And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
- Genesis 3: 22 (NIV) -
The Lord God said it himself - I am capable of knowing both good and evil and I was born this way. Now as to the tree of life, He can take it and shove it some place warm and tight - I do not want to live forever!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Reading
I learned to read when I was five. The problem is there wasn't a lot of reading materials in the house which, by today's standard, suitable for a child my age. I read whatever I can get hold of - Bisaya magazines, newspapers, etc.
Unlike the kids of today, I did not went through prep and kinder. I went straight to Grade 1. School was very exciting at first. I remember there was this thick Cebuano book which Mrs. Ybanez (my teacher) lent me and I finished reading it within a few days. After that, I found the Grade1 class so boring that my mother has to drag me back to the classroom. They should have promoted me to Grade 2. Instead my teacher made me tutor for the slow learners to keep me from fooling around, while the rest of the class was learning ba-be-bi-bo-bu. Maybe the teachers back then are so ignorant (or simply unconcerned) of how miserable I was being made to do the job which should have been done by my teacher. It was of course, a public school and my classmates were not the kids of parents who know better than my teacher.
I simply loved reading. During my free time, when I was not made to do household chore, I always escape into my grandparents house nearby where Lolo Pacio has a cabinet full of Reader's Digest old issues(1960's to 1970's). I think it was the easy format of RD which made me love reading. The articles were (and still are) short and stories are narrated with minimal effort to the young reader. It effectively introduced me to book stories which are condensed in a few pages. We had no TV at that time and my mother discouraged me from playing with neighbors - it's all work for me. Reading became a respite and opened me to new worlds, new ideas.
During high school and college, I spent most of my spare time in the libraries. Encyclopedias, magazines, books on literature, biographies, philosophy, politics, etc. It simply amazed me how ideas from people who have died (some hundreds of years ago) can be conveyed to us by such a very simple device - book. Forget God and his heaven, this is the real immortality - dead people speaking/arguing from their graves - Plato, Darwin, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Machiavelli, Veblen, etc. Simply amazing!
I don't think I am a talented individual. If I was, I would have excelled in literature, academics, sports or other activities. I simply loved reading and leveraged the knowledge and information I gained from it to get what I wanted. Knowledge is absolute power and nothing can be as priceless as a piece of information that is known and understandable only to a few individual.
Why do I love reading? I don't know. The closest explanation could be because I am an introvert and a bit anti-social to boot. Reading is an activity that effectively shuts off social interaction. Don't get me wrong, I hate being an introvert and anti social tendencies should be discouraged from young people. But it's my nature and sometimes, I can't help it. Reading a book excuses me from talking to the people nearby. It educates you on human nature without having to interact with humans. Reading makes you understand the general qualities of man/mankind without being distracted by those of individuals close to you. Most of the people close to me are friendly, fair and mild mannered but I know people can be violent, unjust and vicious. Most of the leaders I knew are seemingly friendly and altruistic - but Machiavelli said otherwise and I believed him.
The present is a paradise for all those who love reading. Most of the written works are digitized and finding a book/piece of literature has never been easier and cheaper. Now, you don't have to go to the library or bookstore to read the book you wanted to read. Everything is in the internet and can be extracted in a text or voice format (ebook or audiobook). Reading (or listening to books being read to you) is just a click away.
This is the reason why I provided my daughter (and those dear to me) with devices which I believe will enhance her capability to read and gather information crucial to her life and her future. Some people simply call these "gadgets" - laptop, iPad, iPod, smartphone. To me these gadgets are today's electronic libraries. If my daughter is not smart enough to realize the REAL uses of these devices and the value of reading, then she has nothing to blame but herself. I have provided her what I believed to be the most important tools/facility she can have at the most important period of her life. It's not wealth/money - it's information and the ability to access it by READING. A father can only help up to a certain point.
Unlike the kids of today, I did not went through prep and kinder. I went straight to Grade 1. School was very exciting at first. I remember there was this thick Cebuano book which Mrs. Ybanez (my teacher) lent me and I finished reading it within a few days. After that, I found the Grade1 class so boring that my mother has to drag me back to the classroom. They should have promoted me to Grade 2. Instead my teacher made me tutor for the slow learners to keep me from fooling around, while the rest of the class was learning ba-be-bi-bo-bu. Maybe the teachers back then are so ignorant (or simply unconcerned) of how miserable I was being made to do the job which should have been done by my teacher. It was of course, a public school and my classmates were not the kids of parents who know better than my teacher.
