Hat tip to muddynights for pointing to the odd joker and The Intelligent Singaporean who thoroughly covered the controversy raised by the now notorious-line by the daughter of a Singaporean MP who snapped, “please get out of my elite uncaring face” in response to the angst of another Singaporean. More reactions can be found in Tomorrow.
Bob Barker’s retiring next year.
Man Blog presents on a “fabuleux” collection. Hat-tip to Captain’s log for the link.
The Electric Journal of Adel Gabot pens a cultural note: how would you translate/describe “nakakahiya”?
Madame Chiang watched the Marie Antoinette movie and found the audience interesting. And here’s something on the French queen’s fashion sense.
Apparently, the Spanish clergy were convinced the Chinese were addicted to sodomy. Read Señor Enrique’s research on the matter.
And even more lateral thinking: Rebecca’s pocket points to a peddler of baby toupees.
Pringles vs. Stax. My vote is for Pringles.
Superdickery.com courtesy of Paolo Manalo.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, gay, history, philippines
the elite, as a concept, will always be wih us. its part of life, its the way of the world. like anything, it would have its good and bad side.
but it should never be taken as an excuse to look down or denigrate other people. whether one is part of the social elite, political, intellectual, etc. should never give one license to slap other people with the fact that they are not as lucky (emphasize that word “lucky”). in this vein, the rich american time magazine’s categorization of manila as a place that is “hardly ever on the radar of the artistic elite” is uncalled for.
finally, to those whom much is given much is required (or something like it). the problem with the elite here (generally) is that they have not fulfilled their end of the bargain. compare that with america’s roosevelts or rome’s julius or augustus ceasar. if people are happy with where this country is going, then alright then. but if dissatisfaction with the direction of this country is common enough, then you look at its leaders, its elite. as bryce says, perhaps no other form of government needs great leaders as much as democracy. i look around and i see the utter talent of our people. we should widen our pool and not limit ourselves to the social and political leadership that – to borrow a line – ilang beses na tinimbang at nagkulang.
this issue, at least, settles one thing: Singaporeans DON’T speak the best English in Asia, contrary to what they often claim.
if anyone still claims otherwise, you can “get out of my elite uncaring face.â€Â
jemy, i agree with you 100% on your comment on the elite.
I think that identifying oneself as part of an elite is a psychological crutch. That kind of hubris shown by the MP’s daughter (and the MP himself) is the downside of LKY’s vision and is something that LKY-wannabees (like GMA and JDV) and the PI-proponents should keep in mind.
I often say that this country is controlled by the elite….
I would not call my self poor,I had my share of extravagance ,as a mere son of a military man,had my spoiled brat days anmd had my matapobre days.
I keep on questioning like in the previous blog ,in an entry made an hour ago,that the rich don’t pay taxes….made me think of the days I wasted the gasoline of the government during my north to south south to north road trips,wasting electricity and water ,we we had no meters back then in our military quarters….and so on.
And I was just a typical son of a gun…..which I might say included in the social elite..
It is a good thing that I am a changed man now. Back to life back to reality,back down to earth.
bTW,Jemy thanks for your comment kahit malayo ang na ishare ko.
So,The Price is Right man I grew up watching is finally retiring….
I loved the show and I hated the local version,eeven if I enjow awn zulueta movies…speaking of local version …Ogie’s Family Feud was a blast.
Back to my Joselu like spelling…(may kadamay ka Joey!)
I meant… enjoy watching Dawn Zulueta …..
“The Chinese tradition of kinship-based immigration might have encouraged sodomy or (at least) made it suspect as a contributing factor.” – – – quoted from Señor Enrique’s “Brokeback Parian”
Damn, I wonder if Ang Lee realized he had Brokeback Mountain right on his own backyard all along?
Habang binabasa ko ang isinulat ni Wee Shu-Min, ang naramdaman ko ay tulad noong aking mabasa yung bukas na liham ni Bong Austero para sa mga nagrarali sa lansangan. Nakakakutya. Para akong itinulak at dinuraan sa mukha.
who’s gonna replace bob? RYAN SEACREST!
