Marcus Can Blog

Believe it or not, today is one of the few most memorable birthdays I can recall. There’s something to being born during a holiday that I’ve gotten used to celebrating it with just a few people closest to me. During my elementary days, I’m one of those, if not totally alone, who haven’t had the chance to celebrate their birthday inside the classroom (with food and party stuffs brought along by my classmates’ parents) as classes were always suspended due Bonifacio Day. In my case, If ever I’d celebrate it with friends, it will just be at home and nowhere else. So as I ponder upon it, I see such experience of having simple celebrations over the last 30 plus years of my life as one of the primary influences to my attitude towards my birthday or anyone else’s. That is, I don’t make a big deal about it and in fact, I’m worse at remembering other people’s birthday even of my own family. You wonder how worse? If not remembering my mother’s exact birthdate, I don’t know what is. And the only birth date I can perfectly remember is just my father’s. Why? That’s because I was born on the exact date as he was and I was born during his 40^th.  More interestingly, my wife’s birthday is just as remarkable as mine. She was born on November 1 which incidentally also happens to be a Philippine holiday. Isn’t that just amazing? She’s the Alpha, I’m the Omega.

Now you might still be waiting for the reason why I find this day one of the most memorable? Firstly, today is my first birthday being a dad for more than one year. I woke up this morning, with one little boy giggling beside me as if he’s just about ready to sing a good birthday song. Secondly, thanks to facebook. This morning, onwards, I was overwhelmed with greetings that I never had in the past – from a variety of contacts, like ex-colleagues, classmates, professor & even one from abroad who isn’t even a kin. It was more than I expected and it actually surpassed what I got thru my cellphone. The day could have been perfect had I topped it off with a drinking session at my in-laws place (where we stayed overnight), but then again I had to hurry back home sober as I need to meet my classmates online…bummer. Just can’t have it all, huh. Anyway, next year might be better. We’ll see.

Thanks again to everyone who remembered. Of course, big thanks to wifey. Big thanks to Marcus.

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One thing that made this day great is that for the first time I got a birthday card from my father. Thanks, Tatay. I appreciate it a lot.

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Mood: 1/10 Honks! (simple yet great day…except for having to do school work)

Today, people in Dasmarinas, Cavite flocked to their respective public schools to participate in the plebiscite that will determine if Dasmarinas will finally win its bid for cityhood. If my memory serves me right, more than 10 years ago, I have already seen banners and posters promoting awareness to the public that the municipal government is ready to upgrade its status. Several people though have protested for a couple of reasons. These people stated from the obvious – the place stinks (coming from the nearby poultry/piggery) to the presumed effects – prostitution will proliferate, etcetera. This year, the campaign was revived and it looks like, the current administration is more than willing to get a majority of YES votes. And as concerned residents of this municipality, we were among those who came (dragged may be more appropriate for me) to exercise our first act of making our votes count – whatever it was.

Here’s an excerpt coming from a link posted by a facebook contact (thanks Mike E.). It’s from wikipedia.org and states the motivations for cityhood:

With the enactment of the 1991 Local Government Code, municipalities and cities have both become more empowered to deal with local issues. Regular municipalities now share many of the same powers of chartered cities, but its citizens and/or leaders may feel that it might be to their best interest to get a larger share of internal revenue allotment (IRA) and acquire more powers by becoming a city, especially if the population and local economy has grown enough. On the other hand, due to the higher property taxes that would be imposed after cityhood, many citizens have become wary of their town’s conversion into a city, even if the municipality had already achieved a high degree of urbanization and has an annual income that already exceeds that of many lower-income cities. This has been among the cases made against the cityhood bids of many high-income and populous municipalities surrounding Metro Manila, most notably Bacoor and Dasmariñas, which for many years have been more qualified to become cities than others.

I don’t know when the results will come in, but just this evening the municipal hall was full of activity as people surrounds the yellow ballot boxes, as each arrive batch by batch coming from different polling places. It’s not yet 2010, but the scene already reminds of TV footages from past elections. I’m hoping that this one will proceed smoothly no matter what the majority voted for. Goodluck Dasmarinas.

