Spirituality Page

New Year, New Insight

noreply@blogger.com (steffie) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:45:00 +0000

Here we are again, celebrating the New Year with renewed hope. But it seems that no matter how many times humanity commits a mistake, humanity is also bound to repeat it.

But don’t let me get you down. I’m simply referring to how I still haven’t changed my domain name. I seem to be addicted to free web hosting. Not that you can blame me; blogging isn’t really a chief source of income. I do appreciate the extra cash it gives me, but it’s not a regular job, at least for me.

Regardless. I still love to blog.

For the past few months, I’ve been thinking of buying my own domain name, but I don’t quite have the time just yet. Where do I get a domain name? What happens to the SEO stuff I need to take care of? Can I stomach the change of PR from 3 to, gulp, nothing once again?

I know everything will shift back to normal once I do a 301 redirect; still, that does not assuage my fears. Call me a domain-phobe.

Speaking of web hosting services, what do you think is the best web hosting service? And where do you recommend I purchase my domain name? I’m open to suggestions, so hit the comments section.

I came across this web hosting review website and I felt like I knew nothing much about websites. However, it helps that there is a list of recommended web hosting services. A page that guides newbies on hosting problems (appropriately called a hosting guide) contains many tips and guides on hosting and website concerns, but I have to admit, I’m still lost.

But it’s okay. I intend to learn. New Year, new lessons, new epiphanies. Hopefully, I also get to add “new domain name” to the list. Well, there’s no harm in hoping for change, no matter how removing-a-Band-Aid painful it can get.

On development enterprise

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:37:00 +0000

I've been into ups and downs in life. All I could say is that I'm not done yet. There are still more excitements and frustrations that lay ahead. In my career so far, I'm torn between frustration and excitement; caught in an anticipation between death and birth.

I am frustrated with how my job in a development organisation ended up with; and I'm excited about the range of possibilities that I can continue my work. Only that I need capitalisation after I craft a detailed plan.

Hope lies in the potential of a people and in the availability of resources. I could dream on and draw the path for a better future. The Philippines is a country of 90 million people. Human resources is rich. It is home of gifted and talented people. It is paradise of natural sceneries and resources. It is a land that produces food and other agricultural products. I could see huge work to do to uplift the people from economic misery.

There are tens of thousands of employment opportunities as long as we develop small and medium enterprises to stimulate economic activities in communities, towns and provinces. We will start with a small capital, and then grow it in a year. More lives are uplifted in a business that creates businesses.

The idea of developmental enterprise is not new. It is as old as the history of trade and exchange. The key to business is social development; not the profit. We will have to protect our producers and consumers so that there will be exchange in goods, products and the corresponding monetary value. Profit follows as a result of the exchange.

When a person prioritises the revenue stream flowing in rather than the development impact of the business, such business framework is motivated by greed and by competition. Although competition is inevitable in a fair business environment it should not eliminate cooperation. Exchange is done fairly where the desired good has value based on its production cost with a certain percentage of profit rather than purely speculative pricing exploiting the fluctuations of the flow of supply and demand.

For the business to have social and economic impact it must reach out to communities and create enterprises by which people will have a platform to work on. Technology and development must be brought to the margins, to the rural agricultural areas. This will be made possible with the partnership of government. Government facilitates fair economic environment where policies are not oppressive to start-up businesses and infrastructures for development are available such as communication, transportation and security.

Of course, with this kind of idea on economic development, I am aware on the importance of details – that this is as good only as work is done in real and concrete terms. There is more work to do out there in the field than in the office. Employment is not so much of a problem as long as ideas and possibilities exist turning them into real economic activities.

I got ideas, and I also got frustrations. This makes life a much more exciting – full of tensions and arbitrary situations where I could exercise my creativity.

Twisted moral judgment

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:18:00 +0000

Sometimes I ask how can fate be so cruel to the lives of many who have cast their faith in divinities out there that they could not see themselves as prisoners of their own beliefs. This is dogmatism at its best that has crept into the realm of faith and religion -- an ideological shackle that held people captives.

Worse off, there are religious fanatics who cannot distinguish right from wrong in a rational and normative way. For example, it is normally wrong to kill an individual who doesn't share a common belief, but an Islamic radical fundamentalist could handily behead an infidel. Another example is the Crusades when Christians annihilated people of different faith, and during the Reformation period when Calvinists and Lutherans drowned the Anabaptists. It would be morally wrong to justify injustice and discrimination using the Bible, but white supremacists did.

Let me not go far. In an Evangelical church here in Quezon City, I know of a devout Christian, in fact, he holds the office of an elder, who is incapable of determining right from wrong. He would see wrong as right, and right wrong.

