Sucker for Spy.

I love the Bourne film series; it's another movie I could watch over and over.  Each scene IS quick, and the viewer feels breathing with and moving along with each step, strut and shell of Jason Bourne and his pistol.

Jason Bourne is not suave like Bond but like Bond, he delivers the goods.

Robert Ludlum and Eric Van Lustbader are the two writers who penned the Bourne novels.

In terms of non-fiction writing, the closest to writing spy novels, is investigative journalism. According to wikepedia, " Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism is a primary source of information. Most investigative journalism is done by newspapers, wire services and freelance journalists. Practitioners sometimes use the terms "watchdog journalism" or "accountability reporting."

Ordinary folks also have a natural penchant for investigating things and events; ordinary souls could sometimes spend hours chatting about other people's problems and trying to analyze and solve such. Or there are those who consume their waking hours on the Net, googling their exes, aborted relationships,  even unimportant people like former classmates.

Still, others go to great lengths to hack facebook or twitter accounts of people they want to espy on, others succeed such as professional criminals who go after corporate bank accounts or documents.  Then there are indviduals who simply find satisfaction in putting puzzles together - of hidden identities, wealth, issues.

With the internet, social networking, microblogging, smart phones. and digital technology in general, spying on one another has become a breeze. But there are those extraordinary individuals who can solve problems that don't exist at all.

 Jeremy Renner stars in the upcoming movie, Bourne Legacy, which was shot partly in the Philippines.

Aso't pusa.

Nuong maliliit pa kami, kapagka nag-aaway kaming magkakapatid agad sasabihin ni Nanay, "para kayong mga aso't pusa."

Kasi naman ang aso't pusa, kontra pelo talaga.  Pag nagkita, kahulan at girian ang mangyayari.

Ang magkakapatid madalas nag-aaway lalo pa't malilit pa lang. Kasi nag-aagawan ng laruan, kendi, komiks, at pagpansin ng magulang.

Pero ang nakalulungkot ay kung ang magkakapatid ay mag-aaway kung sila ay may mga isip na, may gulang na, magulang na. 

Tingnan natin ang mga artistang magkapatid na Christine Reyes at Ara Mina; awayan sa pera nauwi sa demanda. 

Nandyan din ang magkapatid na Gretchen Barreto at Claudine Barreto; hindi ko alam kung ano ang ugat ng awayan nila.

Sa aming pamilya, wala namang awayan, knock on wood, ika nga. Kung mayroon mang maliit na tampuhan, agad naisa aayos.  Palibhasa't nakikinig sa paliwanag ng bawa't isa, at nakiki ayon sa abiso ng pinakamatandang kapatid, o ate.

Malungkot kapag ang magkakapatid ay nag-aaway tungkol sa salapi, o ari ariang naiwan ng mga magulang. Magpupukulan ng masasakit na salita na hahantong sa di maikukumpuning lamat sa kanilang relasyon.

Iba ang away magkakapatid sa away ng magulang at anak. 

Sa away magulang at anak, mas malalim ang ugat at sugat. Nababatay ito sa mismong kautusan ng Dios.

Ang mga anak na naghurementado at di- iginalang ang magulang at di-nagpasintabi at di - humingi ng patawad ay sa impiyerno ang tuloy ng kaluluwa.  Nasa ika - apat na utos ng Dios. "Mahalin at igalang ang magulang."

Ang tanging magiging kasalanan ng magulang sa anak ay ang pagpapabaya at di pagkupkop sa supling.  Ang mga obligasyon ng magulang ay iluwal, arugain, mahalin, palakihin ng tama, at pag-aralin ang anak.

Hindi nga balanse.  Mas mabigat ang responsibilidad ng magulang. At ang tanging hiling ng Dios sa anak, ay igalang at mahalin ang magulang.

Kapag nakakakita ako ng mga batang namamalimos sa kalye, o pudpud ang gomang tsinelas o kumakaway sa labas ng Jolibee upang humingi ng tirang hamburger, sumasakit ang dibdib ko. 

