Urban Zen

A sign at the Ang Mo Kio MRT station in Singapore.

"Value life/Act Responsibly"? Given that it's on the tracks and all, I suppose it's a subtle way of talking jumpers off the edge. Regardless, not a bad motto to live by, if I do say so myself.

Funny how city signs are full of Zen if one looks hard enough, isn't it? Hmm...that sounds like an interesting photoblogging project right there...

Fortune

I've got a shirt on my back, and shoes for my feet.

I eat three square meals daily (sometimes more, if need be).

I know how to write, which means I've learned how to read.

I've got a great family. I love my wife, and she loves me.

By any reasonable standard, I'm already very lucky.

Club Filipino (21 September 2009)

The Liberal Party unveiled their Presidential and Vice-Presidential Ticket earlier today at Club Filipino. Here are some photos from the occasion:



The announcement was set for 10:00am, but the Kalayaan room at Club Filipino was already packed at least an hour before. By the time things got underway, all the seats were taken and the aisles were standing room only, all the way to the rear of the ballroom beyond the operable door, which was opened to accommodate more supporters.



Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III addresses the crowd. After saying a few words he gets down to business and begins to introduce his longtime friend Sen. Manuel "Mar" Roxas II as his running mate for the 2010 elections.



The crowd listens expectantly as Mar takes the podium. He speaks about the thirst for good governance in the country. With Noynoy looking on, Mar confirms that he has accepted the responsibility of running as Noynoy's Vice President.


"The fog of cynicism has been lifted from our hearts," Mar says with reference to the hope that Noynoy's candidacy represents. Easily, this is the most memorable line of the day.


The crowd erupts in support of the Liberal Party ticket. As befits the Aquino legacy, the LABAN symbol figures prominently as Bayan Ko is sung to bring the occasion to a close.

Finally, for posterity:


This was my vantage point throughout the morning. So yeah, it was dreadfully hard getting decent photos!

Good, Best, Better

The fact of the matter is that the world is full of sheep. It's a mediocre world we live in, one where it doesn't take much to stand out or take the lead precisely because it's far too easy to do "just enough" to get by and let things simply gravitate towards the mean.

Those who've caught on and strive to be different generally fall into two categories. First, there are those who stand out for the simple reason that they aspire to be Good. In whatever they do, these people make an impression because of their consistency and competence. They may never be at the head of the pack, but they do have share of mind because they are dependable. Besides, they're Good.

On the other extreme are the leaders of the pack. These are the people far ahead of the curve, the alpha males and females in your school, community or workplace. Sure, maybe it's their innate talent that sets them apart. But what they all have in common is their drive to simply be the Best.

So people can be exceptional by being Good or aspiring to be the Best. But there is another alternative: being Better.

The Japanese philosophy of kaizen -- continuous improvement -- captures this perfectly. Simply put, it's the mindset of improving one's previous best. In business, for instance, where kaizen is commonly invoked, it might imply working to be at least 50 percent more efficient operationally each and every year. Clearly, it's a concept relevant beyond the realm of business and one that can be a powerful mantra in our personal lives.

Better isn't mutually exclusive with either Good or Best, but it is a mindset all its own. Without working to be Better, one can't expect to be the Best for long. Nor even Good.

More people should aspire to be exceptional, to stand out, to be more than just sheep. Indeed, it's not all that hard to do so.

Good? Best?

Try Better.

#415

Conversation I had with the wife while on the MRT in Singapore:

Brian: Hey, do you see that sign above the seat?

Wife: Yes.

Brian: You know what's funny about it?

Wife: ...?

Brian: It's all about the same guy!

Wife: ...

(For the record, dammit, I still think it's funny!)

Ten Signs You Need to Get Out of Grad School

A little a something for the post-grads out there:

1. People admitted to the academic program after you came in are beginning to graduate.
   
   
2. Your classmates consistently thank you for the huge grade curve.
   
   
3. You start rationalizing that you deserve the degree purely on the basis that some of your classmates are idiots. (Of course they're not. Well, except maybe that one guy...)
   
   
4. It dawns on you that a lot of people have either achieved or earned more knowing far, far less.
   
   
5. You wake up one morning and realize that you don't know much more than you did yesterday.
   
   
6. You actually want to get a real job.
   
   
7. All your friends already think you've graduated (and it's getting embarrassing to tell them otherwise).
   
   
8. You begin to feel that the thesis/dissertation is the least exciting thing you've done since getting into grad school.
   
   
9. When reading through cutting-edge research in academic journals, it takes all your might not to cry out, "Who cares?!"
   