A case: it happened that he also run a faith-based organisation that is foreign funded. Since the aim of the NGO is to help develop businesses in the agricultural sector through loans and business development services, I also believed in its noble mission. But this elder made a move that is unlikely of a gentleman. He unilaterally issued a memorandum that would affect the salary of the staff. The book keeper who is a single mother to a girl – struggling for daily needs, she expected a regular for 1-15 October. The memorandum was released 12 October, but dated 1 October. The implementation is retroactive: 1 October.

The woman, to keep her dignity as a person, requested the elder to sign a check, but he would fault her that there was gross error in the computation of salary. He insisted to recompute the number of days and the daily wage. The result: the bookkeeper's salary for 1-15 October is half of the regular pay that she has to receive because the payment is on a daily basis and not monthly. She cried explaining that it was not right. He proudly claimed that it was because of his generosity that he paid people.

His action is, of course, under the labour code, illegal. But he would see it as his act of compassion, and that the pay is just. He worships and prays to his god on Sundays; he projects himself as a spiritual person. But his sense of ethics and morality is twisted. I raised the issue to him but he would not see it as an act of injustice and senselessness. There is no compassion whatsoever. In fact, all I see is cognitive dissonance on his part.

Faith blinds people; many simply believe blindly and they are unable to pose a critical distance to see the blind spots in their belief. And this is, I think, an intellectual, if not cognitive, disaster. When a person turns to religion as a shield for mediocrity in thinking, religion becomes an opium. But there is much that religion does, and I will reserve a page for that in my next postings.

Arab Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:23:00 +0000

Ideas and aspirations live forever; they are immortal. Love, faith and hope too. Weapons cannot kill the principles of freedom and self-determination.

Violence and repression are temporal. They may impede the liberation and the quest for self-determination, but they will not reign forever. Oppression will not last; superficial order through violent means will crumble.

Such is the image of the Arab Spring.

Tyrants cannot rule forever; they will end in exile, humiliation and/or death.

People will rise up; they will cry out for freedom.

Hope for the oppressed and repressed is at hand. It has audacity to inspire people to act collectively and find their common aspiration.

Victory is inevitable.

Limits

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:47:00 +0000

Quezon City -- We all have limits; we are not invincible.

Understanding our limits pays off. It provides us a space to put ourselves in and frame our lives in a proper perspective. But our limits should not become liability for progress in thought and in action. It should set us a solid ground to build our ideas, hopes and visions on.

If one fails to realise his limitations and all he thinks is on how to use his potentials, then that's a formula to failure, and worse, to humiliation, like Icarus falling down from the sky.

The old saying goes, "Know thyself." Socrates found this oracle at Delphi intriguing. And he sought to understand himself, and chose to be ignorant contrasting himself to the attitude of the learned teachers of rhetoric in Ancient Greek world.

Socrates understood self-knowledge as keeping oneself from the claims of overconfidence in knowing all things that there's no more room left for ignorance, for the sense of wonder.

Self-knowledge entails that we cannot compare ourselves to the gods who are immortal and invincible. We are all mortals; and we all die. We should acknowledge and accept the fact that our achievements will not define the core of our being, but the realisation of our mortality.

Once we realise our own mortality, we will be able to see our lives from the perspective of death, from the vantage point of eternity. Then we see the the brute reality that we are limited -- that we cannot always be as we want to be.

Acknowledging our limitations compel us to form a support group, a community to help us achieve our dreams and goals in life. We cannot do things in isolation; we certainly need the people around us. Thus, we are to care for others just as we care for ourselves.

Knowing ourselves and our limits requires a dose of humility.

Failure to self-criticise

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 04:21:00 +0000

Quezon City -- The image of Muammar Qaddafi begging for his life is that of a fallen man, humiliated, and losing his dignity as a human being. He ruled Libya for four decades, and all he got from his people is hatred. Libya now is in the hands of the Libyans. Dictatorship is out; new regime is in.

As jubilant Libyans lined up to see the body of a fallen dictator refrigerated in a meat shop, the media all over the world are hesitant whether to show the gruesome image of Qaddafi or not. There are questions of ethics and humane treatment of the dead. The price of Qaddafi's crimes against his own people is his own humiliation and demise.

When people rebelled against the Qaddafi regime, the dictator failed to listen to his people. The root, of course, is his failure to criticise himself. He did not see his limits and he failed to know himself fully.

There are limits to what one can do and achieve. It is necessary for an individual to acknowledge such limitations; failure to do so would be like the fate of Icarus falling from the sky. Dictators rise and fall; Qaddafi fell.

