The Mire - Palmreader

I didn't watch Pnoy's SONA. Why would I? I already ranted that I wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Besides, I already knew what he was gonna say: a bunch of self-serving statements and cheap shots at his predecessor.

Have some music instead.

Running Mates

Equally important to "who's running" in the Philippine elections is "who's he/she running with."

It's understandable that a presidential candidate's choice of running mate is a factor in a voter's choice but it's strange how inflated its importance is in the Philippines. You look at say, America and you'll see the strange combination of a young, African-American named Obama and some old guy named Biden who people barely mention. Here in the Philippines, the choice of running mate can make or break you.

Why? A running mate is a prospective Vice-President. Vice-Presidents are jokingly referred to as "spare tires" in the executive branch. They don't have any real power on their own. They can be assigned a cabinet position free of confirmation hearings but then again, that's entirely optional. Really, they do nothing at all, at least, on paper. Their only job is to make "istambay" until the President croaks or is otherwise unable to do his job which is strange since Pnoy doesn't do his job  yet I don't see Binay stepping in. Historically, it hasn't happened often enough that a Vice-President took the reigns of this crazy horse of a nation even if you include Gloria. 

Maybe there's this assumption that the Vice-President has the ear of the President and that the latter's decisions would necessarily be based on the advice of the former. In short, that they'll work as a team? That's just speculation. Besides, have you seen the current administration? Pnoy and Binay have this passive-aggressive nonsense going on. Since breaking off, Binay has been talking smack about the administration (that he seemed to have no problem with for the past five or so years) and some members of the administration are retaliating. Yet Binay and Pnoy are hands-off with each other directly. It's like telling your lover, "I love you but I hate everything you do and stand for but I still love you!" or as Facebook would put it, "It's complicated." All this duplicity and two-facedness makes me physically ill actually.

It's like alchemy, you know? With the right combination, you might just turn shit into gold! So what combinations are in the works in today's hip, rock-rollin' election scene, man? There's talk that Pnoy would like Grace Poe to be Mar Roxas' running mate. I find this strange. See, people don't normally willingly tie millstones around their necks and jump into a deep ravine. Why on Earth would Grace Poe tie herself to the millstone named "Mar"? Poe seems to be leaning towards a tandem with Escudero. Personally, I can't stand that smug prick but as they say, "the heart has its reasons of which reason does not know" or some such sugary nonsense no sane person would ever put into paper, much less a legal document.

You know who Mar should choose as a running mate? Vice Ganda, that's who. I mean, why not? It's already a circus, why not send in the clowns? Mar's old gimmick was "Mr.Palengke" so why not align him with someone who the uneducated trash in the real palengkes actually watch?

By the way, in case you forget, the future of the Philippines is at stake here but I'm just saying.

Election Crap 2016

Aren't you sick of all the garbage on the news about the upcoming elections? All those asinine questions and tedious predictions are giving me a headache.

The stupidest question so far is: "Who's Pnoy going to endorse?" Isn't it obvious? Pnoy is going to endorse Mar Roxas. Who else? Look at Pnoy's history and you'll learn that he always picks his favorite parasites, close "allies" and shameless sycophants. Mar is the most disgustingly loyal toadie of the yellow brand so of course he's gonna get Pnoy's vote of confidence. Who else can Pnoy rely on to shield his sorry ass from lawsuits after his presidency is over?

Grace Poe... all I heard is that she's popular and that's about it. What does she stand for? What are her major accomplishments? Nobody's asking. All that matters is that she's "popular". Why though? The cynic in me clawed its way out of my chest to tell you that she's only popular because of her famous action movie star father, Fernando Poe.

Binay? "The devil you know" is still a goddamned devil. It'll be amusing to see if he can dig himself out of the hole his rivals have so kindly dug for him. Even better to see if he does win. Imagine the rampage of revenge he'll unleash if he wins.

Duterte? I wish if only just to throw those asshats in Manila for a loop.

The COMELEC is a mess. So we're not doing automated voting anymore and going back to manual? Wait, not manual? Half-automated and half-manual? Jesus Christ. Well I'm sure they're giving it a good effort. I mean, voting is only the central lynchpin of our fragile democracy. It's only the will of the people at stake so no rush guys, take your time.

There's a proposal the geniuses in government have come up with to hold the elections inside malls. Might as well. I mean, Filipinos do everything at the mall nowadays. People even hold mass at the mall. Might as well make our devolution into a materialism-obsessed moral wasteland complete.

What a pain in the ass.

Chopin - Prelude Op.28 No.16

Made in China

A lot of pirated goods come from China but synthetic rice? That's a new one.

Too bad. A lot of the fake crap from China wasn't this bad long ago. Gone were the days when you could sit down on your comfy chair with a nice cup of Lipiton iced tea, watch a bootleg DVD of Taken on your Pensonic player hooked up to your Soby TV set. Now we can enjoy a nice bowl of styrofoam with it.

Mm-mmm...