I was searching for an online e-text of Rizal’s Morga, where Rizal similarly attributes the homosexual behavior among the locals described by Morga to Chinese influence. But then i stumbled onto something quite interesting–apparently 24 of the 55 volumes of Blair & Robertson are already available as e-texts. http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/b#a2296
elite is a good concept. elitism and elitist are bad words.
The singaporean girl was an elitist who practices elitism.
elite is a good concept. elitism and elitist are bad words.
The singaporean girl is an elitist who practices elitism.
Carl,
The way senor enrique describes it I think it is more like Deliverance than Brokeback Mountain
juumper… saying “get out of my face” is totally accepted be you in New York City or Kansas City. Her adding “please” indicates that she is edumacated and can say “my elite face”.
Tax the Elites and the Wealthy to the bones and provide to the poor and those with less, and soon the words Elitism and Filthy Wealthy will be just that – words. Everyday, as we go around our day to day living, we drive behind the Ashton Martins, The Escalade, The Mercedes, The Bimmers and we pass the biggest houses and mansions owned by our who’s who of the elites and the wealthiest. But most, will not feel the pang of envy or jealousy, for they are the people that provide the jobs; invest in business and pay the most taxes to keep the economy going, maintain enough pension funds to help the seniors live in dignity, keep the health care system accessible go all, and the children to have all the opportunities for the future, all because of the elites and the rich and the wealthy.
Some are natural born “elites”, but all others have an equal opportunity to be one. The world is not “heaven” where every thing and every one enjoys a perfect existence. Differences are there to remind us who, what and where we are and how we came to be as individuals unique from each other. There is no wealth if there is no poverty, no joy if there is no sorrow, no comfort if there is no pain. In human terms, who would want to be in never-ending orgasm? That would be boring, wouldn’t it?
Bencard… many sects (a particular group was written about in “The Da Vinci Code”) believe that orgasm (especially simultaneous orgasm between 2 lovers) is the closest thing there is to heaven. So never-ending orgasm is heaven, and fifty-plus virgins become appropriate reward for an act of religiosity.
“Some are natural born “elitesâ€Â, but all others have an equal opportunity to be one.” – Bencard
In the Philippine setting, that’s not true. Millions in the present generation will live out their lives on less that 1 USD a day. There ought to be a law against that.
UP studdent, my very religious co-worker said exactly seventy three virgins, but he has to die a martyr first. I can’t figure it out, especialy when he’s blown to pieces.
UP student, but who would ever know it is “orgasm” if the opposite state had never been felt at all; it has no point of beginning and has no end. It’s like floating in nothingness, no sense of where you are and where you are going.
Poverty and ignorance must be experienced in order to savor and appreciate meaningfully the joy of prosperity and knowledge.
cvj, I said equal opportunity, not equal resource. One is inherently possessed, the latter is acquired. Israel is a few square miles of desert land but it can hold its own with the most “elite” of nations. Its time we should stop making excuses for ourselves, blaming every one else but us for our own misfortunes. This is something we cannot remedy by legislation.
Even the blogging activity is considered elite.
bencard, i understood you the first time. in the Philippines, people are *not* born with equal opportunity. inherently, it’s really just a roll of the dice. it is just right to blame the government and a society that is unable and/or unwilling to help. nowhere did i say that it should not go hand in hand with taking personal responsibility for improving one’s situation, which a lot of Filipinos have been doing so in any case whatever their station in life. the right kind of legislation would certainly help. Trickle down economics is just not good enough.
As for Israel, there’s still a lot of suffering over there, but it’s being borne by the Palestinians who were displaced from their land in 1948 and the subsequent wars.
John M,
a certain CBS weatherman Dave Price is said to replace Bob Barker..Maybe its with the name,then why not Vincent Price to have a Dracula effect.