There are things that one may perceive as right, but if one only listens to the voice from outside, one realises a gross mistake. Thus, it is imperative for one not to dominate the discourse, but rather, one has to acknowledge the feelings and opinions of others.

Unilateral action without consultation from affected parties is a formula to failure, humiliation and eventual demise.

Self-criticism is a discipline that most of us have failed to do. It is easier for us to highlight what we have done and what we can achieve. It's always good to hear the good things about us, but we tend to choose closing our ears to the criticisms and dismiss them as attacks to our person and authority. Criticisms either constructive or destructive ought to lead us to self-reflection asking hard questions to ourselves.

Asserting power and authority unilaterally over the others is one form of a suicide -- wishing for one's humiliation and undignified end. Dictators choose this path. Sane individuals would choose otherwise.

The perils of unilateral action is not just applicable or visible in political world; it is also largely done in religious organisations and groups as well. The worst thing is that almost all unilateral actions are perceived to be the right thing since there's no balancing act considered in carrying out such actions. I've seen this in religious institutions and fly by night faith-based non government organisations. Churches and organisations split because of failure to self-criticise and to balance a decision by listening to other parties.

The fall of Qaddafi and his regime reminds us of the mortality of human being and the limits of what we can do. It reminds us of the fact that evil will eventually be defeated by the good. But if we think that our version of good is absolute enough to make us proud of what we have achieved, we will also eventually fall.

Barkers

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 02:39:00 +0000

UP Village -- "YOWPEY! YOWPEY! YOWPEY!"

This is the daily scene in Philcoa. Just outside the McDonald's you hear jeepney barkers shouting to the top of their lungs, "Yowpey!" They'll get your attention, gesticulating that you get in, looking directly to your eyes. "Yowpey, sir. Yowpey, ma'am."

Then when you walk across Jollibee, they'd ask you, "Taxi, sir. Taxi, ma'am." Then they'd open the door for you.

I would definitely miss this scene in Philcoa when I move out of UP Village.

I left the organisation where I used to work. At first I bought its mission and vision. And then I got disillusioned. I was pissed off by the way the organisation is being managed. I was also hurt and insulted by the treatment me and my colleagues received from the top management.

Practically, I am jobless now. And I need to work to survive. But I don't think that life is getting harsher. I have argued my case well, and I would not trade my principles in. I cannot allow myself to stay silent when I see a woman with a daughter to take care of being bullied and intimidated by a managing director of a development organisation.

When I went to the office, I used to walk from my apartment to Virata Hall strolling down University Avenue. I don't usually ride tricycle from my village to Philcoa or jeepney from Philcoa to the University of the Philippines in Diliman. I prefer walking over sitting. In the office I spent much time sitting. Walking is my physical exercise.

Every time I pass by Philcoa I'm always amused at the barkers. They work hard to make ends meet with just a few sum of money less than enough to cover their daily expenses. They're victims of a highly competitive social structure by which the strong and powerful get more than enough in the sharing of resources.

But sooner or later if I could not get a new job I'd be among those who bark daily in Philcoa, "Yowpey, sir. Yowpey, ma'am."

Writing a daily journal

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 06:41:00 +0000

UP Village -- Writing a daily journal is rewarding. Other than discipline, it makes me more reflective and observant about what's going on around me. It extracts the creative juices out of my mind; and it helps me become mindful about the pros and cons of my actions.

It's been a year now since I moved to UP Village; and it's also been a year of having my daily coffee in McDonald's - Philcoa. I've seen and heard a lot of stories that happened in this store; and I've seen different faces of people -- students, professionals, working men and women, business executives, writers, artists, old and young.

I have observed people's expressions. I could see in their eyes anxiety and hope. Most are anxious about their daily cares -- work, home, school. One can also see the reflection of hope in their eyes that things are going to be all right -- that there are solutions to pressing personal and social issues.

As I sip my morning coffee, I jot down my thoughts long hand in a notebook. I keep a daily journal and a notepad where I could write down my ideas and observations, and sometimes personal insights about about life. When I could not think of anything to write, I would read a book or the newspaper in the midst of a noisy crowd of diners.

I developed friendships here. I met friends and strangers alike. But writing a daily journal is the first thing I would do. And it is never easy to develop as a habit; it requires a lot of efforts and a considerable dose of courage to be reflective, mindful and observant. The most challenging is to think and write while people around are chatting, laughing, arguing, playing and flirting.

I could say that writing becomes a habit when thoughts come out naturally and I could simply fix them into writing. But in my case, I have to exert more effort to produce a sentence or two.

