Mr. Gilbert Teodoro, when more than 50 bodies were recovered and pool of evidence point to the suspects, you don’t tell the public “not to rush the case.”

What does Mr. Teodoro expect from the public? Praise the government slowpoke action on the Maguindanao massacre? It took them four days to arrest one of the suspects while evidence have been shouting right at their faces from the start bodies were found! And Mr. Teodoro wants the public to keep mum and not complain why it took so long for the government to even execute arrests or interrogations at the least.

What was more insulting is what the Deputy Press Secretary told media last night.  She claimed that while they will do everything for the immediate resolution of the case, the Ampatuans will remain Arroyo’s allies.

So, the Ampatuans expulsion from the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party is just for show then? And Arroyo is nowhere near ashamed of being referred to as allies of the Ampatuans? Is it because the Arroyo government is afraid of what the Ampatuans might say about the 2004 elections that made Gloria and Noli won the biggest share of votes? Is Gloria Macapagal Arroyo afraid that if she says too many things against the Ampatuans, it might soon find herself in another electoral fraud issue?

More than 50 bodies have been found of which 25 are journalists. And it seems that other still remain missing today which means that more bodies might surface in the next few days.

Sure, Datu Unsay Vice Mayor Ampatuan have been arrested yesterday though the former keep on suggesting that he surrendered. Department of Justice(DOJ) Devanadera, however, was quick to point out that he was in fact arrested. But, Vice Mayor Ampatuan is just one of the suspects and most of the Ampatuans who were also named to have connections with the murders by a witness named “Boy” are still free.

While the DOJ suggest that Ampatuan was jailed in the NBI without any special privileges, this is still far from the cry of justice the public is expecting. Being jailed is not enough. Punishment for killing people this many should be more than that.

I guess, this is what you can call as the real Nightmare before Christmas. And it’s still a whole 6 months away from the May 2010 presidential elections and this is what we get. If we don’t do what we must, things might get more violent in the upcoming months.

This nightmare is still far from over and as Filipinos we should not tire in asserting justice for the killings. We should not stop until these killings are resolved. There’s so much to do and it’s up to all of us.

Word Count: 45,830 (damn counter is eating 12 words! >T)

Excerpt:

Beneath cut because it is sad and spoilery.

‘I was being pulled through the scene by some outside force. I saw myself talking to Kimily, asking if she wanted me to come with her. She polite refused and left. I followed Kimily through the streets. She had walked so carefully through the area. She looked both ways and at all of the signal lights before crossing. She finally came upon the fated crossing. I looked down the street with her… it was true, that car wasn’t visible. The turn down that road made it impossible to see that he was coming. Kimily took steps into the crossing, and my mind’s eye followed her, but kept looking down the street. Lights soon were visible down the street. Just as quickly as the lights had appeared… a car came speeding down the street. I saw the light was clearly red… but he… he didn’t even slow down. A car coming the other way screeched to a halt to not hit the drunk driver’s car… As the car sped forward, he hit Kimily… She… she went into the air and fell into the street a decent distance ahead. The car… the car didn’t even stop… He… he drove right on over her…

‘The driver who had nearly been hit rushed out of his car and over to Kimily’s side. He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and called an ambulance. A few more cars came by, pulling to a stop to stop themselves from hitting Kimily and the man. Each one of them got out of their cars to help. A woman got her husband to lift Kimily up off the ground. He even offered to carry her to the hospital. They were even lucky to have an off duty EMT member stop as well, who did all she could without having extra supplies. I… I cried, seeing all the help Kimily had gotten, but none of it mattered. All of these people… they all tried to do something, and yet nothing they did could do a thing to stop what was coming next. The ambulance came, took her to the hospital and hooked her up to so many machines. They did all they can before the me from them came in. I saw myself run away in tears from Kimily. Her face… it really was horrible. I… I realize now… there was nothing I could do. All of those people who had been there helped, they did something… and yet none of it mattered. If I… if I had been there, the only thing that could have changed was possibly the body laying in that bed. There… there was nothing I could have done. These people… these people I had ignored when this had happened, had done so much, and she still died… Why… why did I never realize…?’

