The Construct

Rock It Man

Alex — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:04:00 +0000

Elton John’s Rocketman is definitely a classic. Shatner gave contemporary pop culture something to laugh about. I’d take Stewie over Shatner though.

“Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids.”

A question of resources?

Alex — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:58:09 +0000

Would you look at that? I haven’t really written anything about the reproductive health bill primarily because any discussion on reproductive health in the Philippine context is bound to touch on religion. And religion is always a mucky topic to be a factor in any argument.

Anyway, this particular letter to the editor published by the Inquirer arguing that the RH Bill will be a waste of precious money. The letter cited three reasons – 1) bill is not designed to educate people, 2) bill won’t feed hungry stomachs, and 3) poor families are on survival mode. Well, incoherent as those points are, I think Ms. San Juan’s point is that the RH Bill will not address poverty and that it will give horny people to have sex out of wedlock.

I guess that pretty much summarizes what needs to be addressed – the very simplistic view regarding what needs to be done. And I do believe that the real reason why the RH Bill won’t fly is the ultraconservative stance.

If If what these conservatives are worried about is that the bill will give people the license to have sex without the consquence of pregnancy, well here’s a question. What’s the big deal? Filipinos have been fucking in and out of wedlock for centuries and for all sorts of reasons. How many couples actually have sex for fun? Survey the youth on the percentage of virgins and I’m sure the statistics will be glaring on how well religion has prevented people from having premarital sex.

I can remember my Religion classes in high school, Catholicism outlines several conditons for intercourse between man and woman which include the sacrament of marriage, and the aims of sharing love for one another and the intent of procreation. Else, the couple is committing a very grave sin. This should’ve been more than enough to prevent our population from booming out of control. And how many couples actually go through this checklist before they do it? Or better, how many Catholics even know these? The thing is that the Catholic Church in the Philippines will never back down and I doubt if they will ever admit any failure in guiding its flock as to what to believe about sex.

The knowledge regarding reproduction, and population growth, and its impact to our society cannot be gained through a vocational degree or whatever degree the university of hard knocks has to offer. Our population problem grew because the system doesn’t provide the basic knowledge that people need to know about sex. (Seriously, I know some college graduate who thought blowjobs can get a girl pregnant.) We need a more structured approach to this problem and the RH bill provides part of the solution.

The bill nor its proponents never claimed that it will be the panacea to poverty. As with many social problems, the problem of poverty needs to be engaged at different fronts. Population control is just one of them. The purpose of education is never to restrict people’s actions but to allow them to be able to critically weigh their options before they act. And that includes the decision to have sex.

Oh, and as if, the huge population isn’t costing us money.

Credits: Thanks to Sir Gerry for linking this in his FB stat and the image credit goes to whoever posted it.

There and back again

Alex — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:56:28 +0000

Oh that should be the least of your worries, Senator Angara.

Those 100 academics you helped ship should come back but their return shouldn’t be tied to utang na loob. It’s a worthy cause for the academic but the government must be able to capitalize on these scholar’s potential contributions by uplifting the standards of education here as well.

Mind you that a number of our academics abroad are there primarily because of the government’s failure to provide better learning venues. Our state universities rot due to budget cuts. Teachers sacrifice better lives by staying in the academe. And I’m glad you see things that way.

But how about the rest of us here, Senator Angara? How about the rest of the academics who toil for their own academic development all while paying taxes and serving the country? The answer I’m looking for is not about creating more opportunities to go abroad, it’s about making sure that our own institutions are able to provide world class instruction.

Let me indulge my jaded sense of idealism in this. The point is, we never have to go abroad for quality education. Don’t get me wrong. As an academic, I know the importance of gaining perspectives, especially cross-cultural ones. Overseas travel is a personal frustration quite frankly. I know I need it.

It’s just that the opportunities to study abroad are limited, and, if present, are only accessible to those who can actually afford it. Yes. Realistically speaking, scholarships abroad, even with waived tuition and allowances are expensive. These scholars stand to lose more personally and financially than what they can gain intellectually.

The rest of us who can’t afford must content ourselves with the available instruction locally, most of which even fail to address 21st century concerns.

So you can’t really blame scholars for not wanting to go back especially if the prospects are to take up positions handling overbooked courses in ill-equipped classrooms and laboratories and virtually non-existent research projects.