Thoughts on Web Hosting

noreply@blogger.com (steffie) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:42:00 +0000

I never really thought of hosting my blog in my own domain. But maybe I should have.

My blog has a PageRank of 3, something I’m quite grateful for. But I have not made the choice to shift to my own domain name; I like things the way they are. But then again, change can be good.

Is it too late? I’m looking at different web hosting sites and the idea of buying my own site has become quite tempting. It’s just that there are many things I should still consider, such as what would happen to my PageRank – it’s as if I would have to start over.

I was looking at how much domain names were and the prices were manageable. There are also discount coupons for web hosting services that you can use. I learned early on that people interested in buying domains should look for promo coupons because there is almost always one that is available.

Finding a web hosting service is relatively easy; look around for reviews and choose your pick based on your personal needs.

(Blog post care of Miss Alma who currently writes for a discount coupon site that caters to web hosting. Check out the newest 1and1 promo code and an hosting coupon.)

Sports Is Not Purely Physical

noreply@blogger.com (steffie) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:07:00 +0000

Many people believe that sports is purely physical. After all, sports entails weight training, improving one’s endurance, flexibility, skill, and the like. But there is more to sports than brute force – sports actually mental effort.

Strategy, after all, should be part of any good game. For instance, the Philippine teams Azkals and Volcanoes all know that team play involves planning, getting to know the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and using split-second decision making once out on the field. Yes, the physical aspect of sports is undeniable – but the thinking process never stops in sports.

Too bad that many athletes are being labelled otherwise. Thankfully, the rugby team Volcanoes and the soccer team Azkals have been winning a few games for our country and giving sports a good name in the Philippines.

No wonder so many people are looking for discount vouchers for soccer and rugby. These sports are now the “it” thing, becoming more than simply newsworthy.

It is the strategy that becomes intriguing in terms of soccer or rugby. How do separate minds have just one plan? How do they communicate seamlessly? These questions highlight the more mental aspect of sports.

Article courtesy of Alma, a writer who loves to blog about discount vouchers and promotional coupons. Take a look at the newest world soccer shop codes and worldrugbyshop.com coupons.

Qoheleth, nihilism and skepticism

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 06:13:00 +0000

Understanding the author of Ecclessiastes would entail a rigorous study on the philosophical currents and prevailing beliefs during the time of the writing. Such task requires a rigorous scholarship in language, cultural studies, sociology, history, and ancient literature. The themes, however, can be looked at from very modern philosophical perspectives – that of nihilism and of skepticism.

The first theme that we can easily notice in the book is 'nothingness' and the certainty of death, that one has to resign to the fact that life is bereft of meaning – and that the possibility of life other than existence, and its pursuit are all headed for naught. The Qoheleth asked, “Is there something new under the sun?” The question leads to a resignation that there is no alternative or possibility of a more rational discussion about life. The assumption, of course, is that there is nothing new since what is there has already been there, and what will be already is. There is no room for innovation and construction of new ideas to explore.

What is nihilism? From its Latin root “nihil,” which signifies “nothing,” nihilism is the belief that every values has no basis, knowledge and certainty are distant possibilities, and existence is illusory. If you are a nihilist, everything has no value to you – you don't believe in anything, you have no beliefs whatsoever. There is no foundational belief by which you anchor your life, you have but the tendency to destroy every belief, all values. Life has no purpose at all. You can be indifferent to life.

Existentialists rejoice in affirming that life has no meaning – indeed, existence is for existence's sake, and that it, according to Jean-Paul Sartre, “precedes essence.” Since there is nothing by which you can anchor your beliefs and values, it becomes necessary to construct something that you could hold, deconstruct it, and then reconstruct again to determine whether things are all right with you.

Nietzsche has launched his criticism of European culture and philosophy during his time rooting it in the nihilism that Europe has inherited from Christianity. Nihilism is, in a way, the root of decadence. Nihilism states that everything leads to nothingness, to emptiness. Self-denial is denying the self of its desires and drives. Nietzsche would argue that the Dionysian passion has to be restored in our senses. Dionysus is the Greek god of passion, chaos, wine and intoxication. He is the opposite of the Apollonian order where everything seems to be seamless and in order.

Next is skepticism. You cannot look at things at face value – you have to doubt appearances. Arriving at truth necessitates doubt. One of the greatest skeptics is the French philosopher Rene Descartes. His Meditations uses doubt as a philosophical method where the only certainty is doubt itself, and one cannot doubt the doubting, thinking self. Skepticism simply means that you have to be skeptical about life and any notion of truth.

