Read and Write – Page 5 – Marcus Can Blog

Love in a jeepney

Late in the afternoon, the sky is overcast, western wind blows cold but two people still in their college uniforms don’t seem to care. Sitting tightly in a half-full jeepney, the girl’s left arm hooks from under the guy’s right with both hands closing the romantic loop. The couple stares outside as if wondering when heavy downpour will eventually happen, yet they’re not. The rain is the least of their worries.

Almost cheek to cheek, their eyes don’t meet but their body language, despite the reserved movement from time to time to shift from one straining position to another, suggests that there’s more to the warmth of their proximity. It’s Friday and they’re looking forward to doing things but school works.

“Young and in love, I was once like them,” Bani talks to himself as if influenced by the weekly radio show’s new wave music. These are songs from his time, songs from more than a decade ago.

The Cure’s Friday I’m in Love continues playing; this time the volume is a lot lower that it used to be back in his youthful days – just in the background, just enough to mask the monotonous purr of his vehicle’s engine.

Bani cherishes this advantage of being in an enclosed and air-conditioned car where air is pure which the rusty and annoying jeepneys outside him obviously cannot boast. The void, however, inside the comfy sedan cannot be denied. Bani is in deep thought. A part of him wished that he can just be young and in love and be in a jeepney.

On cue, the music transitioned from the Robert Smith classic to The Cars’ Drive – another track Bani used to enjoy even while inside a packed jeepney.

“Who’s gonna tell you when, it’s too late Who’s gonna tell you things, aren’t so great You can’t go on, thinkin, nothin’s wrong Who’s gonna drive you home tonight…”

Traffic has begun to move and he glances from left and right to check the mirrors and quickly returns his sight in front of him. Through his lightly- tinted windshield, he can see that the young couple has huddled tighter. The rain has started pouring hard. The road is starting to get wet.

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Lyrics from Sing35.com2

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Half lies, half truth.)

Paulo Coelho is human after all

This quote inspires, at least until you spot the missing apostrophe.

Truth to be told, I have become Paulo Coelho’s follower only after I learned that he is on Twitter. But while I haven’t read any of his popular novels such as “The Alchemist” and “The Witch of Portobello,” his solid fan base tells me that the man’s writing skill and style has made him earn the recognition that he now shares with the best authors of the world — anyone who’s into literature knows Paulo Coelho. So rather than feeling disappointed when- ever I see him falter on Twitter and on Facebook, his writing errors tell me that he is just like any other good writer I’ve read about – they make gram- mar mistakes and their works have to be proofread and edited. Yes, in short, they are humans after all.

Paulo Coelho is also a victim of common Twitter mistakes: disappearing apostrophe and misplaced/missing period.

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Do you think I forgot something here? Ah, yes. Followers (wink wink) of this blog know very well that I make sure I give credit to the sources of the images that I use here. This time, however, I will give it less priority just to make a point. You see, just like his controversial stories, Paulo Coelho’s stand on intellectual property rights shocked me and so you’ll know what I’m talking about, read his My Thoughts About S. O. P. A.

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Before I forget, I can’t tolerate wrong use of ITS and IT’S…especially if you’re not Paulo Coelho. FYI.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (It was raining hard this morning and I thought Marcus’ class will be suspended. I was wrong. Sun’s out now.)

48-hour protection? Not really

I haven’t done any product review for quite awhile but as much as I hate that I would do one for a men’s care product I still would in the name of truth in advertising and to prevent others to fall into the same mistake I had when I purchased Dove Men+Care deodorant product. Despite doubt that a deodorant with such lasting protection exists in this sweaty spot of our planet, I took my chance (risk could be the best word) in getting a new product with the hope that I would be able to replace the one that I’m currently using.

And thanks but no thanks to global warming and its horrendous summer, the flaw of this product eventually leaked out (pun intended). In a matter of days, I surrendered to the fact that Dove Men+Care 48-hour deodorant is pure fallacy and that its promise to provide a powerful protection, non- irritant deodorant fails big time at own expense…and my wife’s and kid’s discomfort. Ti abi.