I simply loved reading. During my free time, when I was not made to do household chore, I always escape into my grandparents house nearby where Lolo Pacio has a cabinet full of Reader's Digest old issues(1960's to 1970's). I think it was the easy format of RD which made me love reading. The articles were (and still are) short and stories are narrated with minimal effort to the young reader. It effectively introduced me to book stories which are condensed in a few pages. We had no TV at that time and my mother discouraged me from playing with neighbors - it's all work for me. Reading became a respite and opened me to new worlds, new ideas.
During high school and college, I spent most of my spare time in the libraries. Encyclopedias, magazines, books on literature, biographies, philosophy, politics, etc. It simply amazed me how ideas from people who have died (some hundreds of years ago) can be conveyed to us by such a very simple device - book. Forget God and his heaven, this is the real immortality - dead people speaking/arguing from their graves - Plato, Darwin, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Machiavelli, Veblen, etc. Simply amazing!
I don't think I am a talented individual. If I was, I would have excelled in literature, academics, sports or other activities. I simply loved reading and leveraged the knowledge and information I gained from it to get what I wanted. Knowledge is absolute power and nothing can be as priceless as a piece of information that is known and understandable only to a few individual.
Why do I love reading? I don't know. The closest explanation could be because I am an introvert and a bit anti-social to boot. Reading is an activity that effectively shuts off social interaction. Don't get me wrong, I hate being an introvert and anti social tendencies should be discouraged from young people. But it's my nature and sometimes, I can't help it. Reading a book excuses me from talking to the people nearby. It educates you on human nature without having to interact with humans. Reading makes you understand the general qualities of man/mankind without being distracted by those of individuals close to you. Most of the people close to me are friendly, fair and mild mannered but I know people can be violent, unjust and vicious. Most of the leaders I knew are seemingly friendly and altruistic - but Machiavelli said otherwise and I believed him.
The present is a paradise for all those who love reading. Most of the written works are digitized and finding a book/piece of literature has never been easier and cheaper. Now, you don't have to go to the library or bookstore to read the book you wanted to read. Everything is in the internet and can be extracted in a text or voice format (ebook or audiobook). Reading (or listening to books being read to you) is just a click away.
This is the reason why I provided my daughter (and those dear to me) with devices which I believe will enhance her capability to read and gather information crucial to her life and her future. Some people simply call these "gadgets" - laptop, iPad, iPod, smartphone. To me these gadgets are today's electronic libraries. If my daughter is not smart enough to realize the REAL uses of these devices and the value of reading, then she has nothing to blame but herself. I have provided her what I believed to be the most important tools/facility she can have at the most important period of her life. It's not wealth/money - it's information and the ability to access it by READING. A father can only help up to a certain point.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Trad thinking
Nothing draws me faster into an argument than hearing people imposing their trad (traditional) thinking on me. Trad thinkers are people who expects other people to do things simply because everyone else is (and has been) doing it. Their reason is, you should be like this or do something like this because (in their narrow perception) that's the way things are. No reasoning, no application of logic, not even a cursory investigation if such practice is reasonable or even just.
Here are such examples:
1. Trad think: You should not fold your pants. You (Neil) are the only one in the world doing it and it looks funny. Now, I do fold my pants for the practical reason that a waving part of garment near my feet are likely to be snagged to something and sometimes reach the ground. Pants you bought of the shelf are naturally long because they are designed for the ones with the longer legs - those with shorter legs can just have it trimmed by a tailor.
2. Trad think: You should be driving something a brand new SUV not that old pickup because that's what people in your position are driving. Oh yeah? But I do need a pick-up because I sometimes carry pipes and heavy cargoes. How would you fit a 4" X 3m steel segment inside an SUV or a goat that I carry from my farm? By the way, although my pickup is more than six years old, it is still presentable and in good condition.
3. Trad think: You should get married and have children. And what make's you think that doing so will increase my current level of happiness, I retorted? Well, (trad thinker replied) it is the right thing to do! And why is it the right thing to do, I persisted. And we drifted towards a heated argument about religion and morality where I soundly defeated the trad thinker. What a self-righteous prig!
more trad thinks to follow...
Here are such examples:
1. Trad think: You should not fold your pants. You (Neil) are the only one in the world doing it and it looks funny. Now, I do fold my pants for the practical reason that a waving part of garment near my feet are likely to be snagged to something and sometimes reach the ground. Pants you bought of the shelf are naturally long because they are designed for the ones with the longer legs - those with shorter legs can just have it trimmed by a tailor.