Going back to economics……
Legislation is good but we know it is with the implementation….
We all have good laws,some proposals can end all our problems,so they say…come implementation time,due to lack of funds,technicalities with our courts and any form of dispute and our lovely corrupt culture,which makes trickle down economics defy even gravity.
Bencard,
But then Wee Shu-Min has not been known to have experienced the opposite state.
She already sent out an apology claiming that she didn’t know many people read her blog in the first place. That is kind of lame.
THe things is; if she experienced the opposite state and “overcame” it by herself, she’d likely to have more compassion for those in the opposite state or those in the opposite state would have more understanding for her statements.
‘kakahiya, as we customarily say it…but the adjective should be “nakahihiya.†if i remember right, the first syllable of the tagalog word is the one repeated…
writer adel is right…we ought not to be shy…getting the last spring roll on a plate at a sit-down dinner is NOT a shameful act.
in addition, saying “‘kuhanin ko na ‘to, ha?†trying to get consent from everyone and be apologetic about it while getting the last piece is also not right…unless, of course, if the one across you already jostled his fork against yours in getting the last piece for himself…
Adel Gabot’s piece seems off.
“Like calling out the jerk who sneaks into a long queue at the moviehouse. Telling off someone who insists on smoking in a No Smoking zone. Yelling at that dork making his own counterflow lane in traffic. Telling some politician to get off his high horse and just do his job instead of constantly picking on what the other guys are doing. Telling off some cops buying pirated DVDs. Getting that last spring roll. Or taking that empty seat.”
He’s scenario on the queue, smoking etc… is so different from getting the last lumpia and the seat.
BTW, at least the First Daughter isn’t ashamed to voice out against anyone jumping the queue.
Baycas,
tama ka diyan. naka-HI-hiya is correct. But I do believe the expression na-KA-kahiya is also used, perhaps wrongly. I think it’s similar to the way grammar and spelling rules are violated in English and other languages.
Here’s my favorite translation challenge:
Translate into English, the Tagalog expression “Sayang!” using exactly one word, six letters or less. There’s no right answer of course, but brevity and wit both count.
cvj said: “As for Israel, there’s still a lot of suffering over there, but it’s being borne by the Palestinians who were displaced from their land in 1948 and the subsequent wars.”
Israel has been sustained all these years by billions of U.S. tax dollars that are granted annually as aid. Without U.S. aid, Israel would not be the oasis of prosperity and progress in the Middle East, as it is made to appear. This is not to take away from the industry and innovation that many Jews from all over the world bring to Israel. Or the valuable donations that come in from Jewish organizations worldwide. But it isn’t possible to extract blood from a turnip. And Israel, without the infusion of billions of dollars yearly from Uncle Sam, wouldn’t be that much better off than her neighbors. As a matter of fact, Lebanon could have been the oasis of enterprise and progress if it were not so militarily weak and opressed from all sides. Before the Palestinian conflict, Lebanon was the center of finance, commerce and learning in the Middle East. It was known as the Paris of the Middle East.
DJB, I’ll humor you. “Sayang” in English = “SHIT!”
Rizalist,
“Shucks!†or “Damn!,†it is really up to you
“Sh_t!,†but the realist in him will do
Aptly, “What a waste!â€Â…to some, this whole thing must be
Not a “Crap!â€Â…for it brings out the imaginative me
Carl, didn’t we get billion- dollar aid from the U.S. too over the years, but what do we have to show for it? Mega shopping malls, 5-star hotels and other facade of affluence in the midst of grinding poverty in the inner cities and the country side. Our inept leaders and the pathetic people who keep electing them are responsible for the country’s misery, and its failure to keep pace with its neigbors economically. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that most of this foreign aid ended up in the deep pockets of our crooked politicians.
Israel, for all the threats of annihilation by its neigbors, has to pour huge amount of its resoures in military preparedness but without neglecting the needs of its citizens. In spite of its meager size and absence of oil reserves in quantities ommon to its enemies, it is considered one of the most prosperous in the Middle East and still the most formidable militarily.
