Wexistence

Dear Representatives Tieng and Velarde,

A bill that criminalizes sex toys? Seriously? What’s next, a bill that bans orgasms? Please don’t deny everyone else the sexual pleasure you are incapable of enjoying because of your puritanical beliefs.

I don’t know how you could possibly enforce a law that defines sex toys as any device that “can be used to stimulate human genitals,” “could trigger sexually impure ideas” or “can give room to sex-related offenses”. Human beings are both horny and incredibly creative and will continue to find sexual functions for everything, and I mean everything. From phallus-shaped fruits and vegetables to common household items to random things for which you cannot, for the life of you, fathom an erotic application. In aid of legislation, may I submit for your consideration: isthisasextoy.tumblr.com.

Conservatives love to talk about colonial mentality and how loose sexual morality is the product of western values eroding our own traditional Filipino values. Actually, this prudishness about sex is the Western influence and what we deem immoral sexual behavior was the norm in these isles before the western powers colonized us. The Spaniards were shocked by the sexual freedom of the natives. Pre-marital sex, multiple sexual partners, sex toys were no big deal. A girl’s virginity only mattered if she was of noble birth, e.g. the daughter of a datu whose marriage was intended to forge a political alliance. Some of those sex toys they sell in Malate and Quiapo are traditionally Filipino, and a lot kinkier than many western inventions.

Wouldn’t you like to know what those are for?

Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours Sincerely,
Harlot, Heathen, Hoor of Babylon

Multi-sectoral groups wave their banners in protest

I haven’t joined a rally since Edsa II. I was in college then, and I’ve since come to realize that there are more productive ways to expend time and energy if you really want to contribute to positive social change. Which is not to say that I don’t see the value in protest actions, because I do. It’s just that in the Philippines it seems like we’re marching onto the streets every other day and somehow the frequency lessens the impact.

But anyway, I was at the anti-con-ass rally on Ayala last June 10 because I felt strongly about the cause. I will not stand for a charter change that does not reflect the will of the people, for term extensions, for no elections in 2010 and for further abuses in government. I wanted to take part in an opportunity to raise awareness about the implications of con-ass.

It started out okay. I particularly liked the skit of Paq Yu (Gabe Mercado) and Juana Change (Mae Paner); I thought they summed up the issues nicely. It started going downhill for me when the politicians started talking. I would have much preferred it if the organizers had invited on stage more representatives of the various groups present, or even just ordinary citizens from different walks of life.

Political rivals sharing the stage: a show of solidarity for a common cause or just another campaign opportunity?

Chiz Escudero, Mar Roxas, Loren Legarda, Among Ed Panlilio among others addressed the crowd. Kiko Aquino Dy read a letter from his grandmother. (I’m sorry Tita Cory, but you lost credibility with me when you started hanging out with the shadier members of the opposition. I thank you for your service to and sacrifice for the country, but you are not the moral compass of the Philippines.) JV Ejercito relayed a message from Erap. (Your father was convicted of plunder and you have the gall to get up there and pontificate?) JV was the last straw for me. I left shortly after.

A banner with the faces of the representatives who supposedly voted for HR 1109

HR 1109 was approved through a viva voce vote. The ayes won simply because they were louder than the nays. There is no official record of who voted what, so we’re not sure if the lists floating around on the internet are accurate. Our best bet is the list of those who signed as co-authors of HR 1109. Obviously (with the exemption of Rep. Luis Villafuerte, who withdrew his signature), legislators will not vote against the measure they authored. I feel that propagating a list that has not been verified is unfair to the congressmen who may not have supported the resolution.

It seemed to me that people at the rally spent more time bashing PGMA and the con-ass congressmen than talking about con-ass itself. I wasn’t expecting a scholarly debate, but is it too much to ask that we focus a little more on issues and a little less on personalities? The backdrop of the stage read “Stop Gloria’s Con-Ass” as did many of the signs and banners people were carrying. I personally am against not just Gloria’s con-ass, but I’m against any attempt to violate our democratic institutions. It’s not just about the people involved in these shenanigans, it’s about what they represent. I don’t want to see just a change in political leadership, I want to see change in our entire political culture.

This will be my last rally for a while, unless something of Edsa I proportions happens.

On a lighter note, I thought this “Amazing Map of the Philippines” was really funny, though I’m not sure why someone was carrying it around at the rally:

“SHAPE LOOK LIKE ALIEN”

Earlier that day, at an MGG meeting in the Ayala Foundation conference room:

The view of Ayala at around 4:00 PM from 10th floor of the BPI building
Me, Paeng and Quintin with the crowd growing on Paseo de Roxas in the background,
Posing with Mae in her full Juana Change glory before the rally

View the full set of photos on Flickr.