Kasi naman pinalaki namin sa masaganang kapaligiran ang anak.  Inaruga, dinamitan, pinadala sa pinakamagaling na escuela.  Pinagpawisan ang bawa't pisong matrikula, ang pambili ng uniporme, ang pamasahe, ang pagkain sa mesa. Ipinagpakasakit ang pansariling luho para lang maibigay ang luho ng anak.

Napakalaking kawalanghiyaan kung ang anak na minahal at inaruga, at kinalinga ng magulang ay magiging suwail sa bandang huli. 

Ang walang utang na luob ay di magkakamit ng tagumpay.

Sabi nga ng iba't ibang pananaw, " ang mga taong di lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay di makararating sa paruruonan, at ang karma ay darating sa mga gumagawa ng mali.

Sa kristyanong tradisyon, ang anak na suwail at di gumalang sa magulang ay sa impierno ang bagsak. 

Mainit duon. Kaya ingat kayo.

Deep dip.

We don't have a pool; of course not, we can't afford to have one built.  I googled and found out that in P.I. it costs around half a mil to construct a pool.

So I googled more and found these inflatable pools, ranging from 2.000 pesos for the kiddie pool to about 13,000 for a used pool that can accommodate adults. The kiddie pools you can purchase at any SM department store but the U.S. - type adult pool is rare to come by.

I found at least 2 U.S-type adult pool at sulit.com. Both were previously owned.

There's enough space in our backyard for a small adult inflatable pool.  But the problem would be the pebbles and stones. Previously, I tried to plant "carabao grass" but due to heavy rains last year, the grass didn't grow well and I decided to replace them with stones. 

A contractor-nephew suggested to build a deck at the back.  We are not keen on it, because that will entail cementing the soil and that would mean a hotter surface. 

As it is, our backyard is a cool respite from the horrendous heat wave Manila is experiencing. Even at the hottest hour of the day, there's cool breeze out there, thanks to the plants and several trees.  Of course, we cut down two old trees already - the alatrez and the banaba.  I felt like a criminal when these two trees were chopped down because they'd stood there for several years. But these two trees were destroying the property.

The alatrez was such a fertile tree - it was bearing fruits almost year round and destroying the galvanized roofing of the laundry room.  And the banaba, a medicinal tree, had its egg-sized fruits dumped daily, and its roots wrecking havoc on the concrete flooring of the added bedroom.

With the demise of these two trees, we lost much of the shade at the backyard. When the new mango tree matures, we hope to recover the lost shade and gain the fruits of labour - Indian mangoes.

About five years ago, we had a mango tree chopped down because a twelve year old nephew who climbed the "hitik na  hitik na puno" fell and had to be hospitalized.  This was like a neighbour in Sta. Ana who had their swimming pool entombed with sand when a toddler son almost drowned. 

Cutting down stable and well entrenched trees is a crime in Canada.  You will be fined.  Here in the Philippines, people get away with such a rotten chore. Look at us.

Which reminds me of the pine trees in Baguio being hewed by the SM conglomerate.  What a sorry news.  If these pine trees were to be cut, Baguio will lose oxygen.

In the U.S.,  inflatable pool comes in various sizes, with some almost like a built in ground pool. 

Years ago, there was this acquaintance who had her home turned into a summer haven, with a pool, deck and barbecue.

With the summer heat at its height, private pools and resorts are hard to find.  I've called several to have a May booking but no luck.

Boracay sortie

Again, my mind is going to the deep end.  A backyard with a deck, barbecue and a pool. Then sibs and nephews and nieces and their kids can drop by anytime.

San Mig, anyone?

No public pool for me, if that were the case, I'd rather be in the ocean.

How to be funny?

Health experts say " it takes thousands of muscles to frown, and only one to smile." Good advice for sulkers, mopers, whiners, and negas.

I have a friend from Toronto, now in Vancouver, who can only say funny things.  You can never tell if he was joking or telling a fact.  He's sixty-ish but looks forty-ish.

