Jack The Scribbler

It's not another New Year's Eve

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:44:31 +0000

I was on the rooftop of a Quezon City building—supposedly the highest structure in the area—and the nearest beers were out of reach. They were stored twenty feet below in a red cooler slightly larger than a car battery.

My top five books for 2011

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:30:44 +0000

TWO thousand eleven is the same as 2010 and the year before that. That’s as far as the number of books I’ve read is concerned. For the past three years, I’ve read 28 books annually, failing to meet my goal of finishing 30 books a year. My record year still is 2008, when I read [...]

My Airing of Grievances, series of 2011

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:34:11 +0000

Also celebrated during the holidays, Festivus involved putting up an aluminum pole instead of a tree. It also involved practicing other rites including the Airing of Grievances in which festival guests and participants vent their angst to one another, usually during dinner.

Five things to remember about Chino Roces

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:14:44 +0000

“[Ferdinand] Marcos obviously had not intended to take any chances with Chino [Roces]: he arrested him, detained him, had him watched constantly once released, and when his regime came under siege, tried to bargain with him. Emerging from a one-to-one meeting with Marcos in Malacañang, Chino was incredulous to have yet to be asked what he wanted. “Tinanong pa kung ano gusto ko,” he told Joe Velez, who had accompanied him. “Ano pa, di freedom.””

How a book turned a frenemy into a BFF

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:07:13 +0000

So I immediately took the offer, even though it came from a frenemy, a guy whom I've had serious disagreements with. (We're fine now—I've been more patient and he's become more charitable since he treats me to the occasional beer. Yes, we're doing great; we're your regular Abbott and Costello, Seinfeld and Costanza, Dolphy and Panchito.)

Three suggestions from Raul Fabella to boost the Philippine economy

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:59:18 +0000

With a stronger peso, importers are able to buy more foreign-made goods. Oil, for one, is cheaper because it costs fewer pesos to purchase petroleum products, which are priced in dollars. In turn, lower fuel prices result in reduced food and transport costs, leading to lower inflation rates. Considering all these, is a strong peso good or bad? The latter, if you ask Fabella.

Marcos loyalists help save the Earth by planting trees in UP

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:23:42 +0000

“Mas maganda ang Martial Law. Walang nakawan, walang chismisan,” says a 71-year-old female member who refused to reveal her name. (The country was better off under Martial Law. There were no robberies and people didn’t gossip.)