DJB,
my try: “Pity!”
Re “Sayang”, perhaps:
“Pity!” (short for “What a Pity!”)
“Tough!” (short for “Tough Luck!”)
“Close!” (short for “This Close!”)
“Shame!” (short for “What a Shame!”)
“No!” (short for “Oh No!”)
“Almost!” (short for “Almost Got It!”)
“Sayang” as an expression refers either an endeavor that came close to succeeding, but ultimately failed, or wasted/squandered opportunities that weren’t availed of. The first example can be inspiring, while the second is tragic. Either way, it’s a pity, but not always a shame. It’s tough to come up with one English word that can summarize that.
Re: Bencard, I don’t dispute the wasted opportunities we had. “Sayang” is relevant here. However, the aid we received from the U.S. is insignificant compared to the aid it has poured, and continues to pour, into Israel. Militarily, most of Israel’s weapons are courtesy of American taxpayers or American fiat money (as hvrds would put it). Without the U.S. providing them the bombs and hardware, Israel couldn’t have carried out the massive death and destruction dumped into Lebanon. And while the U.S. goes to fantastic lengths to monitor Islamic nuclear activity, it turns a blind eye to Israel’s nuclear bombs.
I also do not dispute that the virtues of Israelis in general. They are a hard-working, disciplined people. But that does not automatically equate to prosperity. The huge amounts of money lavished on Israel by the U.S. has enabled it to build infrastructures to ensure its prosperity. To their credit, they probably do not squander the money they receive (as much as we would) and usually put it to good use (although there also exists a fair amount of corruption in Israel, as can be seen from scandals that have erupted over the years).
DJB: Pity. Darn. D’oh! Waste. Phooey.
DJB … D’oh?????
cvj… on your thoughts — “inherently, it’s really just a roll of the dice. it is just right to blame the government and a society that is unable and/or unwilling to help.”
…
if a roll of the die (??grasya ng diyos???) results in someone being born extremely poor, what is your basis to claim it is okay to blame society for this misfortune? Why would you blame a baranggay that is unable to help? How will you execute the blame-game if the person driving a Mercedes Benz gives 10% of income to help his 2nd and 3rd cousins but refuses to give to the Red Cross or to donate to food-drives for Payatas?
—
Does the blame game you seem to say is correct mean that, in the name of the poor, an NGO or pseudo-NGO ot the local kanto-boys have the right to put a gun to the one with the Mercedes Benz? Why confiscate only from the ones who live in Forbes Park or Alabang Hills? why not from Teachers Village or BF Homes Paranaque?
—-
My take on this is very simple — The mandatory rules and the legal obligations are in the Constitution and in the laws. Specifically, the tax laws define what will be gathered from the high school principal and the sarisari store owner as well as the folks who have 8 cars at their disposal, money to be put into one big pool called the budget to be dispensed “for the benefit of all”.
If socialite-so-and-so believes her pastor and she decides, in order to save her soul, to give an extra million pesos to decorate the church during Christmas, all is well because she agrees that money from her wallet goes into decorations. If businessman-so-and-so refuses to give a million pesos because he prefers to capitalize some new equipment (or even if he wants to fly to Sydney to visit his daughter), the local bishop does not have any legal claim to his money; the neighborhood poor has no legal claim to his money.
And what happens to this businessman’s soul when he dies? his soul… his choice.
All attempts at translating “Sayang!” were good. But here is my all time winner for brevity and alliteration: “Sigh!”
UP student said: “. . . the tax laws define what will be gathered”.
I agree, there are enough tax laws. It’s the implementation that’s shot full of holes. We also have to bear in mind that half of the national budget is eaten up by debt servicing, that’s why there’s never enough for social services, education and for infrastructure. Government can clean up its act – – and it will help. But the national debt’s lethal burden will continue to stunt our growth and prosperity. Sooner or later, we will have to confront that issue if we want to get some breathing space. So far, no one has had the courage, the smarts or the charm to request for some compromise from our creditors. Maybe we are still not desperate enough.
