the mungo conspiracy

Episode IV: A new hope, was how the Star Wars epic journey began. Not Episode I, which will come much later on, but Episode IV. And as the opening intro-credits rolled out into the infinite nothingness of space, the camera panned to an empire battle cruiser chasing after a small rebel ship. We are, without any warning, right smack in the middle of it. The genius that George Lucas was, Star Wars was a recognition that life's real stories rarely begins neatly with a slow opening where the plot is set-up and the main characters introduced. This is where we find ourselves entering a new decade, with renewed hope. For we have, by way of ballot, already done the hard part. Daunting tasks still lay ahead of us, of course. The old empire still casts a mighty dark shadow and the war not yet won. And we can not, as the Jedi Master Yoda would put it, just try. For in real life, you do or you do not, there is no try. Here's to new beginnings. To new hopes. To ...

It's nearly that time of year again, so let me go ahead with my own predictions. Both Unang Hirit and Umagang Kay Ganda, will have at least one new year episode with psychics doing their thing. How cliche can you get? I am hoping against hope that at least they would give it some twist. How about inviting back those who've made predictions for 2010 and scrutinize their accuracy? Or how about, just thinking out loud here, these supposed news programs get financial experts that can make predictions on the business prospects on the upcoming fiscal year? But that would be hoping for too much, I guess. Peddling stupidity is the current norm. And I predict more of the same stupidity for the coming year.

Another "expert" noticed yet another "error" on the new peso bills. Whale sharks are not exclusive to the Philippines, so went his logic, and therefore should not be included in the peso bills. Huwaaaaat? How's that again? Where in the new 100 peso bill did we even lay claim that we owned the exclusive patent to Butandings? Hmmm... volcanoes are not exclusive to the Philippines, get rid of that. People gathered together in a crowd, not our invention, get rid of it. And oh, we should tell Canada to change their flag since maple trees do not grow exclusively in Canada. We once had the coconut tree on our coin, that was a big mistake! Who the duck are these people? They're all coming out of the woodwork all of the sudden it seems. All laying claim to their 15 minutes of fame. Well ok,  great. You got your names in print. Go clip that from your Inquirer, save it, and take it with you to your grave. Congratulations! You are now famous. Whoever the duck you a...

I don't know exactly how it works -- the governing rules, the rhyme or reason to it all. But tomorrow is a holiday by reason of Holiday Economics. So happy Valentines Day everyone.

Merry Christmas... happy new year! ------------------- Overwhelmed by the last minute Noche Buena grocery shopping I've decided to take the supermarket owner's association's advise and do it earlier. Next time, I'll do the grocery shopping December 24 -- one year early.

image from here Critics were furious as they continued to discover more errors on the new edition of the Philippine peso bills. "I met Ninoy Aquino when he was still alive. He was not monochromatic. He was three dimensional and he was not that small!" cried one critic. How the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have committed this oversight is simply outrageous. Surely they've seen video footages of Ninoy and Cory. And I am sure, even the long dead heroes are themselves not monochromatic and two dimensional. How can we trust the banking system now when the Bangko Sentral apparently can not accurately depict known facts? While the long dead heroes are subject to debate, it is common knowledge that Ninoy and Cory were full-sized three dimensional non-monochromatic people. How could they have done this? And to think that they would commit this grievous error now when the son, Noynoy, is the president. How things have changed simply because of a new president. Back ...

If not Hubert and company then who? This is the question that's bugging the minds of all those old enough to remember the heinousness of it all. One nondescript family living their quiet middle-class lives slaughtered in one night of sheer madness. No rhyme. No reason. Just pure evil. That mainstream media has forgotten how it was so, comforts no one. Least of all, the father, Lauro. For now the man found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by both the lower and appellate courts can buy new pants in a mall. And media will be there to cover it. It has become just another fluff story, relegated to the same category of Ding Dong professing his eternal love for Marian. My heart bleeds, for justice has not been served. And apparently, will not be served. The Supreme Court has spoken. And that is the end of it. Crime and no punishment. Not from the Philippine courts, anyway. There is still, however, the Most Supreme Court of all. The final Arbiter from Whom we can not lie. No more al...

