Jack The Scribbler

Jadeco Pocket Journal: A Review

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:09:23 +0000

There are two kinds of people in the world—those who buy expensive notebooks and those who don’t. Sad to say, I belong to the first category and I’ve been thinking of switching teams.

Blood, sweat, and tears

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:58:18 +0000

Nipple rupture is also known by a more amusing—and thereby less threatening—name: runner’s nipple. The condition results from the friction arising from the continued rubbing between the fabric of a loose shirt and the nipple. It sometimes becomes so hot you could feel that you could light a cigarette off it.

Kurt Vonnegut, Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr., the coconut levy, and San Miguel Corp.

Robert JA Basilio Jr. — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:06:40 +0000

Kurt Vonnegut and Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr. share at least one thing in common, based on publicly-available records, a special report, and a novel written by Vonnegut himself.

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.””