One can be skeptical about things. Philosophically though such notion of skepticism is a problem of the past since there are already ways to argue on the flaws of the dualism of mind and body, i.e. the philosophy of John Searle. The criterion of knowledge is the fact that one thinks, and because of too much information and massive developments today one can no longer doubt the reality of knowledge. In the area belief, however, one can still consider doubt and skepticism as legitimate.

The Qoheleth seems skeptical about life's meaning and purpose. He asks his readers to remember their 'graves' (Creator) in the days of their youth. There is no hope of the afterlife, but the end of life which utterly meaningless. Does life have a sense? The answer is pretty much obvious – it doesn't make any sense at all since all is meaningless, and that every action is futile.

Is it OK the for the religious to doubt? Supposedly, yes. But in practice, the religious, particularly the Christians, are trained, they are told not to have a doubt about the power of God. Faith is always required. There is no room for doubt since once you did, you'll be denied of spiritual blessings. The Qoheleth on the other hand would look at things differently. Death is the only certainty that cannot be doubted, that cannot be denied. Everything else is vanity – futility.

The meaning of life

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Why on earth are we here for? What to do with our existence? We seek meaning to our lives. We create life's purpose. We set goals and objectives. I strongly hold that this quest for meaning to existence is a basic human instinct; it is part of our evolution.

Philosophically, what makes life more interesting is to hold something that is tangible, something that serves as a guide to living, something that we can anchor our beliefs and hopes.

A life without purpose, just like the unexamined one, is not worth living. Self-knowledge should lead to a life with a purpose, a life with meaning despite the claim that the basic human instinct is to survive, to fight for existence.

In the hierarchy of needs, survival is primary; the quest for meaning is the least of priorities. But I would say that we seek meaning first to make sense with existence. It is meaning that fuels survival. Thus, we shape our purpose first in order to survive, and survival is the basest of all purposes.

But religious and theological discourse exploits this basic need for meaning. The root of all religious discourse is the search for the divine which is both within and without – an elusive being if it is being at all. The other, God, is the ultimate object of search in the Judeo-Christian tradition. For the Buddhists, it is the non-being; emptiness. The elusive Tao for the Taoists. The list goes on and on and on. It is the divine that gives a sense of meaning and purpose in life.

Searching for life's meaning is a quest. It is journey that involves all our faculties – intellectual, emotional, social, political, and so on and so forth.

Some people are satisfied with the function they play in society, their roles in the community (and family), and their contribution to the whole of humanity including their achievements. Others would just settle with their religious pursuit to love and care for others, and to spread the news about religion (evangelisation). There are also those who would devote themselves, and find meaning, in doing what they believe to be the highest good.

The quest for meaning has to do also with ethics and the notion of happiness. What makes you happy makes your life more meaningful; and doing the right thing to make others happy is a noble pursuit.

Hardly though that the search for a meaningful life has become a subject of thought and analysis – perhaps because of its obviousness that we often neglect it as something that we could reflect about in details.

Before delving into the labyrinth of meanings and ideas about meaning, it is necessary to ask the question about what do we mean by our notion of meaning. When we look at the thessaurus, we have a range of vocabularies from significance to importance to purpose.

Self-help books available in the market tell readers about positive attitude – and that, talks about meaning or life's significance should be and ought to be positive, and it is to have a kind of impact to others. Inspirational books tell readers to make a difference through what they do, what they want to do, and what they should do in step by step. Many of those kinds of books offer meaningful steps to do in order to be successful in life and realise the potential to be great and do positive things to others.

Rarely though that these books offer something substantial a discussion about life as bearer of meaning – or about meaning as either intrinsic or extrinsic to life.

The level of the claim of people's understanding about the meaning of life varies – but this doesn't mean that the less meaningful is less ethical or moral than the more meaningful one. There is no morality to meaning – there is only meaning to morality.

There is no concrete correlation between ethics and meaning in a way that moralises one's purpose in life, there are but the meaningfulness of ethics as part of or the meaning of life itself. Is there morality to happiness? Such question is not only unnecessary, it is also misdirected. In such a way asking about morality to meaning is misguided.

What is the most loving thing to do may not necessarily have to do with life's purposes since doing the right thing is normative in ethics.

In theology, there are two opposing dimensions to the issue of meaning – one, that the divine has willed life to be, and the other is that one's life is devoted to achieve the will and desire of the divine.

The view that life's meaning is transcendentally determined does not satisfy the need to pursue actions to be considered as meaningful. Fulfilling divine plan is not for humans to attain but for the divine. This makes humans implementor of the grand plan, grand design. Failing to do the divine will, or failing to align oneself to divine will, would render life meaningless.