Almost totally lost and ignored in the din of the recent Supreme Court decision to acquit Hubert Webb and company was the acquittal of Hayden Kho in the case filed against him by Katrina Halili. Senator Bong Revilla was quick to comfort the fallen actress with the statement that all women suffered this injustice with Katrina Halili. Hmmmm... really?  Maybe. But with some slight modification on that statement please Honorable Senator. Let us not forget, she willingly went to bed with Hayden Kho -- whom she knew was then the boyfriend of her erstwhile BFF and sponsor, Vicki Belo. So she was the kabit. Please. This is an injustice shared by all of the kabits. I saw the video, I am not going to deny it. She enjoyed it. There is way too much injustice going on in the world right now. I have no tears for this martyr who's only sorry she got caught. DESERVED.

A few days back I posted, tongue firmly in cheek, that one of the Wikileaks new revelations is that North Korea demanded that fresh episodes of "Friends" be aired. Well, the truth, apparently, is way stranger and funnier than fiction. Click on the link below. North Korea campaigned for Eric Clapton performance, cable reveals  From David de Sola, CNN  December 12, 2010 5:30 p.m. EST

Remember how a few weeks back I blogged that I was getting a little pissed with Facebook for constantly asking me "what's on your mind?" Well I guess my good friend, Mark Zuckerberg, is a secret conspirator and reads my blog. I don't want to take full credit, but notice how Facebook has done away with the constant nagging. It's still out there somewhere, but no longer so in your face. Jejemons can still document every pathetic detail of their jejelives if they so choose. So what's on my mind right now? Relieved. Thank you Mark. Now, if only I can get that stupid 8070 lyric manalo promo to stop texting my Smart phone, life would be just perfect. Believe me, I never registered for the darned stupid promo and even naively tried the stop option which only made it worse. The friggin thing texts me twice a day now. Somebody do something and make it stop! Memo to Senator Juan "Gusto ko happy ka" Enrile: I am not happy. Please draft a law that would p...

They couldn't have picked a better name, homeless and unloved, these Azkals were never given a chance and was considered by the experts as merely a warm-up match for the traditional footballing nations in Southeast Asia. Practically a bye for teams Singapore, and of course, the defending champion and host Vietnam. So pathetic has been our previous participation in this tourney, once named Tiger Cup now renamed AFF Suzuki Cup, that the betting is not whether we will win or lose, but by how much we will lose. And lose we have mastered, by as much 13. That's akin to losing by 200 points in basketball. We are not even supposed to be in the tournament, let alone tie or win a match. But saling-tuta or not, these crazy bunch would dare go. No fear of failure. Embarrassment be damned. They will do their darnedest -- for love of country and the glory of the game. And when they tied Singapore (1-1),  embarrassed the host nation Vietnam (2-0), and secured a...

Eight out of every ten Filipinos support PNoy's administration according to the latest survey. This is in spite of the "experts" continuing their attack on the "amateur" PNoy government. And who are these "experts"? One congressman whose infamy includes getting all of congress to work overtime to pass the (failed) cha-cha initiative when a super typhoon was ravaging his constituency. One senator who chaired the blue ribbon committee chairman and saw NOTHING at all wrong in the nine years of PGMA's reign. These are the "experts" leading the charge. With apologies to the kuliglig drivers, who want nothing more than a means of livelihood, but these experts are one with them in mentality. It matters not, whether a policy will benefit the many, or if it is against the law or common sense. What matters is "Eh ano naman ang sa akin? Ano ang pakinabang ko?" Utak kuliglig. Walang pake kung tama o mali, basta ang kita ko ang ...

Ask me if I am proud of my country and I will tell you that you are asking me the wrong question. Am I proud that 25 years after Edsa the Marcoses are back in power? Maybe not the presidency, but they are definitely back. Am I proud of our PNP? The bus episode would have been really funny except that Bitoy didn't reveal himself in the end. Am I proud that our government is known in the world as one of the most corrupt? So corrupt that our chief export is now manual labor? Am I proud that hunger exists at all in a country so blessed that kamoteng kahoy will grow anywhere one would care to stick a cutting in the ground and not even bother to take care of it? Am I proud that a despicable noon-time tv host is allowed to resurrect his career on primetime? And that our local televiewing choice has all but been reduced to either that despicable host or a Koreanovela, or worse, a local remake of a Koreanovela? I can go on and on with this list. But I'...

my latest Facebook update It's the internet equivalent of "I have to tell you something, but first promise me you won't get mad."

from the Inquirer.net This is not a joke. The magic number for the RH Bill is actually 69.  No, read that correctly, 69 is not the suggested natural method of birth control. That's 69 percent of the population favors the RH bill.  Apparently, the people of Pulse Asia didn't go to high school. I would have rounded off the number to 70, just to avoid the confusion.