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The sight of the ballots being ushered into a suffocating crowd strengthens my stand for poll automation. I really think that whether our country in 2010 opts for manual or automated election, cheating will still happen as long as there are people who desires to cheat. But if every citizens take their part to be informed and vigilant, the possibility of an individual or group to stage such deceit will be thwarted if not totally eliminated. So please…

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (congrats Marcus!)

Tonight, I’m preparing for my first day in my Ethics class and I’m yet to read the chapters as required prior to this session. As I read through the course objectives written in the syllabus, I remembered submitting a 2-page reaction paper to my previous professor who was just as opinionated as I am and had several perspectives in life that arguably goes well with mine. Anyway, I’m sharing what I wrote before for everyone to read and for me to get back to it 8 weeks from now to check if I my intuitions are right or skewed when it comes to the aspect of ethics.

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Interestingly, this 4-word question captured my attention more than anything else that I’ve been thru since I started my MBA-Regis program a couple of months ago. Does ethics still matter? Is it still indeed relevant despite the current situation when it looks like the call to survive and get to live through the day gets stronger and stronger for almost every individual.

 

There’s no doubt that in today’s world there are so much things that surrounds one person and that so many things have contributed to the complexity to arrive to one ethical decision. In my opinion, today man is faced with a more difficult task unlike just deciding between taking the forbidden apple or not. There’s craving for education. There’s the need for entertainment. There’s inflation. There’s technology advances. There’s role-model and leadership crisis. And so many other things one can think of. Whether such thing that makes one to arrive at an ethical choice is tangible or not, it nevertheless makes the decision-making process difficult to deal with.

 

When man is confronted with a dilemma so difficult to choose from, normally the instinct is easy to predict – choose the easiest. Remember the often-used reason, “No one is perfect…so why strive be one”? This is probably the reason why, when man encounters a dilemma, he is most likely to choose whatever that can fill an immediate need. A quick solution, that despite being the right one in the short term, will still be ethically wrong at the end of the day.

 

So until the time comes when we stop reasoning as if we’re like electrons which according to Georg Ohm’s law, travel the least resistive path, we can expect to see more decisions whether coming from a grade school pupil or a corporate CEO to be one that’s not only unethical but immoral as well. Ethics shouldn’t be bounded by age, religion & sexual orientation (although both may be another topic worth discussing), profession especially not by educational attainment even if education may play a very important part in the process.

 

Let me give as an example one of my favorite topics to discuss. Piracy. In today’s fast-paced world where everything is almost accessible to everyone. The temptation to participate in one of the world’s most widespread disease, that will even shame the hyped AH1N1, is so hard to resist.

 

Piracy has proliferated like wildfire. And despite broadcasted accomplishments of its eradication by the authorities in the government and private sector, elimination of piracy has a long long (can’t stress it more than enough) way to go. Why? Because this is one problem that infects both the poor and the rich, the religious and atheist, the small businesses and giant corporations and surprisingly, not only the ignorant but also the educated.

 

At first glance, the option to pick piracy over legit things such as softwares is a no-brainer – it is cheap, very cheap. And obviously, the cheaper the better. For families who are trying to make both ends meet, it is imperative. For offices who’s trying to acquire new technology, it means business improvement. For students who are staying updated to the industry trends (like IT), it means high grades. These are just among the many justifications that one will readily give once asked for reasons why they would rather buy a fake merchandise over its genuine counterpart.

 

Unfortunately, while most of us achieved the goal we had in mind after we had flocked to the cheap DVD stalls and grab own fake copy, people in some parts of the world (or even just within the country) are affected by such act, however indirectly. Jobs are lost, people get fired just because one bought a fake Barney CD to teach her kids good manners; just because one office thought its the cost-effective way to do; just because one wanted to see a movie in the confines of his own room rather than go to the cinema where it is currently being shown; just because one student would like to pass his IT course; just because those CDs are indeed cheap; just because one failed to identify what is the ethical thing to do. Now tell me, does ethics still indeed matter?

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Mood: 4/10 Honks! (Having anxieties brought about by the news and gloomy weather.)

