third-world nation. It’s a productive and inexpensive solution. The most affected demographics would be the clerical and administrative positions which mostly compose the average consumer. With a significant number of consumers remain jobless for a long period of time comes a decrease in luxurious demands.

Another historical change would be the transition from white house to black house. It may sound racist, but it’s a fact. The European Union and the radical leaders of South America have succeeded in establishing a puppet in Barack. Barack is boldly selling Americans to the enemy. It’s not a secret why EU was founded (only the masses are ignorant and the learned tend to ignore). Chavez and Castro are clearly not American symphatizers. The reason why Europeans adore Barack so much is that they can laugh at the world’s superpower. Barack’s inexperience in the executive decisions has unravel in his foreign affairs. Yes it made the foreigners smile, but made his citizens frown. I will be expecting four years of Hollywood and premature presidency.

It is undeniable that we live in a material world. Possession fuels mankind. Possession causes reactions within the system. Unconditional relationship is somewhat a form of possession because binding oneself to another is a form of ownership. The most obvious form of possession would be financial — monetary, real assets, etc. It has become a lifetime struggle for a person to possess financial stability which is an impossible feat. It is impossible because just like what Puff Daddy & Ma$e rhymed, “Mo money, mo problem.” Man has no sense of satisfaction.

Possession is the root of all problems. Then man would dream of wealth, now man dreams of a simple life. The latter would be as much of a struggle as the former. It would be most rewarding if one lives a simple life, but that means liberty from society and that is not an easy thing to do. Since man is naturally possessive, stripping himself of all possessions would lead him to succumb to despair.

Freedom from the grasp of the possessive nature of man is the second phase towards detachment. There are two ways to achieve the feat: wealth and surrender. Wealth and self-control would be a great combination into dissing society. The effect would be paradoxical, but effective. It is not an easy task to be wealthy or have self-control. Either one is a task that takes a lifetime to master.

The easiest  way to muster the hurdle of the second phase would be a surrender. That is to surrender oneself from being possessive. That is, furthermore, to totally abstain from possessing. Not even meditation is accepted because it still leaves a fingerprint of possession. Hermitage would be the perfect example. It is not impossible to relocate oneself to an utterly remote location that has fertile land. There the hermit can cultivate, grow and create only the necessities.

Attaining a simple life is hypocrisy because in reality, one can only live a simple life after he accumulates wealth. One may say that their lifestyle is average and thus simple. That is a lie because one works not to maintain, but to gain.

Korean Dramas have been low in subtitling recently. That means I couldn’t watch anything. Aside from a few KPop ventures like Younha & Nell, there’s really not much to do online. So I remembered I had a few unfinished serials (rather I discontinued watching them). One of them is GINTAMA. I chose to continue Gintama over Naruto and Bleach because I really don’t need to follow the manga to follow the series, plus it’s hilarious.

What scares the beejeesus out of me is change. It’s very difficult for me to accept changes. Acceptance is a hard act. I’m only a simpleton. I especially cannot cope with drastic change. Why can’t changes be spontaneous and subtle?

The cycle of life within the planet has become abnormal. Changes occur without a process. People have skipped a step to reach the destination. There are no longer means to an end. The journey has been forgotten, instead we teleport to the destination. And the result isn’t pretty. Many are affected; the environment and whatnot.

I look to the future it makes me cry
But it seems too real to tell you why
Freed from the century
With nothing but memory, memory

- Taken from Everything Must Go by the Manic Street Preachers

Society is a disease. It poisons natural thought process, thus influencing the body pain and suffering more often than not. Its establishment of conventions and illusive rules hinder human’s natural instincts from execution. The feeling of being not able to act the way you want to is suffocating and demoralizing.

Society is simply a network running in a system. Obviously, that system is imperfect because a person like me exists (the anomaly). Did I just remind everyone of The Matrix? Slightly. It is indeed a movie splurged with massive amount of colliding philosophical ideas. Before I get off topic, conditional relationship is one way to interconnect each individual within the system.

Conditional relationship is a relationship created between two or more people. It is not inborn. It is famously known as romantic relationship. I categorize it to be conditional because a condition must pre-exist before the relationship is created and maintained. Once a condition is not met, the relationship is not created or if it is violated, the relationship is broken. Continuity in preserving the condition is the main goal for this relationship more than the relationship itself.