   
10. You begin writing about signs you might not be long for grad school.
    

And before anyone asks: yes, this is the sort of thing I come up with whilst dissertating.

Philippine Political Culture [Presentation Thursdays]

View more presentations from brianbelen.

Continuing with slides on Philippine Politics and Governance, these are the slides I prepared for the lecture on Philippine Political Culture.

The source material for the lecture borrows heavily from David Wurfel's book Philippine Politics: Development and Decay. Granted, the book itself is a bit dated, but it remains one of the seminal works on the subject. Other references were used peripherally.

As far as the slides are concerned, I'm amused that I even bothered with the slides on "further reading" at the end. This must have been during my "idealistic" phase as an instructor. It's a good idea in principle, but in practice I can think of much better ways to implement it. For lecture purposes, however, unless absolutely necessary I think it's acceptable (and sometimes better) to forego this, since the same information is more effectively imparted through the syllabus or on handouts.

Oh, and for my non-Filipino-speaking readers: the Filipino term that appears on the tenth slide translates as "debt of gratitude".

[About Presentation Thursdays: Every now and then, on a Thursday, I post a presentation from my archives and include some accompanying commentary not just about the content but also my thoughts on designing it. The presentations can also be viewed and downloaded from my Slideshare page]

1655 Beach Park Boulevard

It was the piece that sparked the nation's outrage: the article by journalists Ellen Tordesillas, Avigail Olarte, Yvonne Chua, and Luz Rimban that appeared on VERA Files unearthing the US Home acquired by Pampanga Representative (and the President's Eldest Son) Mikey Arroyo. As the story goes, the house was purchased soon after winning his seat in Congress, does not appear in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities, and was acquired for an amount way in excess of what a Philippine public official can possibly afford based on his salary. To date, the Congressman has been thoroughly unable to offer a reasonable explanation (no surprise there), despite the ongoing scrutiny into the matter by the Philippine media and concerned Filipinos, both overseas and abroad.

By highlighting the relevant issues, posing the right questions and gathering substantial documentary evidence in support of its claims (which are available on their website, together with a picture of the house!), the article is a powerful example of how the Fourth Estate helps rein in the excesses of elected officials. Of course, this was made possible largely because of the abundance of information now readily available through the internet and other channels. This got me thinking: exactly how much information could the average person get about that house, anyway?

Not nearly anything as substantial as those journalists, if my cursory attempts are anything to go by. For instance, I couldn't find information regarding its ownership or anything of the sort. But given what's already become public knowledge, I think there's a surfeit of information readily available for those curious to know more.

For instance, you can find the house on Google Earth by keying in the following coordinates: 37°34'7.21"N, 122°15'18.15"W. Do that, and this is what you'll find (click to enlarge):



Further, the house can also be seen via Google Street view (click to enlarge):



Now if you wanted to find out about the size of the property, the number of rooms in the house, or its approximate market value, it's easy enough to look these up on Zillow, a handy website for those in the market for property in the USA. I searched for the address and got the following result (click to enlarge):



According to the site, the five bedroom and three bath house that sits on a 6,336 square foot piece of land was last purchased for about US$1.32 Million, has an estimated monthly amortization of US$5,602 and costs its owners property taxes of approximately US$14,239 annually. Its market value at the time I checked was between US$1.11 Million and US$1.46 Million.

Amazing how much information is available publicly, isn't it? If anything, this should serve as fair warning to the public (and elected officials in particular): nothing is sacred or secret anymore. The truth must come out eventually, and only the immensely stupid assume that there will never be a reckoning.

Speaking of lacking in intelligence, let me end with the following footage of Rep. Arroyo's "Media Suicide" (as it has been termed on YouTube; a link to the second half of the interview is embedded somewhere in the video):



It makes me wonder what the hell he was thinking agreeing to a live interview, obviously without a game plan. It's pure pwnage, especially from about 2:15 onwards where he is completely unable to rebuff the notion that he's been hiding ownership of the property. In any other mature political system whose leaders still cling to some notion of propriety this alone would be cause for resignation. Yet I doubt we can expect as much in this instance -- from him or his ilk.

In Memoriam: Alexis Tioseco

I've been having a hard time shaking off the news of Alexis "Eggy" Tioseco's untimely passing. Mostly, it's because of the tragedy of it all. To some degree, it's also because I last saw him on tv and at his best with Butch Dalisay, trying to engage Carlo J. Caparas in intelligent conversation over the recent National Artist row. But at the end of the day, perhaps it's really just because he was someone I knew with a lifetime ahead of him abruptly put to an end.