Another in-law relative cracks up her friends and relatives; she's juvenile diabetic but very postive and now recently married and optimistic about new life.

Alborz, a friend originally from Iran, has always lighten up party tables by his sheer glee.  At the office kitchen table, he'd share his lunch with us, and rattle off the weekend prices of gala apples, plum, apricot.

Is the funny bone inherited or does it have DNA components? I'm sure it is, referring to former query.

Just look at the Dolphy clan.  Dolpy, Rolando Vera Quizon, in real life has numerous sons who took after his funny disposition.  There's Van Dolph, Epi, and Eric - all three have followed Daddy's footsteps and appeared as comedians.

Another Pinoy funnyman was Pugo, Mariano Contreras in real life. Pugo was the suave and slick and yet bungle-prone Don Mariano, father to Bitoy and Ibyang (Sylvia La Torre) in the hit radio and TV show of the 50's and 60's Tang tarang Tang. He was called "matandang kalbong ito" by his balae Aling Charing (Rosa Aguirre). Pugo's character Don Mariano reminds me of the Al Bundy character in Married with Children, he the loser, who can't seem to do good no matter how bad or good his intentions were.

MARRIED WITH CHILDREN, Fox TV hit sitcom of the 80's -90's.

There are souls who just say the funny things even without knowing it. 

I remember when I was working with an ad exec who produced corporate road shows on the side, and we had Apeng Daldal as one of the casts in one of our out-of-town shows. We were in a Ford Fiera and Mr. Apeng, even if he was dead serious, was very funny.

Today's hot topic is whether transgenders should be allowed into female beauty contests such as the Ms. Universe.  I wonder then, if they were allowed into such events, would they crack up the house with their innate "humour?"

I based this on my observation that homosexual people tend to be funny and alive at almost all times. Just look at the local celebrities like Vice Ganda, Pokwang (who try to act like a homo), Boy Abunda, and others, and of course funny man Dolphy, who made hits acting as a bakla. 

This "being funny" by homosexuals is one of the assets that endear them to people. I think it's in their genes.

My bro in law from Ohio has a stack of jokes under his sleeve.  Sometimes I get it, at times, no. It's hard to understand him deliver the punchline because of his Ohio-an accent, I guess.

In our family, there's no joker.  The closest I could think of was my uncle who was all 5'9" and married to my aunt who was all 4'9".  They were a childless couple so they sort of adopted all of us siblings at varying stages in their lives.

My uncle was the family magician and a natural humour who'd make our sister disappear and turn her into a langka.

I don't remember my father cracking up any jokes; he'd sing, instead.  He'd be on top of his lungs doing "La Paloma," or Rico J's "Buhat."  When we were kids, we thought his singing was funny, only my mother loved it.

Although my father was no joker, he had the most charming smile. In photographs, the smile was always captured beautifully.  When I brought him and Mother to Niagara Falls, he asked for solo photos of him with the Falls in the background.

Mother was the good listener.  She was a talker, too, but in the company of my ever-talking aunts, she'd be more the laugher, and yet, her soft laughter would be drowned out by boisterous laughter of her three cousins, which we could hear three houses away from our house.

Laughter is the best medicine.  And the Pinoys, even if we're at the lower rungs of the ASEAN economic stairways, have always proven this to be true.  For how could we have endured martial law years,and political ineptness at all levels of government, if we didn't have the funny bone?

Nowadays, I find laughter in the televised Corona impeachment trial, which I could turn on and off anytime I wish to. MDS or Senator Miriam provides comic relief.

In the popular blog, www.raissarobles.com, a commentor posted this photo. Ha ha ha.

Summers of Youth.

We grew up in Sta. Ana, Manila and in Mabini, Mandaluyong. The two locales were separated by the Lambingan Bridge, at the crossroad of Old Panaderos.

The Old Lambingan Bridge had two staircases, one leading down to the Barangay Blue Water, and the other one, leading down to A. Martinez and on to J. P. Rizal in Mandaluyong.