TT______TT

Word Count: 43,362

Excerpt:

‘It had been a while since that strange man had come to give me any sort of advice. Maybe it was fate that Kimily found him again, that I would be able to talk to him again. I needed answers, and he sure seemed to have had them over a month ago, he just wouldn’t tell me. Maybe now I can finally get them out of him… Because, now, I… I think I understand what he meant. I held onto Kimily for too long and ended up here. I thought everything was fine… and yet it wasn’t. Things happened in reality and I tried to change my life, but I ended up screwing things up, taking too long, and in turn caused this whole mess to occur. I… I should have listened to what he said in the first place. I almost couldn’t believe he had turned out to be completely right, that everything he had said was true. I hoped he could help me, help me finally move on. I knew I had to do it now, I… I just needed this one thing before I could finally see past Kimily once and for all.’

I CAN SEE THE END! Well, more so to my 4th NaNoWriMo quest. Not too sure on my novel. Sort of can see the end of my novel.

As a hilarious note, I realized I’ve been spelling Malehciah/Mahleciah’s name wrong the whole novel (It’s supposed to be the first spelling, but I’ve typed it in as the second the entire novel)… That takes some serious skill to do that. xDDD Running NaNoism? xD

Sesame Street turned 40 this month.  It was a pretty typical 40th birthday; Big Bird dyed his hair, bought a convertible and disappeared for a couple of days.

NASA made a huge discovery last week when they found water on the moon.  Scientists said the last time they found water in a place that cold and distant was when Kate Gosselin went into labor.

Oprah Winfrey announced today that she’ll be ending her talk show in 2011, but knowing Oprah, this is likely to fluctuate.  It’s been a great run, though, and I think if Oprah taught us anything in the last 25 years, it’s that black is, apparently, not all that slimming.

Supermodel Kate Moss faced backlash this week after saying in an interview that she lives by the pro-anorexia motto of “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”   Moss said that she was misquoted in the interview and that, “Obviously, cocaine tastes just as good as skinny feels.”

But not a twinkie.

A monologue.

Brick 20- Feed Your Head.  Confessions of a bibliophile.

When I was a little girl, my favorite Disney character was Belle.  She knew the score.  So what if she had to live with a beast, she got a library that would make my knees weak.  When I went off to college, I remember the sensation of love at first sight.  I walked through a labyrinth of halls to reach the underground library known as the Main Stacks, and I nearly fainted as the thin, run-down corridor opened into the most gigantic hall of books I’d ever seen in my life.

I’d found my favorite place in the world.

Literally millions of books, hundreds of languages, some incredibly obscure, others as common as the beat of my heart.  I walked through shelf upon shelf, occasionally plucking a book at random.  The smell of the books dominated the hall, though the ceilings were high and the air was well circulated.  Musky, rich, alive.  I could swear when I stayed in that library until the early hours of the morning that the books whispered.

Books can be alive.  They’re the very souls of humanity written on the carcasses of trees.  Well when I put it that way it’s a little gross, but at least we’ve progressed from writing on animal skins.  In fact, if you consider e-books we’ve even figured out a way to spare the trees, but there is something to be said for that musty smell of aged leather and paper.  Flipping though stiff yellowed pages to reveal secrets and thoughts of those long dead

I have wondered if there was a connection between the words tome and tomb.  Truly a person can be remembered more from the books they wrote than a fading unkempt headstone.

Of course, people sometimes like to desecrate the place where the books live, much to my dismay.  Whether it be fucking between the shelves or streaking through the halls.  I will have none of it.  It would be like dancing on a grave.  So I care for the books the only way I know how: by reading them.  I practically devour them.  They feed my head.  They feed my soul.

Word Count: 38,400

Nanoism of the Day:

“Neria replied, sounding socked.”