Taken yesterday on the jeepney from Guadalupe to Rockwell:

“Magadang dalaga, nais kitang makilala ngunit ako'y abala sa aking manibela.”
“Sexy… kung nais moy's libre sa driver ka tumabi… He he he.”

“Basta't sexy libre… Buntis no way… Pag bakla gulpe”
“Subukin mong ako'y ibigin. Kung ikaw ay mabitin saka mo ako sisihin.”

I don't know why my mother insists on plunging headlong into the cemetery craziness on November first. Our relatives aren't going to be any more or less dead if we visit them on the weekend before or after the holiday. We were on the road for four hours and we live just fifteen minutes away from Manila Memorial.

The Filipino capacity for merrymaking is a sight to behold. Even something as dour as commemorating someone's death is transformed into a festive occasion. I can relate to some extent, because at our family's wakes you'd likely forget that someone actually died. When Filipino families get together, regardless of the circumstances, it's cause for celebration. But I don't understand why they insist on having their family bonding activities at the cemetery itself. I mean, you could go to the cemetery, pay your respects, and then go to someone's house and hang out and stuff. You don't have to camp out and set up the karaoke machine on your dead relations' graves. The phenomenon amazes and slightly disturbs me.

The temporary dwellings people set up are kind of cool though. Some of them are pretty elaborate, and aside from the every-present karaoke they've got dvd players and game consoles, water dispensers and microwave ovens. I've always wondered where they get their electricity.

This two-storey tent was next to my grandfather's grave:

My family didn't even bring so much as a cooler of sodas and this family brought their own scaffolding.

There's a kid in a sleeping bag on the “second floor.”

To lighten the serious political mood this blog has been sporting lately, let’s talk about midgets. By some weird coincidence midgets keep being randomly brought to my attention. Now I shall bring them to yours.

Midgets in Pinoy Showbiz

I’m not exactly immersed in Filipino pop culture, so in the past the only celebrity midget who came to mind was Mahal of Lunch Date/Jimboy Salazaar/Shower Scandal fame. Thanks to this article, I now have a better appreciation of the contributions of little people or unanos to the Philippine entertainment industry.

I spent one entire week possessed by Monica from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. The end result is this:

Identical transparent shoeboxes
I had a shoe cabinet, but it could only fit about half my shoes. I had to keep the rest of them in their boxes, which were of all different shapes and sizes and were forming messy piles in the corner. So I got rid of the cabinet and the assorted boxes and put all my shoes in these babies. Now they’re neatly stacked and since I can see through the boxes I never again have to rumage around for the pair I want to wear.

What can I say, I like boxes. I put my clothes in them too.
Instead of folding my clothes in random piles the way they used to, the maids now segregate my clothes and put them in the appropriately labeled boxes, making things much easier for me to find. This way I can take a box out of the closet, put it on my bed and rumage through that particular set without upsetting the other clothes.

Compartmentalized boxes for my belts, socks, stockings, and various odds and ends

My accessories: the one case in which boxes weren’t working for me
I used to keep my accessories in several jewelry boxes, but having them displayed on my dresser makes them a lot easier to find. I’d had that bust for a while but I couldn’t fit everything on it so I bought those two metal caddies to hang the rest of them on. They’re really for hanging mugs and kitchen utensils, but they work great for accessories too.

Bikinis, bagged and tagged
Bikinis are such unwieldy things. Even when you fold them properly they have difficulty sitting in neat piles and their strings go all over the place. Ziplock bags make them much more manageable.

My Star Wars shelf
My shelves are now organized by genre. I have designated shelves for my Pol Eco reference materials (books and readings compiled in binders by subject), comics, fantasy, hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, horror, history, historical fiction, classical literature, contemporary literature, and children’s/young adult literature.

I took these pictures while waiting for my brother Luigi to get out of work. The security guard was looking at me kinda funny as I was chortling to myself in the corridor.

“Ketamine is not medicine… It's a sin.”

“I know you don't wanna marry Juana.”

“Do drugs and you're no better than a dirty old rug!!!”

“Hey cousin, if you wanna win don't take Ketamine!”

“Morphine is just plain mean!”

“Don't be a butthead.”

“Remember: a moment of pleasure is worth years of pain…”

“Drink coke don't sniff!”

Sutla Whitening Cream with Papaya Extract

From Estosan Garden Hotel in Cotabato City:

“Sweet Dream”
Just one. After the first they start charging.

“The massage shall be provided by a Blind-Male Monsieur.”
Do they mean monsieur or masseuse? I suppose both are technically correct, although a male monsieur is kind of redundant.

+5