Time flies, time flies, time flies…and once more, time flies. So fast that it just occurred to me it’s already been a week ago since we had the pleasure to spend our day out with our ever trustworthy neighbors who tirelessly and patiently watch after Marcus whenever we’re out. What made that day better was the fact that wifey was one of those lucky few who won 3 tickets for Manila Ocean Park through Discovery Channel’s shark week promo which was held more than a month ago. And like some kid who has been promised of a weekend in the park, I was full of anticipation since the time I got hold of those free tickets.

The sight of these pirarucu/giant arapama - freshwater fish - alone are overwhelming. I can actually be contented just by staring at it the whole day.

The indoor acquariums were setup similar to that of Ocean Adventure in Subic but with more variety of aquatic species.

Marcus enjoyed this one, but...

...he enjoyed going back to these illuminated blocks better...

...and to prove it, he picked this comfy spot to lazily drink his formula. I now wonder where I can buy some of these or if I can fit it all inside our bedroom in the first place.

Those giant stingrays on the ceiling made me imagine what will happen if those glass enclosures break and I happen to be just below and in time for the stingrays to fall right on my face.

No, it's not a submerged jeepney, nor it's a clown fish driving. It's just Marcus with his usual self - likes being on the wheel. (This is just one of the displays inside the Manila Ocean Park.)

But of course, what can be more pathetic than not having the mandatory pose in front of the park's sign. We were here!

Lastly, How can I not forget to post the picture of the package that got us here for free. Thank you Discovery Channel.

The word is out and the news is all over the internet especially the social networking sites where I first learned about it. Today, Efren Peñaflorida was chosen as this year’s CNN’s Hero of the Year among the top10 candidates coming from different parts of the globe. To the delight of Filipinos, CNN’s online article says, “Pushcart educator named CNN Hero of the Year.” This prestigious award has once again lifted, well, somehow, the tainted image of our country, the Philippines. At least we have proven, for the second time in a row this month, that there’s more to our nation than just being on top of the statistics as being one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

Efren, receiving his award as CNN's Hero of the Year (Photo grabbed from CNN online)

In his acceptance speech (from CNN’s site), Efren said, “Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man ,woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry.” He also added, “Each person a has hidden hero within, you just have look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.”  Well said. Couldn’t agree more.

More power to you Efren and may people, including politicians, will follow your humble ways that lead to a grand objective. Congratulations once again!

Of course, when Filipino heroes are mentioned nowadays, chances are that it isn’t Jose Rizal (no offense meant) but instead, the name Manny “The Pacman” Pacquiao will come to mind especially from the younger generations who have seen him rise from rags to riches through his hardwork, perseverance, discipline and other skills and qualities he had shown to eventually become an exceptional boxer – the first ever boxer to achieve 7 championship belts in different weight divisions. This made him earn the respects of not only the Filipino people but likewise almost everyone in the whole world. Even foreign VIPs, celebrities and athletes hail him as boxing’s unquestionable pound-for-pound king (except maybe for the Mayweather father & son team, whom I’m quite sure will be converts when the next fight comes).

Despite all these proud victories of the two – Efren and Manny, I can’t help but reflect on the topic of heroism. What does it take to be a hero? What kind of life do heroes have? What does it take to maintain a hero status? Anyway, as I’m yet to answer those questions – and try being one (in my dreams), I realized in the process that being a hero is one thing, but being a responsible and consistent hero is another. Case in point? The current extra-marital affair issue hounding the Pacman.

Incidentally, amidst the celebrations after Manny Pacquiao overwhelmed the Puerto Rican figher, Miguel Cotto, on November 14, another trending topic immediately took over. Like in Twitter, #cotto & #pacman soon lose popularity as topics tagged as #teamjinkee #bangonjikee #teamkrista became an instant hit just barely a day after the historic match. Not to be left behind, I intently listened to the news (as a matter of fact, I guiltlessly watch The Buzz this afternoon) and read almost every Twitter feed related to this shocking topic. And although I acknowledge and respect the fact that the Pacman requested to give him space when it comes to this subject matter, I can’t help but shake my head in disbelief that he got himself into this trouble. As judgmental as it may seem, but I’m here to defend the Pacman.

