On Typhoon Falcon, Noynoy's Public Ratings, Online Dating, Metro Manila Smoking Ban, Riding Taxis When It Rains, Mall of Asia Shuttle Dispatchers, with Videos of Swing Out Sister and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Falcon Ngayon!

Typhoon Falcon is lashing the country right now, in tandem with another low pressure area being monitored as possibly the next storm. It was raining hard when I had to go to work last night and the night before. Who’s afraid of flood? Here’s my post in Facebook Mobile: Perfect attendance. I go to work with extra shoes, shirts and socks.  I’m like a stowaway

The joke is that, when a mouse pees, Metro Manila will flood. This is true, but we city folks are compared to our countrymen in the south. Normally, water lilies are beneficial to aquatic life, but Cotabato and it adjacent towns were inundated when the Rio De Grande De Mindanao overflowed because water hyacinths blocked the mouth of the river

I tried to send this to FB but I ran out of load. It’s from Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, theme from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid with Robert Redford and Paul Newman: “I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining, because I’m free! Nothing’s worrying me!”

Nitpicker Nation

President Noynoy Aquino was attacked by political enemies and chronic critics because of his low public rating from the latest Social Weather Station survey. The official Malacañang position is that the President’s focus is work and not media mileage. The administration was redeemed with the more positive results of the latest Pulse Asia poll.

We Filipinos are so obsessed with ratings, and it seems we conduct elections just to see if poll surveys are right. It’s too early to judge the President’s performance –he’s been in office for only a year, for crying out loud! (Don’t cry out loud). The surveys can be seen as a gauge, a snapshot of the progress of his learning curve, and they should not equate to a school report card. That’s absurd

An Opportunity To Be Missed

A young woman was murdered in Mandaluyong last Saturday by a man she met through a local dating website. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, with all its pervasive influence, are morally inert – whatever problems that arise lies in the user.

I sent this text message last Monday to SRO: Suhestyon, Reaksyon  at Opinion, the social commentary TV-radio show on Teleradyo, hosted by Alvin Elchico and Linda Jumilla. It was read on air by guest co-host Miss M: What happened to that call center agent was tragic, but I hope this would not used by an opportunistic, narrow-minded, media-hungry politician to propose an idiotic idea such as censoring the Internet.

Why Should Criminals Arrest Citizens?

There is an ongoing campaign by the Metro Manila Development Authority to arrest people who smoke in public places. The idea is to imitate Singapore, and that alone ensures its failure. Who usually smokes in public? The police and traffic enforcers, who are better known for extortion. Who else? Sidewalks vendors, especially those selling pirated DVDs and software. They are selling illegal merchandise, not to mention causing traffic by blocking the streets. But they are untouchable because they regularly give protection money to the police. It’s the kind of business where bribes are part of the overhead costs.

 I sent this message last Monday  to Pasada Sais Trenta,  the public affairs show on Teleradyo hosted by Karen Davila and Vic De Leon Lima, who read it on air: Is it right to arrest smokers while ignoring illegal sidewalk vendors and pirated CD stalls?

Squatter Area Terminal

I had to meet a friend at the Mall of Asia last week. The one thing that ruined that trip was the shuttle ride in front of Jac Liner in Buendia. The dispatchers are barbarians: they would bang the side of the jeepney-like cab, commanding the passengers to squeeze together, as if they are ordering their servants. It has always been like that. It would make a difference if those uncouth and obviously uneducated dispatchers of the MOA shuttles were taught proper manners when they were young, but now it’s too late. Since one cannot impart one does not know, their children would grow up like them.

Taxi Chancing

Just like today and the whole day yesterday, it also rained the entire Wednesday two weeks  ago. Had to take a cab late at night.  A couple of empty taxis swept by.  The drivers probably thought I was a mugger. What a cute hooligan if that’s the case. I’m sorry for them though: they cannot tell if a passenger is their dream ride or their worst nightmare. Then again, appearances are deceiving. But then again, if you’re a lousy judge of character, then you will avoid the good and attract the goons. I got a ride finally, and as usual, I sat at the front and the driver and I were shooting the breeze as we swiftly cruised JP Rizal. What usually plays on my mind when I’m in a car is Forever Blue by Swing Out Sister. My good taxi driver was there when I need it, he even took a faster route, and he fully deserves the bonus as I gave him twice the meter price. The look on his face was priceless