Until the whole system of education is sorted out, everything’s basically moot. Sending scholars abroad and urging them to go back simply breeds frustration. And frustration breeds stagnancy.

As for the rest of us here, we’re frustrated. And yes, stagnancy is being bred.

No academic wants that. But that’s what the government has done and continues to do to us.

This is why you won’t make pro

Alex — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:04:28 +0000

So you’ve always fantasized about being a pro-athlete. Perhaps you got a bit of game. The best kid in your neighborhood. School varsity. But somewhere along the way comes the realization that you’re just not good enough to make it. Crying shame. You put it past you and move on with your life, bitter that some of those who did make it are just making so much dough. And then you see them doing these.

Makes you wonder if they’re worth every cent they’re paid.

Challenges to e-learning continue

Alex — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:25:47 +0000

After a week of research and seminars, I’m compelled to re-examine my takes on e-learning in the Philippine setting. Here’s a post on e-learning as an investment from two years back and here’s on ICT learning in general.

Technology has changed so much over the past three years that I’m out of the industry that the problem with today’s educator is choice rather than the availability of tools and resources. With Web 2.0 technologies reaching a fairly impressive level of sophistication for effective use in education, it’s really quite exciting for educators. But that’s just among the many issues that stakeholders in our context face.

Among these, still is the issue of infrastructure. Schools are still inequipped with proper computer laboratories and enough computers to cover the needs of a school population. There’s also the issue of hardware and software investments. The sheer pace of development in both fronts means that a computer laboratory faces obsolescence in even less than two years.

Broadband, while inceasingly becoming available and popular due to Wi-Fi and 3G are still questioned as worthwhile investments by some school administrators. Some schools even deliberately shy away from Internet connectivity to prevent students from accessing adult and gaming websites – a crude carpet bomb approach to an issue easily resolved by a single bullet that is proper network administration.

Teachers do have to cope. Rare is a teacher who will admit that they get left behind by some of their more tech-savvy stydents. Even rarer is ateacher who is humble enough to admit that they can easily be replaced by a computer or a website. Perhaps even a few years ago, teachers can simply get by with their encyclopedic knowledge. Not today. How can you even compete with Google, Wikipedia and even Wolfram Alpha with the amount of information that they make available.

For older teachers, it’s a matter of dealing with the learning curve and technophobia. Interfaces have become overly intuitive these days but if the issue is not being able to differentiate a single-click to a double-click, there definitely are greater issues underpinned in such cases. And these cases exist. Generally, it’s a matter of motivation and competence for the teacher. How far are we willing to go to maintain at least a step ahead of our students. Or do we even need to?

As for students, it’s still a question of work ethic and scholarship skills. The resources are there. However, it’s just too easy for them to be drawn to the less serious side of things – MMORPGs and Facebook (and its many insipid apps). Copying and pasting assigments and terms papers are common place.

For e-learning to become viable, it has to overcome these challenges. While it’s easy to think it’s a financial hurdle, it’s actually a battle of ideology.

***

Such discourse is commonplace for us young turks. As part of the Internet generation, it is frustrating not being able to use all of these technologies inside our classroom. If you teach in a university where you can’t even use PowerPoint in a daily basis due to the basic lack of projectors, the situation is more than pathetic.

The oldies would simply say that such limitations offer the challenge to be creative. I still admire and emulate those who can make students understand complex discourses though sheer eloquence.

There are times when I stop and wonder if technology messes with pure thought. That our creativities are hampered by the draw of interfaces and the logic of ones and zeros.

***

I really feel like an old man talking. Or perhaps because I am still technically in the business of education. Cliche as it is but if I had these resources back in basic education or even as an undergraduate, I would’ve been a much better student. However, I know that I am an exception. Not too many people rush to finish papers on the day they were assigned.

Surreal

Alex — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:18:57 +0000

It doesn’t seem all too crazy to go out on the street holding up a “The End is Nigh” sign. Forget disaster movies, this is real life.

And it’s no laughing matter either. With Ondoy, the reality is too shocking. For some, it’s right at their own backyard. For some, it’s right inside their homes. Or what’s left of them.

And then there’s Pepeng.