*laughs* that was supposed to be “shocked”

Excerpt:

‘I… I had never thought that Mimi had liked me… but maybe I was just being oblivious to all the clues. Now that I think about it, I should have figured it out… I had been the same way before asking Kimily… Agh, why did I realize it? Now that I look at it, Mimi’s behavior was just so obvious, so clear; it makes no sense why I didn’t realize. I guess… I guess my mind was elsewhere too. I didn’t know what to say in return though, since all I could think about these days was Kimily. How could I say yes when I still held on so strongly to Kimily? Not to mention that, to me, Kimily was still alive… I didn’t know what to do. Nothing made sense… I just sat there, stunned, without saying a word while my mind tried to figure it all out. I didn’t want to hurt Mimi, and yet I couldn’t accept her proposal… I just couldn’t. I still saw myself with Kimily, and Kimily alone, and while maybe… maybe I like Mimi back, I don’t want to let go of my relationship with Kimily just yet. Accepting Mimi would just make the relationship odd, I’m never around much as it is, not to mention my whole time thing being screwed up… But… But I feel horrible for what I did say next.’

‘UNEXPECTED’ TURN OF EVENTS. WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?! *laughs*

It’s one of these nights I need to talk about him. Again.
I’m sorry.
But you know what, I’m sick of this…planet. This world. I can’t stand another minute of being here and now. My dreams. That’s what’s ruined me.
Why did I have to be so over-natural?
Why did I have to dream…?
As I’ve stated before (see: When Did My Heart Go Missing) I’ve been having really weird dreams. Alive dreams. With him. What is he?
I came to the conclusion that he is my “soulmate”.
If that’s what I can call it.
God…it’s hard.
I know I will never be happy with normality.
All my relationships are ruined because of me looking for him in every breath, in every single moment. I miss him.
And there’s no way I can find him.
I’ve tried everything there is to communicate.
But no.
Seems that even my only talent, to search into people’s minds has shrunk with time. I want to do that again.
Sometime.
People around the world move objects with their minds, hypnotize, make things happen…. Generaly… Supernatural things. [I'm tired.]
[Can't be coherent.]
Why can’t I find my gift again?
Why did I have to overthink it?
Now I’ve lost him.
And I’m more alone than I ever was in my entire life.
Because a part of my soul is missing.
Dammit.
Drama queen all over again.
Don’t mind me.
I’ll go to sleep.
Nothing makes sense.
Nothing is worth it when I’m awake. Sleeping should be my only option. And maybe someday death. If I find the courage.
That I won’t.
Because I’m too curious for what’s gonna happen.
And because I love.
People. Around me.
I wouldn’t do that to them, right…?

Sleep.
Goodnight.

-Free…?

 I chanced upon a site while trying to look for concept designs for cards this Christmas. Oops, not that I’ve been stealing designs.  SHOP.COM might sue me. Hehe.

Okay, you’re right. I know you’re probably thinking, I go for the old- school way. Sure, I like cards. I like putting words into those specially designed papers and probably even paste a picture or two to keep them informed on how much I’ve lost weight in the past months. Hehe. No, seriously the gift cards I saw on SHOP.COM reminded me so much of the more meaningful way of reaching out to people we love whom we don’t get to have a chance to be with that much. If we can’t spare time from our toxic schedules, why can’t we spare a few bucks to tell them just how much they mean to us and how much we want to share things with them.

Texting them or emailing them is the easiest way to do it but these are too common in a tech-drowned world. They’re too common that our emails and text messages might only be shrugged off as one of those everyday routines they do.  On special days, it is best to say it in  a special way, too. Yup, gift cards will do it. Believe me, my friend.

I mean, I’m talking from experience here. I used to give cards to someone. I actually did all the nitty-gritty details of looking for the perfect card, rounding all the stores in the city then wrote down a poem I made myself.  And how those smiles remind me up to this day how that one simple card meant a lot to her.  Besides, it sure did make me smile that I came up with a card that shouts out : “Hey, I’ve been made by someone whose creative juices is at its freshest!” Hehe.

So, do a favor for yourself. Do something special and do it with a card. SHOP.COM does have cool cards to choose from and if you’re one of those who can compose some lines, you can also stamp your own prose or poetry on it to add a more personal touch to your card.