This is not to say that I knew Eggy well. Sure, I considered him a friend -- by which I mean an acquaintance I wouldn't hesitate to greet and who would, in turn, greet me back -- but he was my junior. In fact, the only reason we were ever introduced back in the day was because I was his brother's classmate. So whenever I think of Eggy, I think of meeting that gangly, quiet kid, always with a kind word and sort of good-natured twinkle in his eye.

Our University wasn't a big place, thus even if we didn't run in the same social circles it wasn't at all unusual for our paths to cross. As stereotypes go, he would be with the artsy and popular crowd; I on the other hand would associate with...well, let's just say mine wasn't nearly as interesting. In the end, though, what we had in common was that ours were the most vocal groups in the University community, so if anything was ever up you could be sure we'd be there. Hence, we'd bump into each other every so often -- to support the student theater groups or discuss some finer points of University politics -- which is how I'd developed a healthy respect for what Eggy was all about.

Objectively speaking, one would have to admit that Eggy had all the wrong characteristics for a serious Filipino film critic. At first blush he came across as more Canadian than Filipino, overly soft-spoken, and too, well, nice to pass the sort of judgment one would expect from a critic. More, it seemed incomprehensible that someone with these traits could possibly be enamored with anything as ersatz or esoteric (take your pick) as Philippine cinema. Yet for all that was wrong with the idea of this Fil-Canadian establishing himself as a Filipino film critic, there were all those other things that were just so, so right. Talent. Passion. And above all else, unique perspectives on what was so beautiful about Philippine film, and innumerable ideas about its possibilities.

In this, his body of work speaks for itself.

I didn't have a chance to bump into Eggy as much after graduation, but in a sense he kept on bumping into me. I can't quite count the times I'd turn on the tv and be pleasantly surprised to find him on the air, a guest on some show or other effortlessly explaining some finer point about film. By then his star was already on the rise -- a Dragon in Flight, to borrow a phrase -- himself an example of what the best of us from our University can aspire to be. And part of his charm? He was the same good-natured, soft-spoken, talented and passionate guy that he'd always been.

A couple of years later our paths would cross at least one last time, when I found myself a faculty member at our alma mater. He was either in his final year of studies or was also a faculty member himself (I forget). Once more we'd occasionally run into each other on our way to class. Sure, this happened only a couple of times over a yearlong period or so, but I distinctly remember how, clad in a shirt with rolled up sleeves and a sharp looking tie, he'd make it a point to jokingly greet me with a half-bow and say, "Mr. Belen".

That last time I caught him on tv, giving as well as he got, I thought to myself that I should drop him a line to tell him what a good job he'd done on the panel. Now he's gone, and I regret not having been able to say as much.

I wrote the last post that appeared on this blog days before the tragedy that befell Eggy, and it's only because of the magic of the interweb that it self-published as scheduled when it did. Really, those bullet reviews of stuff I watch while traveling got started as a gag that I decided to run with, and by now I've written quite a bunch of such fluff. In a strange way, seeing it come out when it did reminded me of all that we've lost with Eggy's passing. We've lost an intelligent voice for film in general and Philippine cinema in particular -- far too soon -- and without him, much of what will be written about the medium may just seem like so much fluff, at least for some time to come.

A lot's been written about Eggy in the past few days; the ones below are the most poignant as I've come across. Call this my own subtle tribute, one that I humbly offer with my own half-bow, "Mr. Tioseco".


A Time To Love: Alexis Tioseco, Nika Bohinc, And The Global Film Community [Jason Sanders via FilmMaker]

Alexis Tioseco (1981-2009) [Francis Cruz via Lessons From the School of Inattention: Ogg's Movie Thoughts]

Alexis A. Tioseco (1981-2009) [Noel Vera via Critic After Dark]

In-Flight Entertainment 12

Between the short flight and the lack of anything I particularly wanted to watch that I hadn't seen yet, I decided to settle on purely kid-friendly flicks this time around:

Coraline. Visually stunning, no doubt. I particularly liked the facial expressions the animators were able give the eponymous title character, voiced superbly by Dakota Fanning. That aside, however, the movie's one glorious snooze-fest. Yes, I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman. Yes, I read the book. But I'm glad I didn't waste time to watch it in theaters. The surreal pace that underlies the story just didn't jive well with me onscreen, and overall I came away feeling that this was a perfect example of where the written word undeniably trumps what visual media have to offer.

Monsters vs. Aliens. An enjoyable riff on the disaster movie genre. What it has going for it is that it's straightforward, you know what to expect coming into it, and in the end the film delivers. This is what Mars Attacks! could've been but never really was. Besides, it's monsters! Fighting aliens! Which is awesome! Oh, and why is it that Seth Rogen manages to land the best roles in these kinds of films?