                                                    Photo of the new Lambingan Bridge.

The Old Lambingan that I remember was clean, so was the water undeneath,  that of the Pasig River. There were water lilies then, and "cascos," small, industrial boats that ferry cargo to Philippine Match and Atlantic Gulf and Pacific, both located in the interiors of Punta.

Just across from our old house, we could see the vegetable farm on the other side of the river, owned by a Chinese. Further to the left, we could view the high concrete wall of what we were told was the residene of the Thai consul.

Punta was a quaint part of Santa Ana, Manila. It is sandwiched by two river, Pasig River and San Juan River.  If you take a jeepney ride to the midsection called Kalahi, you could actually board a banca and crossover to Pandacan. That's what we did going to a faith healer, which my Aunt insisted on doing whenever I exhibited any ailment that would probably needed seeing a doctor, or if there was nothing wrong with me, she'd say I needed a check up to straighten up my "tantrums."

                                                                                             Banca Tawiran /Station of Today.

Sick or not, I remember these banca rides to Pandacan as amusing.  First, the bancas then, were clean and relatively safe.  It's much like boarding those tourist boats in Boracay or Catanduanes.  Second, the water was clean and you could only smell saltiness.  Third, the "bangkeros," were all friendly.

Riding the banca, I always touched the water; I'd dip my hand and let it go against the current.  Once we reached the other shore, me and my sis Jo, would walk side by side our Aunt, or sometimes, our Mother or another sister, and pick up "sigays," and "kabibe."  We'd keep these shells in our pockets, while the elders carried bottles of water and coconut oil, items which were blessed by the faith healer, and served as medicines.

The faith healer's house was adorned with wooden bancas; the faith healer used to be a fisherman, that's why he chose that part of Pandacan near the river, and when he moved house, he chose to go to Angono, near the Montalban river.

May was always the month for going to Antipolo.  If we went with my aunt and uncle, we'd take a bus to Antipolo, or if it was my father we'd be going with, the family would cram in his green Pontiac.  After hearing mass at the famed Our Lady of Buenviaje shrine, we'd trek to Hinulugang Taktak for a picnic lunch, and sometimes go to the nearby Villa Lolita for a swim at the pool.

                                     Our Lady of Good Voyage Chuch in Antipolo and its famous suman below.

Back home, we'd open our loot from Antipolo - suman sa ibos, kalamay, kasoy, and those wooden karetelas and palayok for sis Jo.

One time, our father took us to Tagaytay but the only memory I had of this was a photo showing the four-year old me on top of the hood of the Pontiac. Another time, he took us all to Baguio without checking on the condition of his Opel, and apart from the fun, we had to occasionally dismount and push the car on the hilly roads of Baguio.

May was also the time we went to the town fiesta in our hometown of Nueva Ecija.  It was also the month we spent most on joining neighborhood "lutrinas."

Holy Week and Easter were always summer months, so we'd be spent time reading the "pasyon," and more time in Nueva Ecija.

Summertime was also the time when we got to play "bingo" after lunch and got away with the required "siesta," drank "melon juice," by the bucket, ate watermelon until "sawa, enjoyed ripe mangoes as if there was no tomorrow, munched on "singkamas" dipped in bagoong and patis, ate siniguelas until our lips hurt, and slept late at night because there were no homework to do.
                                                                                                                         Above, Tagaytay

Some of the movies which played during my summer youth which I remember watching were Viva Las Vegas, Kissing Cousins, The Pink Panther, James Coburn movies with my aunt and uncle, and the Mga Batang movie-series, with my sis Jo and cousin Cel. I was the cry baby they used so my parents could allow them to go to Quiapo even if it was New Year's Day.

                                 Rosemary Sonora and Dindo Fernando were a popular Filipino love team in the mid-60's.