Of course, those in the private sector can try to do more than their share. But, as UP student says, that’s a personal choice – – – and this is still a free country.
Sayang is also a bahasa word and it is used by Indonesians and Malays in the same way we do.
Orgasm is not the next best thing to heaven. Opium is.
Here’s a good one from PI advocate Carmen Pedrosa on the jystices of the SC
“There is something anomalous that the fate of the entire nation, under our system should have fallen on the whims and prejudices of men and women, some of whom are hardly qualified for the job.”
“some of whom are hardly qualified for the job” would have to include Arroyo appointees. So know the twice spurned chacha booster is lashing out at her patroness?
Sayang = Wasted. next best thing to orgasm, before orgasm. to make things fair and square, fair taxes collected from everyone for the benefits of all, not just the corrupt politicians and the select few. Simplicity is my motto.
there is no one english word for sayang. wasted does nopt apply because the word can also be used as in “wasted ako kagabi”. Sayang is a word that only makes sense in the context of losing or throwing away somthing positive like a possession, a relationship or an oppurtunity, Sayang makes no sense outside of that context. Pity and shucks come close, But do you say shucks or pity when you throw away the oppurtunity of a lifetime or if you can’t get your dick up amd you miss the next best thing to opium? Aw shit or aw fuck might be appropriate for those two examples but sayang those two words are not
UP student… Relief for the poor makes sense means because relief for the poor means relief for me. At the same time, if (in the name of poverty being so unfair to the poor) society condones mayhem to the guy one tax bracket above you, you better watch your back from your neighbor’s neighbor who is one tax bracket below you.
manuel, if you enjoyed the night bebore you are not wasted but maybe exhausted. ‘sayang’ is a past tense. It is already a history, like you said a missed oppurtunity by commission or ommission, or incapability or simply by misfortune. Whtever its equivalent in English, it is a lament.
Tony said: ” . . . relief for the poor means relief for me.”
That would be specially true if it referred to the national debt. Debt servicing is the most onerous tax of all. It cuts across all income strata, making no distinction between rich or poor. It becomes even more severe on the poor because it deprives government from providing the most basic services to those who need it.
UP Student, my basis for blaming society is that, at this juncture of our civilization, scarcity and deprivation are mostly man-made phenomena. In terms of resources, there is enough to go around. Given this, it is absolutely inexcusable for a Filipino (or anyone in the world) to be living at or below subsistence level. That there are millions who will live out their lives in this way is an indictment of the system.
Pointing a gun at the person with the Mercedes Benz may have some symbolic value but is of little practical use in eradicating poverty. In any case, the purchase and use of a luxury good like a Mercedes is not bad in itself as it has multiplier effects on the economy (e.g. drivers, mechanics, dealers, customs brokers). As you yourself said in the previous thread, we have to go beyond ‘glib’ solutions to complex problems.
The laws are a good starting point, but in themselves, are not enough to correct the underlying injustices. We have to examine the existing neoliberal economic framework and work towards reorienting and/or replacing it with a more just system, if that is at all possible. We have to recognize that the benefits of globalization that are enjoyed by us, go hand in hand with social exclusion as experienced by the others. Under this two-track set-up, you see the poor being blamed wholesale for their own poverty (e.g. if the Israelis can do it, why can’t the Filipinos?). As it is, such an arrangement may be good enough for you and me, but we just happen to be in the right place at the right time. It could just as easily have been the other way around.
did someone say we got billions in american aid? i thought the marshall plan was in europe and rent for the bases, although they were the biggest outside american soil, was shamefully meager. and that the aid was in the form of quotas for our local products and vietnam vintage military equipment, not money. was i grossly misinformed? is that something i can bravely preach in the nueva ecija heartland or quezon? kaw na lang, takot ako sa mga pulaaaaa!