Is God necessary for one to find meaning to what one does? Mother Theresa would struggle with the idea that life's meaning is determined by God when she saw God hiding his face, denying his presence among the poor of Calcutta.

Subjectivists believe that life's meaning is arbitrary, and it depends solely on the whims of the individual. Ethics is subjective; and the notion of meaning is also subjective. One can construct life's meaning according to one's need and to one's version of what life's meaning is, and what it should be like. Meaning is relative to one's understanding and version of it.

Objectivists on the other hand would argue and maintain that the notion of meaning is independent to the individual whim – there has to be some meaning and purpose out there. Since we are searching for meaning, meaning has to have a transcendental nature that we could pursue. Meaning is intrinsically independent from the mind; and this can be attained by arriving at a consensus what would meaning be like.

The old man in Ecclesiastes, however, provides us his reflection about the notion of meaning. He argues that everything under the sun bears no meaning at all. Wisdom, happiness, indulgence, work, time, divine plan, morality – yes, life itself is meaningless. Human actions and words bear no meaning even if they're purposefully directed toward doing good.

Both wisdom and folly are meaningless. Pursuing wealth and reaches, and living in poverty, both are meaningless. The same things happen to the different people – and different people experience different things which are also the same.

The past is gone, and is so everything in it has already been; the future is yet to come and everything in it will have been; and the elusive present presents the things that goes to have been. Everything goes round and round – what is in the present has already been in the past, and what lies ahead in the future is something that is already been. There is nothing new under the sun.

There is only one that is a sure thing: death. What is the meaning of searching for meaning, or making sense with life when everybody dies? Death is a certainty that concludes all notions of meaning.

September ends

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:22:00 +0000

September ends. This is the thought that came to my mind this morning. Three months to go and the year will end.

Time flies so fast; I could not run after it.

It's been more than a year that I have lived on my own. Loneliness accompanied me in the dark. Happiness has left me for real. But I know that this is not the end of everything. Yes, it's true that September ends, but that's only for this year. There will be another Septembers to come.

But there's not really much thing about September. For me it's actually not so significant. No memorable moments; no painful ones. It's that December is approaching me very quick. I don't know how to face it.

Anyway, to be honest, I don't have anything to say. I simply write this entry for the sake of having an entry. I just had my lunch -- late lunch. I'm now having a bottle of beer.

In an hour I have a meeting. We'll discuss about business. Monkey business, if you like.

As for September ending, there's not much flare. It is only that next month is October. And it's Oktoberfest! I love beer. And I am enjoying it. This is life.

The Internet At Large

noreply@blogger.com (steffie) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:40:00 +0000

Safety and security. These are two of our goals in life, two of our main priorities that we strive everyday to have. But times have changed, and threats to our safety no longer just constitute muggers, thieves, accidents, natural calamities, or wayward politicians. Lately, even the Internet poses a threat, promising to one day get a hold of our valuable passwords and private information. And yes, the value of what we store in our laptops and computers is priceless, which is why we try our best to steer clear of websites that potentially carry viruses, warms, and all sorts of malware.

So, if you are one of the many enthusiasts of Poker in US, always make sure you check, double check, and triple check the websites you log on to. Providing PayPal or credit card information on websites that just might squeeze you dry is not something you want to do.

Recently, I received an invite to try out Poker Deals and my curiosity was piqued. Perhaps this website provides more safety precautions than others, helping to keep your information as safe as possible.

They say that Mac users are less prone to malware attacks. But search for the keywords “Mac poker UK” and you will find a whole slew of websites that may make your Mac prone to malware attacks.

Is poker on line really safe? The answer is never black and white. Always exercise prudence when signing up to websites that require your credit card info. Use trusted websites, whether or not you surf the net for poker or use it simply for email.

After the storm

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:43:00 +0000

Monday, it was raining all day. I stayed at McDonald's in Philcoa from 9 AM to 3 PM. I could not get out of the store. I had no umbrella. What I did was reading books (I finished two), writing and jotting down notes, and observing people. When rain stopped for a few minutes, I hurried back home.

Yesterday, I could not go out of my room. Rain poured. Wind blew violently. I was stuck. All I had to do was read and write. I could not open my computer. Brown out. I finished reading at least three books relying on the available light. I got plenty of time alone, learning from books, thinking about life.

Today, as usual, I went to McDonald's for my morning coffee before heading to my office. When I got to the office, there's no internet connection. I stayed there until 3PM. I worked on some stuff -- a financial plan and a business plan.

Then I headed to a restaurant in Maginhawa St. in UP Village. There's an internet connection. I checked my e-mail. Read the news. Browsed the net. Writing this blog entry.