For most of us, it is probably disappointing to learn that the person whom we looked up to and more importantly from one whom we expect to project a respectable family man image has committed something so unthinkable at this stage of his career and life. We begin to question his integrity. We begin to wonder if his prayers were sincere, and many other doubts of being a person that we cast upon him. But we should not forget however that until such time when they that we now consider as heroes become dead heroes, they remain human just like we are. Remember the short saying, “to err is human, to forgive is divine?” Yes? Then, it is therefore rational (and fair) to set aside our ideals of a perfect living hero and that we should get ready to accept the possibility that sooner or later these people we now look up to will falter just like anyone else; and as hard as it may seem to accept, they do need a second (or more) chance because for all we know, behind those strong characters and great achievements that our heroes have exemplified, they are still mere humans who strive to become perfect just like any of us.

Mood: 3/10 Honks! (not perfectly fine, including wifey.)

The entry of our kid into our lives however, changed me a bit. So last year was supposed to be the first time we had one, but the work schedule back then didn’t permit me to do so – to build one out of my collected used badminton shuttlecocks, that is. But this year, I have no more reasons not to do it. And so, it has begun…

Smashed shuttlecocks recycled as a Christmas tree. I Started stacking it last Thursday, and now it is almost done.

I think I've already convinced her that shuttlecocks can become one good Christmas tree. She's doing the Belen characters, also coming out of these badminton victims.

 

In the next few days, this art creation, if I may call it, will be painted – which luckily, majority of the green paint was recovered on the floor, after Marcus broke the container and spilled almost half of it probably thinking that it’s how things should get done.

 

***

Looks good, tastes good.

Wifey, as always, prepared a very healthy green salad for our snack this afternoon. Now, this is what I call green, good and real…not like the fake plastic Christmas tree. I can say, she’s loving the tree I made. I haven’t check though if there were worms hidden under those lovely and delicious veggies.

 

By the way, those are leftover Jollibee chickens. She's a creative cook just as I'm a creative Christmas tree designer...hahahaha.

 

 

 

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (lots of things get me excited nowadays.)

Question: What is the sum of adding a caffeine-powered and over creative CGI artist with a sleep-deprived, and de-motivated scriptwriter? Answer: 2012. Yes, you read it right. You get the movie, 2012.

This is another movie (the other one was Transformer 2) where my wife and I had to leave our little boy under the care of our trusty neighbor just so we can watch what the movie is all about and if it does stand up to the hype it has stirred. The movie, just as its trailer promised, have spectacular destruction effects of biblical proportion, but, its story didn’t do justice to my months of anticipation as I find it lacking sense and substance. 2012’s special effects appear as if it was made ahead of the storyline and that everything in the movie plot was created as an after thought (and needless to say, acting as a result is mediocre to fair).

However impressed I was with the special effects doesn’t mean though that it comes without obvious flaws. One just can’t help but spot at least a couple of annoying details that its producers desperately tried to pass off thinking that delivering an end-of-the-world movie will make one just sit back, relax (or panic in this case) and take it for what it is. They’re wrong. Gone are the days when audience will believe that the world will end just because something beneath the earth has ran amuck. People nowadays are now keener than before – thanks to Hollywood over-exposure and Mythbusters TV series. So it really would have been great if the producers have included details that should have come logically based on the premise that the earth’s core has become super hot. Like, why were there no simultaneous exploding volcanoes to imply an overheated core. Or why was it that despite the unfathomable gaping cracks, the other side of the globe wasn’t shown as feeling at least some sort of tremor. Likewise, if this whole thing was indeed based on the Mayans, it would have been striking if it was explained (through its Tzolk’in calendar) in part how their civilization, no matter how primitive, arrived at such accurate prediction. And so on and so forth. And more whys and more ifs.

Of course, it would have been in vain if the 2.5-hour movie didn’t conjure some kind of reflection on its audiences. For sure everyone inside the cinema started to think about the whole thing in between scenes. It is just inevitable to think what will it be really like if this unprecedented scale of destruction happens all of a sudden – like tomorrow. How will I react? Should I just stay put or take chances by driving waywardly over road fissures and collapsing structures; besides breaking traffic rules will be the least of my worries and jumping the car over a crevasse won’t matter anymore. Who will I save first? Who will save me? Where will I get one billion euro to be among those lucky beings inside the modern Noah’s ark? Will I go for REM’s It’s the end of the world or The Killer’s Everything will be alright as my last-day-on-earth song? Now isn’t that just tough. Anyway, if the Mayans are right, we still have 3 more years to go…let’s just hope they’re wrong so we can have another movie to laugh at come 2013. But what if they’re indeed really right…

Picture credit: 2012’s Official movie site

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (The hot peppermint mocha coffee I had inside the cinema was great.)