A Minnesota man chose to speak only the fictional Star Trek language of Klingon to his now 3 year old son, instead of English.

Now OK that’s bad, but can’t we just be happy for him? I mean a Trekkie finally got some!

source

sigh. had bought a monologue ruled notebook from MPH, Jaya Jusco Taman Maluri the other day (couldn’t resist). removed the plastic wrapper to find that they had stuck their price tag on the notebook’s cover. tried to remove the absurdly sticky thing, resorting to using tweezers even because it’s worse when i tried it with my nails. damaged my new notebook in the process. you can’t see it in the picture but parts of the cover are peeled off. meh.

i would take the book back to MPH and ask for a new one since it was a damaged product (they stuck on the price tag, ok? -_-’), but i don’t think i will …. because i’m not sure if my claim is legit. Also, I’m either too chicken, too lazy,  or too unwilling to create a fuss/make the MPH workers’ lives difficult.

Plus, I’d already written 20 pages of the notebook… before I tried to remove the pricetag.

I’m such a doof.

Part of this calorically unbalanced breakfast.

All right, I’ve come to grips with the fact that I have fallen dreadfully behind on my writing goals.  However, I intend to keep posting as often as possible.  The phenomenon of the Pop Tart (otherwise known as the trashy pop starlet) has intrigued me since Brittany’s Baby One More Time was released.  Sadly, many of my peers developed eating disorders during that time in an effort to look more like the “perfect” pop star.  My love affair with food ran a little too deep for such things, but I’ve always had trouble viewing the cultural Pop Tart positively for that reason.

Here are two posts, both related to pop tarts.

Brick 14: Pop Tart

A girl sits, opens her backpack, and pulls out a package of pop tarts.  She begins to unwrap it.

Brick 14:

Oh you sweetness of sweet, you marshmallow-chocolate-swirled, hugged-in-a-graham cracker love monkey.  (She notices the audience for the first time) Shut up.  I’m hungry, okay?  I’ve had the worst day and there is absolutely nothing that can work better to cheer me up than this paradise pastry.  (She breaks off a piece, places it into her mouth and nearly swoons.) I know I shouldn’t use food for comfort all the time, but when you look at these (she pulls out a magazine from her backpack) perfect, obviously airbrushed photographs of pop stars with unbelievable bodies and know that there is no possible way to look like them; you can find comfort in something you know they can probably never have.

Pop tarts.

I can’t imagine actually eating one for breakfast.  The nutritional facts are a complete joke.  My parents would never let something like this enter their house of health food, so I have to smuggle them into my bedroom.  I’m perfectly aware of what this little slice of heaven will do to my cholesterol, my teeth and my skin, but frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.  (She takes another bite and makes a yummy sound).

My mom is a nutritionist and my dad is a dentist.  They say you can’t choose your parents, but oh, how I wish they owned a cupcake store or were pastry chefs.  They don’t know this, but I want to be a cake maker, like on that show, Ace of Cakes.  (She punctuates the next three words by licking her fingertips) What.  A.  Life.  Making magnificent works of art out of the best tasting ingredients on the planet sounds like the happiest job on earth.  The cakes they show on food network are incredible, but I have some designs of my own.  Wanna see?

(She opens a large sketch pad to reveal detailed drawings of cakes).

This first one is a thanksgiving cake with a chocolate fudge turkey on the top.  See, the bottom tier is covered in edible gold leaf-brushed foliage made of sugar, and then as you work your way up, each tier reveals another layer to the story of the holiday.  There are the Pilgrims and Indians—they’d be molded from fondant.  Further up, the cake tier itself loses the traditional cubed shape and is carved into a cornucopia with actual dried fruit and nuts spilling out of it.  I think the best part of the tiered system is that you can make each a different flavor, so everyone’s favorite cake can be included.

(She stares at the design, wistfully)

What I love about food is that it’s for everyone.  You don’t have to look perfect to enjoy it.  It’ll make you feel good no matter what.  Like I said, I know it’s not the best thing to turn to when I’m stressed, but I don’t gorge.  I taste.  I savor.  I enjoy.  So what if a pop tart here and there keeps me from being a size zero.  I’m happy, and there is more of me to love.