So the next time you pass by your grocery store’s isle and hear a voice in- side your head telling you to buy a deodorant with a 48-hour protection, do yourself a big favor — and for the love of your family, your fellow commuters and co-workers — DO NOT BUY! For now, I’m back to using Old Spice! Hmm. I just realized that there are creative people in the deodorant industry and that Sully’s Wet Dog deodorant must be real after all.

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Photo credit: (Yes, I still have to give them credit) www.dovemencare.com.

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Mood: 1/10 Honks! (Whew! This bad review made me sweat all over again. Psycho music please!)

Noemi’s Mother’s Day

The celebration is once again all over TV and the radio – the only media where she’s getting her free connection to the world outside the slums which she has accepted as home. Cruel twist of fate left Noemi no choice. She already knows this place very well from its smell, its noise, its people and along with the small kids that seem to grow in numbers every day.

“Happy mother’s day sa inyong mga mommy!” A familiar voice on noon- time TV screams. This popular gay comedian has been Noemi’s source of cheap entertainment and short escape from reality. She and her gang have made Noemi smile, made her forget someone of her own. She has felt this guilt before in the past years. Obviously, memories remain fresh.

The TV host’s enthusiastic greeting got Noemi’s motherly intuition to kick in, again. ”Pasensya na anak pero mas malakas ang kutob ko na mas mahal ka nila at tiyak na nasa mabuting kang mga kamay.” She could feel the lump in her throat as the image of a lovely yet frail Robert appears out of nowhere. Robert, the name she used to call her fifth son.

A sweaty arm from one of the rambunctious kids rubs next to Noemi and she instantly gets cut off from the thought that has haunted her for years. She lets go of Robert, looks around and fakes a smile as she begins to realize that she is in the midst of other people packed in one of the shanties as they get their daily dose of Showtime. Kids, some half-naked, some dirty, some half-naked and dirty, kept running around. Every kid seems to be here…except for one. Today, Noemi’s guilt has returned.

The Squatters Mentality

Demolition. Scarborough. Demolition. Scarborough. Demolition. Scarborough. These continue to flood the news and both have something in common. I realized that the slums is a microcosm of the ongoing conflict that is happening between us and our neighboring countries who claim that they too own Scarborough Shoal and the Spratlys Island. This local and international news mixed up has been so strong that I think that there are things from the steadfast squatters that every country uses too to strengthen their own claim of the disputed Islands in the South China Sea:

1. Our parents said it’s ours, so it’s ours. (According to web references, the Chinese believe that these islands are theirs since 200 BC.)

2. We were born here, so it’s ours.

3. We’ve already built a house here, so it’s ours. (Several claimants have built their own structure in Spratlys.)

4. No relocation, no deal. (Personal appeal: please relocate me to the West before you guys resort to #5.)

5. Mess us and we’ll mess with you. (This can get ugly…or stinky at the very least. Let’s avoid this at all cost.)

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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Hot Monday morning but wifey and Marcus don’t seem to care—they’re still in bed.)

Easter Bani

Trying to collect himself and checking his location, Bani feels the unmistakable warmth of the bed. It’s still dark but he knows very well that he just woke up neither from a leather-clad, double deck bed nor from a Lazy Boy, both of which where he has perfected 5-minute naps in almost a year; more so in the recent weeks when his sleeping pattern has been abnormal. Well, more than just his sleeping pattern, actually.

Few minutes more of staring blankly at the Discovery program on the wall- mounted TV, he fumbles for his phone, placed alongside the TV’s and air conditioner’s remote control, and an empty liquor glass. “It’s 5 AM,” Bani silently reads from the blinding glare of his Nokia.

Bani soon realized that the cheap gin from his Black Saturday night cap has dried up where it spilled just barely a foot away from where his little boy, Raffy, lies. Just like last week, he has decided to return home from a planned sleepover with the family Bani has jokingly called ‘The Wilsons,’ Raffy being Dennis the Menace.