I’m currently burning the midnight oil, well at least until another hour from now.  And out came from the very low volume setting of my stereo is a familiar song which I think I first heard several years ago when possessing a padded Billboard audio cassette tape is still the “in” thing. Not finding the remote, I tried to listen intently as I try my best to recall who sang the version I’ve learned to love. Guess what. I remember.  It’s a new wave era band called…Midnight Oil. Now isn’t that weird.

My curiosity got me to instinctively search the web for who now sings this revival. The result surprised me when I saw a famous yet unlikely name to be linked to any song – Kofi Annan. I soon learned that this song is another advocacy to promote consciousness regarding the current climate change that everyone in the world is now facing. Now I find that not just weird but more like a crossroad for me, this song and my personal commitment to help advocate the need to instill environmental awareness.

Here’s the Beds are burning video from youtube.com and the mp3 file may be downloaded from timeforclimatejustice.org. Enjoy and help preserve our mother earth before it’s too late.

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (just came from an educational trip to the Manila Ocean Park. Will post my review soon.)

Can’t help but post this story after I saw it on Conan O’ Brien’s Late Night Show:

When Maj. Brian Dennis of the United States Marine Corps met a wild stray dog with shorn ears while serving in Iraq, he had no idea of the bond they would form, leading to seismic changes in both their lives. “The general theme of the story of Nubs is that if you’re kind to someone, they’ll never forget you — whether it be person or animal,” Dennis tells Paw Nation….read complete story here – Paw Nation Tweets.

 Once again, I’m somewhat overwhelmed with what have been going on around me. To start with, our little boy seems to be getting more active and restless each and every day – which may either be a good (entertaining) or bad (frustrating) thing depending on how unpredictable he can get. With regards to school, time flies so fast that I’m now actually approaching the last few weeks of my 3^rd term, and as early as now I can already feel the hectic schedule brought about by the next subjects I’m yet to get enrolled to. And although the holiday feeling is now in the air and gets me more excited everytime I hear people, especially on TV, countdown the days before Christmas, anticipating it however doesn’t do any help to avoid getting stressed; for one, it will be the first Christmas vacation when I will be celebrating as a bum. The last time I had such careless, or what I’d call “studently” for the lack of a better word, feeling was way back in college – which was more than 15 years ago. Imagine that.

Also worth noting is that as weird as it may appear to be, but politics plays a part, bigger this time than before, on the way I’ve been thinking and acting lately. Just like most people nowadays, my excitement for what might happen when the elections campaign period starts by the end of November (incidentally, it happens to be my birthday) and how it will eventually end come May 2010 is keeping my adrenalins up and my brains working and thinking. In fact, my eagerness to learn and share my unsolicited advices keeps me hooked most of the time to the Twitter world where recent talks about politics made every concerned Filipino tweeps (celebrities included) fidgety as the nation’s political scene gets hotter and hotter by the minute. For today I saw a couple of interesting links from tweeps I follow. Check http://sinongmasokey.org (by @gangbadoy) and http://bagongmedia.blogspot.com/ (by @jonasdiego).

Interestingly, while most of us are still reeling from the eventful 10 months that have passed us by, and some even wish if they can already call it a year and start a new one, let’s ready ourselves for the last two-month stretch before 2009 ends. Yes, let’s accept that fact that while our children know that Christmas and Santa Claus is just around the corner, us adults on the other hand had to deal with the dirty world of politics and the grinches (better known as politicians) it brings along with it as they all lurk behind every one of us smiling yet ready for the kill. So as we all live, unfortunately, in the hustle and bustle of both the holiday and political season, let’s just enjoy whatever might come our way. And however we define the word busy, one thing is certain – it will just get busier and busier in the next few days to come. Merry Christmas and Happy Election Year to all. Oooppsss. Got carried away.

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (at least the financial indicator looks better.)