Forget about the ecomentalist discourse. Forget politics. Forget the blame game. Nature has shown that its fury is still the great equalizer.

If there’s anything that our society should learn from what has happened, it’s that nature’s wrath knows no social class, no educational attainment, and no position of power.

Humbling really. In the face of such power, there’s no room for hubris and any false sense of entitlement.

There are just forces that are beyond anyone’s kin.

There is hope yet

Alex — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:44:10 +0000

Disasters bring out both the best and the worst in people. It’s a good thing that for most of what I’m seeing, it’s the best that has come out.

Save for a few crass, tasteless, and plain idiotic comments here and there, many of our countrymen have shown real class in the aftermath of the typhoon Ondoy. I’m glad to see the people, especially the youth, all eager to volunteer, everyone pitching out selflessly.

Forget the politicians who are shamelessly slapping on their campaign materials on their relief goods. Remember the hands belonging to many unknown who have worked tirelessly in relief centers all across the metro.

It’s really a convincing sign that for this country, there is hope yet.

Our Katrina?

Alex — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:57:25 +0000

Image Credit: Whoever took the photo (Please advise for revision)

“The responsibility of ministers for the public safety is absolute and requires no mandate. It is in fact the prime object for which governments come into existence.”

-Winston Churchill

Yesterday, Ondoy submerged the Metro with flood waters that no one (at least in my lifetime) has ever experienced. It dumped more rain than the country ever got for the month. Save for a few areas that aren’t flood-prone (high ground), practically the whole Metro was submerged.

Rich and poor, famous and the unknown, were forced to deal with flood waters. Many spent hours cold and hungry on rooftops. Many needed evacuation. Many died.

Classic case of Philippines and our government – continuing to deal with problems that should have never existed. Blame poor urban planning. Blame corruption. Blame indiscipline.

We’ve been having flood problems ever since, well, ever but that should’ve made us experts in dealing with the situation. That should’ve prompted us to prepare for the worst. But no.

We’d rather deal with the fallout than the blast but all we have is a tin foil shack for cover.

***

Comparisons may be pointless but the devastation brought about by Typhoon Ondoy might as well be our Hurricane Katrina particularly in the social and political ramifications of the calamity. It might not rival Katrina in terms of devastation but the failure of prevention and the failure of relief and rescue echo.

Check out Keith Olbermann back in 2005:

***

To MMDA and Chair Fernando: How many of our tax pesos did you spend on the many square feet of tarpaulin banners with your mug pasted? Care to compute how much additional road and drainage work the amount might have made? How many relief goods it would’ve have generated now?

To Sec. Ebdane: Considering running for president, huh?

To President Arroyo: $20,000 on a dinner and many of our countrymen spent a day and night starving in the cold with their homes and property submerged in the flood?

To all the other politicians: This should be a true test to your service to the nation. If anyone’s out to capitalize on the calamity for some election brownie points, burn in hell.

***

All we need now is our own Kanye to tell Arroyo, “Gloria Arroyo doesn’t care about the Filipino people.”

***

Bayanihan mode. I admire everyone online who coordinated efforts in creating avenues for rescue and relief. I salute you.

Strapped for cash myself, but since I’m thankful I never had to deal with the flood water, I parted with a few of my PayPal dollars. There goes part of the rent but at least I never had to go up a roof.

***

I’m pretty worried about Rish as well. The last time I got to contact her was when their landline went out and flood water has submerged their ground floor as well. Mobiles have no coverage.

UPDATE: Rish is doing fine. Thank goodness.

***

Emergency/Rescue/Evacuation

Red Cross: 143, 527-0000. Centers for relief: Red Cross chapters in Rizal, QC, Valenzuela, Bulacan.
Phil. Nat’l. Red Cross Rizal Chapter operations center hotline: 635-0922, 634-7824. Send full address of stranded friends/family to Sen. Dick Gordon 09178997898/0938444BOYS
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Emergency Numbers: 912-5668, 911-1406, 912-2665, 911-5061. Help hotlines: 734-2118, 734-2120.
Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA): 136
Philippine Coast Guard: 527-6136
Bureau of Fire Protection Region III (Central Luzon) Hotline: (045) 9634376
San Juan City Hall Command Post: 468-1697
MERALCO hotlines: 0917-5592824, 0920-9292824
Contact NCRPO 838-3203, 838-3354 for rubber boat requests. You can also text 0917-422-6800 or 0927-675-1981 for rescue dump trucks. Appeal for those able, to lend 4×4 trucks for rescue: Pls. send truck to Greenhills Shoppng Center Unimart Grocery to await deployment, tel. 09209072902.
505 Rescue needs life-vests & rubber boats for their rescue operations. Please bring to Villamor Air Base.
Office of Sen Villar to rescue stranded people: 0917-4226800, 0917-2414864, 0927-6751981

