Ice Carvings

“The depth of the field is too much for our athletes. But there’s nothing to be ashamed off. They did their best.”  - Olympics chief of mission Manny Lopez, commenting on the Philippines' performance so far at the London Olympics (from Inquirer news: "Down to 5 as archer Javier falls" August 3, 2012. http://www.inquirer.net ) Apart from the fact that I hope for god's sake it is the correspondent and not the chief of mission who misspelled "off" in the second sentence, this is yet another reflection on the sad state of Philippine athletics. I'm not saying anything but isn't this what you expect when we have sports programs run by bureaucrats who seem to prioritize attendance over performance.  I guess the only thing that gets my underwear in a twist is that matter-of-fact quote that "there's nothing to be ashamed of." Really? We had to go to the London Games to realize that? Aren't we supposed to know that 4 years ago in Beijing

The Heat finally won over the Thunder earlier 4-1. That man played beyond expectations and really carried Miami towards the promised land... ...meh. I must admit they played a heck of a series and a monster playoffs. Hats off to a deserving winner. ..meh

Now and then I think of when we were together Like when you said you felt so happy you could die I told myself that you were right for me But felt so lonely in your company But that was love and it's an ache I still remember You can get addicted to a certain kinda sadness Like resignation to the end, always the end  So when we found that we could not make sense Well you said that we would still be friends But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over But you didn't have to cut me off  Make it like it never happened and that we were nothing  I don't even need your love, but you treat me like a stranger And that feels so rough No, you didn't have to stoop so low Have your friends collect your records And then change your number Guess that I don't need that though Now you're just somebody that I used to know Now you're just somebody that I used to know Now you're just somebody that I used to know Now and then I think of all

After 30 years of going back and forth, i finally solved my rubik's cube last night. Yes, i consulted some guides and finally understood some of the words in them, thereby seeing through the pattern. The experience is similar to be able to view the real world in a green matrix, albeit no bitchin' shades and trench coats. Now, it's just a matter of getting the algorithm down pat (as in memorized). With this remarkable triumph of the human spirit over IQ limitations comes the inevitable question: Now what? More importantly, so what? After a few decades, this accomplishment by itself, is more of a too-little, too-late effort. The last time the cube was cool, oversized shades were in vogue. But solving the cube was on my list, damnit, and i have prevailed. Never mind it took three decades, a google search and countless knockoffs. Now all i need to do is find the few people who actually know what a rubik's cube is... ...and who actually care.

(Note: This was supposed to be an epilogue for the previous post but then it took a life of its own. ) 2012 is purported to be the End of the World. Of course, some other dates were purported to be the end of the world, but hey, here we are. Why aren't you enjoying life instead of reading this blog? For generations past, there were a couple of non-specific end-of-the-world songs that would probably be a nice accompaniment while your world was literally crumbling down. REM had a catchy doomsday song, "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" which alludes to a world (at least their world) spinning madly out of control. U2 was all emo-love gloom with their "Until the End of the World" ballad. Of course, there are countless others, and each seemed to symbolize what to do or how to look back when the sky is falling in front of you. As for 2012, I really hope it doesn't lead to Armageddon if only for the background music. It would be

Happy New Year! Here's to another round of promises, resolutions, and optimistic assessments as we look at 2012 as the year the wheel turns upward. Here's to critical thinking fueled by countdown champagne on things you'd like to change about yourself for the better. Apart from the usual suspects like fitness, diet, exercise, and work attitude, I got the inspiration for this year's mantra from a Youtube surfing session with my son. Tyring desperately to get him to sleep, I looked for a couple of vids that are entertaining, eductional and would hold both our interest. The answer: Sesame Stree classic videos. What hit me hardest was Ernie's enchanting ditty about going far away: Well, I'd like to visit the moon On a rocket ship high in the air Yes, I'd like to visit the moon But I don't think I'd like to live there Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above I would miss all the places and people I love So although I might like