How is a conditional relationship developed? There are many ways to create such connection. Many have coined witty sentences to describe or relate a development of romance. The latest I’ve read (from Joanna’s YM status) was about colliding personalities creating a chemical reaction that eventually led to a formation of one (a connection of many is considerably singular) entity. Now that sounds scientifically cool, but a substance can still be broken up into its original state (into elements) in degraded quality.

In a romantic relationship, at least one side must work on preserving the relationship. That is not easy as well as ineffective. One must sacrifice to make the other happy. In my small little world, sacrifice is a no no. Thus, this relationship is a disease to mankind. Since it is not inborn, it can be avoided and can be severed. It is the easiest phase in man’s journey to complete detachment. This ad hoc connection is the easiest to disconnect.

This entry was inspired by e-lo-(u)-ise’s YM status (dated 10/25/2008).

The complexity of living is caused by none other than choice. The simpleton in me loathes the most profound trait of a human being which is free will. At the same time, free will is a requirement in the ideals that I strive for.

Having to choose amongst things is very troublesome. Many preferences must be considered and distinction is usually not profound, hence leaning towards one or the other is inevitable. The complexity, that is to have a monochromatic possibilities for an act, leads to a complex and messy situation. I don’t like messy situations.

On the other hand, all beliefs that I learned and live by have free will as the requisite. I can do anything I want without a care for others — that is free will; my choice. A life without free will is impossible even if a dictator exists. Let us say that a dictator exists and that dictator is outside the realm of living. (Aha! I’m injecting the concept of an Almighty.) The decisions that the dictator made would still pave the way for the actions of the human. Though indirectly, the choice is still there.

So what have I deduced from this mumbo jumbo? Choice can be avoided if and only if one is still; only in death.

I missed your annoying phone calls.
I missed your nags when I don’t answer your calls.

You’re cute when you’re still,
Spontaneous, and unconscious.

I laugh not at your jokes
But because you laugh at them uncontrollably.

I can’t wait for the day
That I can pinch your cheeks again.

neo mu gwi yeo weo, Frances-ssi (너무 귀여워)

It’s been a while since I rented DVDs. I was hooked on the many new KDramas that aired before the year ended. I just couldn’t insert Hollywood in between episodes. So right around Christmas week, I returned my Blockbuster envelopes after they scattered around the house for months for new DVDs. Allow me to digress and explain how my rental routine works.

I signed up for Blockbuster’s online rental; just like NetFlix, only better. I say better because I can return my envelopes at my assigned Blockbuster store for free DVD rentals — 1 DVD for 1 envelope. The rental rules applies. While I have the DVD from the store, the online rental will already send me whatever is next in my queue (availability of the title succeeds the queue). Again, if I return 1 envelope, they’ll send me 1 DVD also. In essence, I’m getting twice as many DVDs.

Back on topic — this weekend, I saw three good films: Meet Bill, Step Brothers, and Traitor.

Meet Bill is a story about identity crisis. I enjoyed it because Elizabeth Banks was hot and not because of the story. The story was okay, but left hanging just like its characterization. Aaron Eckhart’s personification of Bill was praiseworthy and Banks’ body display was delightful to my eyes.

Step Brothers is a story of two middle-aged men becoming stepbrothers after their parents remarried. It’s another one of those Will Ferrel films where everything is blown out of realistic proportion. It’s stupid funny.

Traitor is a story of an FBI undercover who was of Sudanese decent from Chicago (sounds familiar?) He is caught between his beliefs and reality. He sacrificed himself in order to battle terrorism that killed his father and at the same time, he is battling to keep intact his spiritual beliefs. I consider this film to be one of the year’s best because it is substantial overall. It wasn’t overloaded with Hollywood effects and at the same time the story wasn’t dragging. The audience would know that Samir was undercover, but the film would still grab one’s curiosity. That’s because of the nature of the characters, one cannot know what will happen to Samir in the end.

I strongly suggest to anyone the movie Traitor. You won’t regret it.

Finally had Smart’s Plug ‘n Talk. I had it bought from the Philippines and had my grandmother bring it. After a couple of days use, here’s what I think and know about the technology:

• The flashdrive comes with 1GB memory space.
• PnP; installs everytime I plug into the USB port.
• Runs on XP/Vista.
• E-Load link does not work.
• Shows Philippine time.
• Shows status of device. If not ready, re-plug the device if Re-Login does not work.
• I can’t copy-&-paste onto the message box.
• The new message does not show an excerpt; just a blank row.
• So far, not all promo by Smart is covered.
• You will be tempted to spend so much because text messaging is so easy.