“Once again, he wants back,” the puzzled ‘Mrs. Wilson’ who lives just a couple of houses away, tells of Raffy who used to enjoy spending the night with them.

An hour more and Raffy remains static, his left thumb in his mouth, eyes partially shut. “His eyes look a lot like you,” he remembers the usual line his wife would tell him, referring to the partially opened eyes. Friends have told him it also means that he distrust people. Bani would agree.

Bani’s April Fools’ Day

Finally, after the feeding his almost 4-year old son, Bani gets his chance to have his own brunch. Eating another canned food, which has been his usual diet for about two months already, he glances at the calendar right across his table.

“So it’s now April Fools’ day,” Bani talks to himself, his son occupied with the Tom and Jerry show on TV. Life has been tough lately. Thoughts of cancelled weekend to a hot air balloon fiesta replaced by frequent trips to clinics and hospitals – with him behind the wheel and either his wife or kid waiting for their turn to see their respective doctors – race across his mind. He snaps back, he’s on his last spoonful of rice. Meal done, laundry next. Few more hours and Bani will be driving back to his in-laws where his wife’s been recovering.

It’s April Fools’ day and Bani is obviously not amused

Anna Banana (part II)

Well, guess what? Barely a month after I posted my last blog about mama Berns who conquered the airwaves just to promote her son’s Anna Banana song on youtube.com, her relentless effort somehow paid off. As of this writing, the then lousy homemade video took off from just around 2,000 to almost a million hits.

But this is not because the video reached viral status on its own but it is because some crazy PLDT marketing guys took the risk of using Anna Banana as a radio ad to capture more potential PLDT myDSL subscribers. And while I can’t help but loathe whoever it was behind this gimmick (and pity other unsuspecting listeners who got “hypnotized” to check out this anna bananaDSL video) I on the other hand agree that this is such a genius move. It is one of those effective campaign that was used by people behind American Idol’s William Hung, our very own Manny Pacquiao, and the versatile and beautiful actress Anne Curtis Smith. All these personalities became successful record artists despite their lack of singing skills.

We also know by now that both mama Berns and her son possess star features as well. It is just matter of time when these mother-and-son team would be seen on TV waving and smiling and getting more than the attention that they once wish they will achieve when mama Berns dialed her way to different FM stations and radio programs all the day long (probably with the goal of just getting youtube views). But of course I am still among those who believe that this boy behind the Anna Banana song will grow up hating himself for this youtube video but at the very least he would have one hell of a story to tell to everyone about the day when his original composition (and his mother’s persistence) got popular more than they expected it to be.

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Grabbing the opportunity to write while my in-laws and their kids are here to visit us especially wifey who is still recovering from a bad infection.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Pizza and pasta and coke. Typical Sunday diet. Will regret it tomorrow.)

English is an Egg-citing Language

Ernie Zarate’s book once again came handy. I still consider his Malictionary, which has been inside my blue laptop sling bag for quite a while, as a practical reference (and entertainment) to most frequently (ab)used English words.

While figuring out what to do this afternoon, one of the words in this small yellow paperback led to me to open our thick dictionary to see if this architect-turned-broadcaster’s pronunciation guide is correct for the English words starting with ‘ex.’

In his book that was published in 2005, Mr. Zarate wrote that even some broadcasters have repeatedly mispronounced the word exercise (during the past Balikatan exercises) by saying it as ‘EGS uhr sighs’—he made his own easy pronunciation guide for the benefit of his readers. The book also states that it is common for most Filipinos to do the same thing with words ‘exciting’ and ‘except’—that is, pronouncing ‘ex’ as ‘EGS.’

”Pronouncing the letter “x” as “gz” or “gs” may be alright if the accent was on the second, third or fourth syllable as in “exalt or exaltation (ig ZOLT, igzol TEI shun) or as in “examine or examination” (ig ZAH min, ig zah mi NEI shun)”, Mr. Zarate explains. But his explanation wasn’t completely absorbed by the soft stuff inside my head.