                                                                           Viva Las Vegas starred Elvis Presley and Ann Margaret

If we, siblings would be complete and gather for a reunion, we'd always be reminiscing on the good 'ol days of growing up and wonder how ten family members could fit in a green Pontiac, or a blue Opel Kadet, or a Jeep.

Rebirth.

Water has always signified cleansing; that's why water is used in baptism.  John the Baptist baptized for the remission of and penance for sins.  But when he baptized Jesus of Nazareth at the River Jordan, he surely didn't mean to cleanse him because Christ has no sin and is perfect.  What John was asking was for Jesus to baptize him, but Jesus insisted that John baptize him.

Baptism in the Roman Catholic tradition is a signal that an individual becomes a member of the Church.  Jesus said, "Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

For Catholics, the sacrament is not a mere formality; it is the very mark of a Christian, because it brings us into new life in Christ. Baptism is thus, a rebirth.

In today's world, rebirth is an abused word.  It is used in promoting beauty and health products, in re-inventing oneselves, in proclaiming new discoveries, in labeling art, music and other activities, products, and concepts that are meant to attract sales and followers.

Sometimes, cosmetic products or cosmetic surgeries proclaim a "rebirth," a new you.  Drugs flaunt "new youth, new vigour."

But there are genuine "rebirths."  For instance, Born again is a dynamic Christian movement, being born anew into the Christian belief.  Likewise there are episodes in people's lives that connote a transformation into a newness,  a better state of being.

Likewise, there are individuals who choose a new life - a road paved in darkness.  There are parents who neglect or abort their children; there are daughters and sons who turn their backs on their elders; there are those who commit crimes, petty or major ones. 

Being "reborn" in the path of lightness, is a gift from God.  Because no matter how a human being struggle to attain or pay for medical interventions for physical, psychological, spiritual or economic healing, it is always the Creator who steers the wheel onto a straight road.  Yes, we who seek a "new life" must pedal the gas to jump start the process, but as always, we must depend on the Higher Authority to map and clear the route.

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!

Breaking Bread with Friends.

"Friends," the 1990's - 2000's America's top sitcom was not my favorite show; "Everybody Loves Raymond," was.

But when "Friends" went off the air, and I had free time due to my part-time retirement, I found a new chance to watch its reruns.  That's when I  discovered the bits and pieces of the friendship the four characters had.

This same route of seeing a show happened with Seinfeld.  When it was on its active telecast, I rarely watched it. But when it played on reruns, that's when I started watching it.

Funny, but I seem to enjoy more watching reruns.  Maybe this explains my ongoing fascination with the movie, "Back to the Future."  Whenever I find myself alone at home and have the urge to binge- eat on unhealthy food (chips, beer, peanuts, chocolates, etc), I would pop in my old video of Back to the Future I, sit back, relax and laugh. 

The scene where Marty McFly enters Hill Valley on the Saturday of Nov. 5, 1955 and "Mr. Sandman" playing,  never fails to excite me.  It's as if I were going back in time myself.

This love for the past, or nostalgia, happened in real time yesterday.

Wednesday, we had an extended lunch with some friends over at Mesa.  We enjoyed their cuisine tremendously.  Actually, last Monday, we were also at Mesa and a friend loved the food so much she asked us to meet there for lunch to meet another friend.

On Monday, we had tawilis with mango on a spoon as appetizer, seafood bean curd wansuy soup, pinaputok na tilapia with onions and tomatoes and the pride of Mesa - chicken adobo, mixed vegetables, and for dessert, turon with chocolate topping, and a San Mig for me, of course.

Yesterday, Nang Adors ordered pomelo salad with latik, sinuigang na salmon belly, crispy boneless tilapia served with four sauces, adobo baby squid with its own ink, green mango with bagoong, and another round of turon for our dessert.

The lunch was really intended to brush up on an important issue, but as always with old friends, it was a chance at lending assurance that no matter how long ago friends met each other, there would always be that same level of trust, camaraderie and love.

It was also a fitting way to welcome the start of the Holy Week (Holy Thursday), that of breaking bread with people whom you care about and who care for you.