Storm Pedring devasted a portion of the country; it claimed 20 lives. 3,400 travellers got stranded. US envoy Harry Thomas stormed the media with his remark that 40 percent of tourists visit the country for sex, which is, I guess, true. Senators and congressmen are hurt by the ambassador's statement; they asked for apology and clarification.

I did not have beer in the past few days. Now I'm getting my first mug. I like it very much. This is it. After the storm there is life.

The Reality of Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (steffie) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:34:00 +0000

Life is a show, complete with backdrops and props. Whether we like it or not, appearances matter a lot. And when it comes to telling people about what you’re selling, whether it’s an idea, product, or a service, first impressions tend to last.

Making a good, lasting impression often means knowing how to carry yourself, expressing yourself well, and doing all these in an environment conducive to receptivity. Advertising, for instance, just might dub a campaign as a hard sell or a soft sell.

A hard sell, described as a campaign that is meant to be psychologically pushy, is meant to overwhelm you and convince you to shell out. “You should be buying this right now or I’m leaving,” for instance, is something a sales person just might tell you. That is an example of a hard sell: it strives to make the point, no beating around the bush.

Theories vary as to whether or not a hard sell really works. Sometimes it doesn’t – but then again, sometimes, it does. For instance, imagine a booth with trade show flooring that screams out your company’s logo. Or perhaps a trade show carpet that blatantly highlights a huge logo of your company. Yes, these are indeed meant to mentally manipulate customers and clients. That is, after all, the point of advertising: clinching the deal.

Companies that do not believe in hard selling still make use of loud visuals. After all, a huge part of the brain’s cortex is dedicated to processing visual stimuli. In other words, what we see usually affects us, whether consciously or unconsciously. For example, logo mats and even a logo canopy helps sear an image of the company’s signature image in your mind. The next time you spot that logo, you are bound to remember what it means – and familiarity to a lot of people is tantamount to popularity.

Hope, work, reforms

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:56:00 +0000

Well, it's good to know that government is really serious in pursuing the investigation on the anomalies of the past administration. Senator Frank Drilon is to be lauded in his efforts to expose loads of corruption cases and anomalies, recently, in the military and in the agriculture sector.

I throw my all out support to reforms in all government agencies. And I'm happy with the performance of many cabinet secretaries including agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala, justice secretary Leila de Lima and interior and local government secretary Jesse Robredo. They're doing their job well.

As to the Commission on Elections, there are still a lot of cleaning up to be done. Perhaps the chairman should be replaced by a more honest and credible one. We cannot leave our democratic institutions to people with questionable integrity.

As President Benigno Aquino III is on his visit to the United States, reports said that Vice President Jejomar Binay's rating soared. The people approval of Mr Binay is higher than that of Mr Aquino. There's no problem with that. Mr Aquino's approval rating remains high. That only show that the people remain hopeful and supportive of the government.

This is the time, I guess, for us to exploit the moment. We have to take advantage of the political situation. It is now the time for us to work out and reform of government and political systems. There are good things happening now in different parts of the country. I am hopeful that there will be progress in this country.

We cannot remain cynical of the government. We have to work and participate in building up rather than in tearing down. There is hope. But we cannot achieve our goals and objectives of a fairer society unless we roll our sleeves and work.

In search for meaning

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:08:00 +0000

We seek meaning to our existence in some way or the other. We ask: Why on earth are we here for? What do we have to do with our existence?

Such questions lead us to the idea of creating life's meaning and purpose. We have to have objectives to achieve.

The search for meaning is a basic human instinct; it is part of our evolution.

Philosophically, what makes life more interesting is to hold something that is tangible, something that serves as a guide to living, something that we anchor our beliefs and hopes on.

A life without purpose, just like the unexamined one, is not worth living.

Self-knowledge should lead to a life with a purpose, a life with meaning despite the claim that the basic human instinct is to survive, to fight for existence.

In the hierarchy of needs, survival is at the prime; the quest for meaning is the least of priorities. But I would say that we seek meaning first to make sense with existence. It is meaning that fuels survival.

Thus, we shape our purpose first in order to survive, and survival is the basest of all purposes.

Religion exploits this need for meaning.

The root of all religious discourse is the search for the divine which is both within and without – an elusive being if it is being at all.

The other, God, is the ultimate object of search in the Judeo-Christian tradition. For the Buddhists, it is the non-being; emptiness. The elusive Tao for the Taoists. The list goes on and on and on.

Accordingly, it is the divine that gives them sense of meaning and purpose in life.

Searching for life's meaning is a quest. It is a journey that involves all our faculties – intellectual, emotional, social, political, and so on and so forth.