Our Merriam-Webster dictionary then comes to the rescue. After flipping back and forth through its pages where the ‘ex’ words are, I eventually recognized the pattern. I discovered that if the ‘ex’ is followed by a vowel or a silent ‘h’, it is then likelythat either ‘ig’ or ‘eg’ applies such as in the following words: exact (ig’ zakt), exam (ig’ zam), executive (ig ze k(y)u tiv), exist (ig zist), exit (eg zit), exile (eg zil), exotic (ig za tik), and exuberant (ig zu be rant).

Meanwhile, most ‘ex’ words followed by a consonant use either ‘ik’ or ‘ek’ such as that in excel, exciting, exclusive, and excuse. At this point, it is already clear that the famous noodle commercial that introduced the word EGG-citing is catchy but wrong thus should never be used in normal and, especially, in formal conversations.

However, as this is just my general observation, it apparently still pays to continue reading and learning from reliable sources and not just believe anything that popular media feed us. This is also to say that writing English is one, articulating or pronouncing it is another.

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Incidentally, a couple of hours after learning all about these things, I was called by two separate call center companies. I’ll be in for an interview tomorrow somewhere in Laguna.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Phone calls from HR personnel are always egg-citing.)

We Are Neighbors

Ok, I don’t know if this is an embarrassing admission but this is part of my treadmill session playlist: Camouflage’s Neighbours. However outdated this song is, I cannot ignore its relevance to recent current events. Libya and the rest of the Middle East, and now Japan. The following lyrics are just striking:

White man yawning in his armchair

smiled while watching white TV.

Hundreds of people death or injured

he never understands this hysteria.

Although the song may have been intended to reflect sentiments of activism, with its reference to white man and black oppression, during the Apartheid days, it still represents the different sides of the globe in this post-new wave era. Whether we accept it or not, many of us do not grasp the full extent of an event until such time when we become active participants, or worse, victims of it.

Some call this apathy and some refer to it as Schadenfreude or the pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others-–gaba in Ilonggo—or generally referred to as karma. How many would agree and admit that there is this some comforting feeling in just being home, glued in front of the TV while shaking our head at the sight of horrific footages from the trivial motorcycle accidents to the major world events as they unfold. I also don’t know how many people exactly act out of compassion but my best bet is that there’s just a few. I for one haven’t done much. Now that’s an embarrassing admission.

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There’s this recent discussion about armchair revolutionaries in the Philippines. According to online thread, Jim Paredes described it as people who take their advocacies only thru social networking sites, Twitter and Facebook. From this definition alone, I’m guilty. Nevertheless, while I believe that social media per se brings intangible action, there is still a collective effect brought about by all these bits of chitchats. It is because when people online become aware of what is happening and what is being done by others, they are more compelled to get their hands off the keyboard and use it to do something more productive. This has been proven during the Ondoy crisis wherein coordination between concerned groups and individuals have become more effective and efficient by utilizing the power of the social media. Therefore, it shows that when push comes to shove lots of people still have the tendency to extend actual help however they could whether they are celebrities, politicians, or just the regular Juan Dela Cruz.

So how does one turn social media into a useful tool rather than just a plain chat room? Here are five ways:

Follow the right people. Other than your pals or officemates, keep a list of trusted people (e.g., journalists) who can keep you informed of current events.

Participate actively. Sending an RT (Twitter) or a repost (Facebook) of verified information helps. It is likely that not all of your followers (or friends) follow the same people whom you do, so any important information coming from your trusted source is best relayed to them.

Do not abuse the hash tags. People on Twitter are familiar with the hash symbol (#). It is used to keep anyone track a particular discussion without having to follow certain individuals. During a crisis, one must not use a hash tag (e.g. #tsunami, #Japan, #Libya) just for the sake of attracting attention and unnecessarily flooding the timeline.

Do not spread unconfirmed reports. Just like in the conventional media, doing this doesn’t do any help. This can be avoided by following # 1.

Be sensitive. Or observe tact. A simple comment may seem harmless but some people may find it annoying or offending especially when everyone’s emotional about a recent event. Remember that not all people may share the same humor (note to self: this is for you).

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Mood: 4/10 (Pray for Japan.)