(Exit)

The second post is a tongue in cheek song about Pop Tarts.  I think I wrote it back when Paris and Lindsay were having a jail time relay race.  It was called, “you’re ugly when you cry.”  I am aware that it’s pretty terrible.  But it could be fun to record and link up.  I do still know the tune.

You’re such a pretty girl

You’ve got a ticket see the world

And everything goes your way

It’s no wonder why

Because you’re ugly when you cry

You’re ugly when you cry

Mommy and daddy pay

So you can have such a lovely day

But there is nothing behind your empty eyes

No one cares about what you really prize

You may be everyone’s favorite today

But the day goes by

And you’re ugly when you cry

You’re ugly when you cry

Young, rich and famous

Your body belongs us all

The tabloids always love you

But they want to see you fall

They get you when you’re young so you can’t tell

That your personal life is gonna be hell

You say you want respect and a little more privacy

Shoulda thought of that before they published your diary

Look for an escape which you can’t find

Everyone says you’re losing your mind

When you finally crack and it shows

There’s no way to hide

That you’re ugly when you cry

You know what the trouble with being the all-knowing God types is? No. Obviously you don’t, you are not all-knowing or a God. Well, I am and I know the trouble with it too. And I will tell you about it. The trouble is that you know EVERYTHING.

Why stuff happened. Why stuff will happen. What has to be done etc. etc. So much performance pressure, you know. Being on earth and guiding these mortals to do what has been written in their fates by the almighty himself. Terribly hard I tell you. Let me give you an example. Draupadi’s vastra-haran? Yes. That infamous incident. Well, I knew that the vastra-haran would happen, and I knew that I had to appear to save Draupadi. I even knew of the time, down to the exact second. But you know what happened? Late night drinking session with Balarama. I overslept. Almost didn’t make it to save her. Never will I drink with Balarama again. He must totally quit drinking.

The worst thing about this assignment for me? It has to be the treachery and all the double dealings. I mean, the Pandavas, for all their perfections, are not all that bright. Manipulating them(and it has been really easy at that) to achieve some of my own goals feels bad. But that is how it is. If not me, it will be someone else. I console myself saying that it is necessary for the triumph of good over evil.

Weird concept that, isn’t it? Good and Evil. I mean who is to say that the Pandavas are the ‘Good’ guys and the Kauravas ‘Evil’? Who decides that? If you give a good ear to what the Kauravas have to say, maybe you will find that they believe that they are on the side of good, not the Pandavas. It’s all perception. History will perceive that the Pandavas were the good guys, not the Kauravas. That reminds me, I’ve got to pay off those balladeers to sing and write down some highly imaginative stories about the Pandavas’ righteousness. History has to be made, and it is always on the side of those who control what gets written.

The Girls? (Smiles) The reports are highly exaggerated, I tell you. Handling two of them has been a problem for me, and people have been quoting my liaisons to be in the thousands. Though I do notice that most of the girls seem to get woozy headed around me. I do a quick check of the armpits when that happens(laughs). Seriously though, it’s just the two. And even then, I’d rather have that there’d be only one. Radha is the one I love, but Rukmini is the one I’m supposed to love, being married to her and all that. You see, even us God types have our problems while dealing with the matters of the heart. (Smirks)

Maybe the next project I get will be a better one. But I’ll have to finish this one with good ratings for that. And get a good appraisal from HIM. There are a lot of these one project wonders and I don’t want to be one of them. These Gods get one temple in some far off regional corner with a limited set of worshippers. No pan-religion following for them really. But I have grand plans. Pan-religion following, a chain of temples, universal name acknowledgement. From one corner of the globe to another. And for that to happen, I shouldn’t be sitting idle like this and chatting away. I’ve work to do and I’ve got to get it done. Will be seeing ya then.

And even if we do not meet, I’m sure that you’ll be hearing a lot more of me.