2. Trad think: You should be driving something a brand new SUV not that old pickup because that's what people in your position are driving. Oh yeah? But I do need a pick-up because I sometimes carry pipes and heavy cargoes. How would you fit a 4" X 3m steel segment inside an SUV or a goat that I carry from my farm? By the way, although my pickup is more than six years old, it is still presentable and in good condition.
3. Trad think: You should get married and have children. And what make's you think that doing so will increase my current level of happiness, I retorted? Well, (trad thinker replied) it is the right thing to do! And why is it the right thing to do, I persisted. And we drifted towards a heated argument about religion and morality where I soundly defeated the trad thinker. What a self-righteous prig!
more trad thinks to follow...
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Mt. Kalawitan
Monday, January 23, 2012
The trouble with hello
My daughter's visit after more than 2 years.
Arrival: 4am, 11Dec2011 (her 14th birthday)
Departure: 8am, 23Jan2012 (43 days later)
Next visit: ? years from now
For those who know me, this picture is worth a thousand words.
Arrival: 4am, 11Dec2011 (her 14th birthday)
Departure: 8am, 23Jan2012 (43 days later)
Next visit: ? years from now
 |
| Nat's departure for NZ (23Jan2012) |
For those who know me, this picture is worth a thousand words.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Goodbye Santa Claus
Call me a scrooge, but after experiencing more than 40 Christmases and hearing/reading people's stories and opinions about it, I can say this Christian event is grossly overrated. Actually Christmas is originally not a Christian tradition. It is a pagan celebration called Saturnalia adopted by Emperor Constantine to encourage most people to adopt the new imperial religion. The birth of Jesus cannot be around the winter months since sheeps don't graze outside around that time. Go visit Palestine/Israel on December and experience the bitter winter around this time. Besides, the early Christians do not celebrate Christmas - it was Constantine who invented (adopted) it for Christianity.
What about the commercial aspect of Christmas - this gift giving? It's actually a Saturnalian practice also. However, the Romans those days gave only inexpensive gifts (mostly potteries and wax figures) since gift of value would mark social status and that would be contrary to the spririt than the season. Now that's something to think about. Try giving inexpensive gifts these days and they will most likely end up in the trash can.
I don't celebrate Christmas anymore not because I'm not a Christian ( hell, I will celebrate a Muslim or Hindu holiday if I choose to) but because I can afford not to. My daughter is hardly a child anymore and as much as she wish for a christmas tree and other decors these days (and although I am very much inclined to humour her on that), I don't think they're worth the cost and time to put up.
So goodbye Santa Claus and the three kings (and sorry Mr. Sy we can't have more transactions) for now. They say, Christmas is for the children and I dare not disagree with that because I've been a child too. If I will have a new child to please in the future I may come to resurrect you and I will await and celebrate Christmas more eagerly and extravagantly like the Romans did during Saturnalia. But for now, this thing called Christmas is something that I will comfortably choose not to celebrate. Some people (especially the flood victims lately) were not able to celebrate Christmas because thay can't afford to. I don't celebrate it because I can afford not to. Lucky guy :).
What about the commercial aspect of Christmas - this gift giving? It's actually a Saturnalian practice also. However, the Romans those days gave only inexpensive gifts (mostly potteries and wax figures) since gift of value would mark social status and that would be contrary to the spririt than the season. Now that's something to think about. Try giving inexpensive gifts these days and they will most likely end up in the trash can.
I don't celebrate Christmas anymore not because I'm not a Christian ( hell, I will celebrate a Muslim or Hindu holiday if I choose to) but because I can afford not to. My daughter is hardly a child anymore and as much as she wish for a christmas tree and other decors these days (and although I am very much inclined to humour her on that), I don't think they're worth the cost and time to put up.
So goodbye Santa Claus and the three kings (and sorry Mr. Sy we can't have more transactions) for now. They say, Christmas is for the children and I dare not disagree with that because I've been a child too. If I will have a new child to please in the future I may come to resurrect you and I will await and celebrate Christmas more eagerly and extravagantly like the Romans did during Saturnalia. But for now, this thing called Christmas is something that I will comfortably choose not to celebrate. Some people (especially the flood victims lately) were not able to celebrate Christmas because thay can't afford to. I don't celebrate it because I can afford not to. Lucky guy :).
