Civilization V: Brave New World OST - Rotta o Sonata

Ice

It may have been "hot" last Saturday but man, is it cold today. There's a monsoon blowing cold weather in the Philippines.

I read somewhere that Filipinos are lazy because the climate is hot. Nobody likes to work in the blistering heat.

I don't know about that. This cold weather is perfect for sleeping!

Fire

Today, a fire razed a large part of Carbon Market and Freedom Park.

While in the college this morning, I saw a large plume of smoke at the distance outside the window. A fire had started in the markets. In just five minutes, it had doubled in width. The fire trucks were attempting to douse the flame with their hoses but the fire simply spread to fast; the market was a crowded place with shops and shacks crammed together and full of merchandise. It might as well have been kindling. It was a terrible disaster for the poor people. I can't imagine what it's like seeing your livelihood go up in flames.

I've never seen a fire up close before. It's really quite something to see such a destructive force. It was... mesmerizing seeing the flames spread with frightening speed, the large plumes of black smoke rising and the small white sparks of electrical wiring popping in the midst of it all.

I didn't stick around and got out of there quickly despite my morbid fascination.

Philippine Idol

It's that time of year again. It's that time when the statue of the Black Nazarene is brought out of Quiapo for public veneration and millions of people flood the streets hoping to touch it.

A Black Mass

The statue is believed to have miraculous powers; touching the statue supposedly cures illnesses though the reasons for touching the relic range from healing sickness to winning lottery tickets. It's quite a spectacle and tourists new to the Philippines would perhaps be awestruck. To Filipinos, it's a yearly event no more unusual than a town fiesta.

Personally, I find the whole thing disturbing no matter how many times I've seen it. There's something, dare I say, unchristian about pushing and shoving and literally stepping on people to touch a statue. I know people are free to believe whatever they wish but if people profess to be Christian, they ought to be mindful of the teachings of their own religion.

Is it idolatry? The public is assured by the Church that it isn't. I don't trust the Church. I don't trust any institution anymore come to think of it. I think the Church is too scared of ticking off such a large group of people. Christianity has different views on the matter. Icons are alright for Catholics but some Protestant groups may ban all images outright.

It depends on how you see it. Idolatry is the worship of objects as divine or as god. The justification here is that people may crowd over the Black Nazarene but they know the source of power is God with a capital "G". 

You know what? Whatever. Originally I was going to write about how "wrong" all of this feels but now I'm at a loss. I find it hard to put into words and I can't put my finger on it. It all just seems so excessive, you know? That statue is not going away. That statue isn't going to the moon people, there's no need to go wild over it.

Just now, the news media reports that over 1400 people have been injured which brings me to my second point; this procession is a humanitarian disaster waiting to happen. Terrorist attack anyone? Stampede? Bridge collapse? Bomb threat? That amount of people in a small area... mass panic, hysteria and death.

I'll never understand a lot of things.

Crap

Well, the year has barely started and already it's terrible.

How does projectile vomiting sound to you? Unpleasant? It sure is. Last Friday I think I threw up my innards all over the sink. It must have been some kind of food poisoning. I was out all Saturday and I'm still reeling from it even today.

I feel terrible.

Aphex Twin - Acrid Avid Jam

New Year Resolution

I made a list of New Year resolutions; one of which was to go to bed earlier. The trouble is, I slept at around 1:30 AM this morning, January 01.

Does this mean that I broke that resolution instantly when the new year began since I was not asleep when the clock struck 12? But isn't it also correct to argue that since the proper bedtime would have been on December 31, thus falling on the last year, I could not have broken the resolution since the new year had not begun and the said resolution had not yet begun to take effect and become binding?

However, the point of the resolution is to avoid sleep deprivation and to be well-rested. Since obviously, I am not well rested right now, can it be said that I had failed and broken the resolution? Perhaps it is not wise to assume intent and it would be prudent to stick to the proposed action of "sleeping early". If that is the case, then my state of sleep deprivation would be irrelevant and the resolution is still ongoing.

What is early? The standards of "early" have changed drastically in modern times. Is the common bedtime of children even applicable to adults like me? Of course not. Isn't it also true that different people have different work schedules and sleep in odd hours during the day instead of night? It is clear that the standard of "early" differs from person to person. Therefore, "early" is unique to the person and should be assessed on a case to case basis.

In my case, I usually sleep in between the hours of 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM. "Early" in this case would have to be at least two hours earlier; 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM would suffice.

But as previously stated, I slept at 1:30 AM this morning. That's way earlier than 9:00 PM! Wow, in that case, I'm doing pretty good.

I'm tired.