Relief and Charity

Red Cross donation through SMS: text REDAMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart)
TextPower
Relief goods for Red Cross (drinking water, baby formula, canned goods, clothing):
Red Cross Rizal Chapter operations center 635-0922, 634-7824 needs drinking water, canned goods, clothing for Cainta, Marikina, San Mateo, Pasig. or go to Red Cross QC Chapter, QC Hall Gate 7 along Kalayaan Avenue, tel. 920-3672.

Black hole sun

Alex — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:49:25 +0000

I have no issues about affirmative action but Senator Gordon is dealing with a potentially divisive move in adding a ninth ray to the flag’s sun to represent the Muslim people despite his intentions of unity.

I do think it’s a nice gesture to finally include the Muslim people in our nation’s symbol. However, is the choice a matter of ethinicity or religion? If it’s about religion, then shouldn’t affirmative action also include all the other belief systems? If it’s about ethnicity, then shouldn’t the bill accommodate all the other ethnic groups?

It’s all just a matter of semiotics that flag really. Weren’t the red, white, and blue portions originally paid tribute to the flag of the United States of America? So we changed the signified to be virtues instead. Why not simply do the same with the rays?

It’s a challenge to think of anything with significant historical or cultural value that matches the number 8 though.

***

All this call for changes in the flag’s symbolism to create a more uniting symbol is moot really. I think it’s all just an extension of the “Filipino identity” conundrum. As a nation, we’re basically an amalgam coated with the shiny uni-color sheen of hegemony.

Let me play devil’s advocate. Power has always been Tagalog-centric. The seat of power has always been in Manila despite having 7,107 islands. The so-called national language is still based on Tagalog despite having more than one hundred languages in the country. Only eight provinces (seven of which are Tagalog speaking) are credited in the current interpretations of the flag’s symbolism despite historical records indicating that many other provinces rose up against Spain even before 1898.

All this Tagalog-centrism has effectively placed all the other regions. So if there’s one region that should bow out to affirmative action, it should be the Tagalog region.

Not James Bond

Alex — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:33:52 +0000

I grew up watching James Bond, enjoyed the Bourne trilogy, dabbled with Spooks, watched almost all FBI-related TV show in the last four years, and has recently just marathoned Chuck seasons. Spy Game gives you enough pointers to do a basic recon job. Maybe the Navy Intelligence course would like to add spy films as a module of instruction in their program.

Military-wise it’s tragic to have a marine caught red-handed on a basic recon assignment. You know, the one sent to spy on Dr. Bien Lumbera’s home? By security guards no less. Having lived in the adjacent area to Dr. Lumbera’s subdivision, I’m quite familiar with the quality of rent-a-cops in his subdivision, and I’d have to say that they’re not even the sternest guards around.

So why were they able to trump a marine? Given the supposed reputation of the Philippine Marines, wasn’t the guy supposed to be able to evade capture? Isn’t not cutting corners a basic lesson in the stalking (at least in sniper school)? A simple ploy like posing as a bill carrier or a utility meter reader would’ve worked flawlessly. I mean military folks do have that certain look that make them totally stand out in a subdivision like Dr. Lumbera’s.

This has got to be a total setback to military intelligence – an operative (even a trainee), a marine, falling into the hands of manong guards. As always, we’re dealing with problems that should’ve never existed.

Sure, larger issues like the assignment of citizen targets in military exercises are definitely the more important issue here. And don’t get me started on why the esteemed Dr. Lumbera was the one targeted. But let me focus on the matter of competence of our spooks.

Information verification exercise? Try Google. Or Facebook.

While the whole organization might not be affected by such competency issues, it’s things like these that can tarnish the image of the whole organization in the eyes of the nation.