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
A bull in a china shop
Sometimes I could be a bull in a china shop. I can be too frank and brutal for my own good. I am not proud of it but like the scorpion who bit the frog he was riding while crossing the stream "I am a scorpion, I can't help it!" (They both drowned, by the way). That's a cause for concern especially if you live in a culture like ours where a lot of people harbors beliefs they simply inherited from their forebears without giving it the benefit of thinking why they are adopting it. Most of our beliefs are inherited - not a result of critical thinking (If you do that in business, you will be broke in less than a year). And if you are somebody who needs to put a reason for believing on something and then proceeds to speak your mind, you end of like me - a bull in a china shop.
As I've said this is me and I have the right to be this way. If you don't think so, try reading more books especially those concerning freedom, liberty, justice, etc. Not everything is found in the bible, pastor.
Some people tend to forget that there is such thing as individual freedom. To be what you want to be, to have your own set of beliefs and to express your opinions on anything - so long as you do not transgress the freedom of others. You are a believer and I am not, does that make me less human than you? Does that make me an enemy? It probably would if you are a rabid religious fundamentalist. If so, then I couldn't care less for you. Fundamentalism and fanaticism is anathema to individual freedom and people who adhere to them should not live in libertarian society. This might be a third world country with the ordinary people ignorant about secular ideas but that doesn't mean that I have to tread carefully so as not to offend some feelings. Hell, we always have our feelings being offended - that's a fact of life. If you've been living in an environment where people are so cautious with opinions and ideas as if living in glass houses, then don't venture outside. Stay home. But people are changing, kids are getting more rational and argumentative, they're becoming more educated and exposed to more ideas. Sooner, you could have a child like me, a bull in a china shop whose opinions and ideas you need to engage. And what will you do?
I live and let live. I only have one life to live and I want to use it to do something else - not to be a blueprint for some young people to emulate. I am not here to be somebody else's role model, much less my daughter's or my nephews' and nieces/. Role models are overrated icons. Young people don't need role models - they have to discover their own identity. What they need is just guidance. What they need is somebody to help them identify the options they have not to choose it for them. This one could lead to self-sufficiency, this one could lead you towards mediocrity and that one could lead you some place I've never been. Just that - and let them choose.
Now, I understand that what I'm writing here have offended quite a few people, one way or another. If you are one of them and you really feel strongly about it, you can send me a reply and I will post it in this blog (anonymous if you want). But never blame the bull for breaking your china. Ideas and beliefs are not supposed to be like china - they should be more durable, more lasting than steel and bronze and must withstand the forces of reason. Otherwise, we will never know the truth.
As I've said this is me and I have the right to be this way. If you don't think so, try reading more books especially those concerning freedom, liberty, justice, etc. Not everything is found in the bible, pastor.
Some people tend to forget that there is such thing as individual freedom. To be what you want to be, to have your own set of beliefs and to express your opinions on anything - so long as you do not transgress the freedom of others. You are a believer and I am not, does that make me less human than you? Does that make me an enemy? It probably would if you are a rabid religious fundamentalist. If so, then I couldn't care less for you. Fundamentalism and fanaticism is anathema to individual freedom and people who adhere to them should not live in libertarian society. This might be a third world country with the ordinary people ignorant about secular ideas but that doesn't mean that I have to tread carefully so as not to offend some feelings. Hell, we always have our feelings being offended - that's a fact of life. If you've been living in an environment where people are so cautious with opinions and ideas as if living in glass houses, then don't venture outside. Stay home. But people are changing, kids are getting more rational and argumentative, they're becoming more educated and exposed to more ideas. Sooner, you could have a child like me, a bull in a china shop whose opinions and ideas you need to engage. And what will you do?
I live and let live. I only have one life to live and I want to use it to do something else - not to be a blueprint for some young people to emulate. I am not here to be somebody else's role model, much less my daughter's or my nephews' and nieces/. Role models are overrated icons. Young people don't need role models - they have to discover their own identity. What they need is just guidance. What they need is somebody to help them identify the options they have not to choose it for them. This one could lead to self-sufficiency, this one could lead you towards mediocrity and that one could lead you some place I've never been. Just that - and let them choose.
Now, I understand that what I'm writing here have offended quite a few people, one way or another. If you are one of them and you really feel strongly about it, you can send me a reply and I will post it in this blog (anonymous if you want). But never blame the bull for breaking your china. Ideas and beliefs are not supposed to be like china - they should be more durable, more lasting than steel and bronze and must withstand the forces of reason. Otherwise, we will never know the truth.
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