At the base for this search is the understanding of ourselves. Self-criticism. Self-awareness. Self-knowledge. By doing this, we have the command over the details of our existence; then, we can direct and redirect our lives.

Embracing the dragon

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:26:00 +0000

Reports say that President Benigno Aquino III's 5-day trip to China was a success both in economic gains and bilateral talks on the dispute in the Spratlys. This should be lauded as a milestone in the new Philippines-China relations. Though it cost the taxpayers Php 25 million, the visit secured nearly $ 13 billion of actual and planned investments from Chinese corporations.

Lately, China, as Asia's largest economy, has posed itself as a threat to Southeast Asia with its attitude in the Spratlys dispute. The territorial tension between the Philippines and China seemed to be overwhelmed by the perceived economic gains of the Mr Aquino's visit.

The trip was very much different from that of Gloria Arroyo's during her 9-year presidency. Hers was full of ulterior motives and the objective of enriching herself; hers was full of anomalous transactions that put the Chinese in bad light to the eyes of the Filipinos; and hers was full of deceit and failed negotiations.

If Aquino has raised more Chinese investments and trade agreements, the government must strengthen its private-public partnership program in infrastructure development. Farm to market roads, post harvest facilities, roll-on/roll off ports, national highways, railways -- these should be given forceful considerations. We cannot afford ourselves to sleep while others are working; and we cannot compete with the giant unless we are prepared to do so.

With China's rise, we are not yet prepared in terms of production to supply the market demands of China as it shifts towards a consumer economy. The Philippine manufacturing and production sectors remain seemingly neglected in the past decades since we have promoted and sold OFWs to foreign countries to earn revenues from dollar remittances. It's time for us to manufacture and produce.

Government subsidy to agricultural production should be prioritised. We are an agricultural country; thus, we have to produce food for ourselves first and we export the surplus. This is a matter of policy making and implementation.

As we embrace the dragon as a trading partner, we have to work out, on our part, the details in engaging economic exchange with China. That means that we have to invest in manufacturing and production of goods. This means that government should bring development to rural areas. If government invested in infrastructures and industry sectors, more jobs would be generated.

Let's grab this opportunity of embracing the dragon as an economic partner.

What The Wealthy Can Do

noreply@blogger.com (steffie) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 05:33:00 +0000

Forbes magazine comes up with a list of billionaires every year based on assets and wealth. But recent times have changed the contextual definition of “wealth”. Nowadays, having time for yourself is considered a luxury, which is why the truly wealthy people are arguably those who are not slaves of their jobs, those who have time to spare.

Statistics have also shown that the richer you are, the greater the percentage of your wealth that you allot to luxury expenses.

These include expensive Jeff Dunham Tickets that other people may not have the budget for. Wealthy people often spend their spare time watching plays and musicals, with a bigger portion of their earnings going to Chicago Theatre Tickets or Wachovia Arena tickets. Seeing a musical or a play is a luxury that most people simply can’t afford.

Of course, others prefer to spend an afternoon watching the L.A. Lakers. Good seats usually mean Los Angeles Lakers Tickets that cost an arm and a leg – and the masses are happy enough to even see them pitch from afar.

If you have the cash to spare, perhaps watching stand-up comics would be a great way to spend a lazy Sunday. However, Jerry Seinfeld Tickets are not exactly cheap.

Being wealthy has its perks, definitely. You get to buy the most expensive tickets without having to break into a sweat. You don’t have to “save up” for an expensive play or a major league game. But in the end, no matter how much money you have, what matters is how you have spent your life. Aim to say “I’ve made the most of what I have and I’ve lived life to the fullest” – and you can’t be any richer.

Cheerful thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 04:39:00 +0000

My criticism to thinking: most thinking individuals tend to be unhappy, and they are not satisfied with the truths that they have come up with. I've read many books on philosophy, and there's no joy in them; no cheerfulness.

Friedrich Nietzsche has criticised philosophy and philosophers who are able to philosophise only when they're intoxicated with wine, coffee, or any substance. He lamented on the lack of cheerfulness among philosophers. There's one funny guy out there in the name of Slavoj Zizek who also shared with Nietzsche's criticism; and he's playful. I like the way he philosophise because he's full of jokes and humour. He even published a criticism of his own book.

Philosophy ought to be done with cheerfulness. While it is true that philosophy is a rigorous discipline of thought, it is also necessary for one to remain a child and playfully wonder at the complexities of the world.

My observation to students of philosophy now: many of them are arrogant; and they use a language that they alone could understand -- writing complex, compound complex and complex complex sentences that an ordinary reader like me is lost in the labyrinth of grammar and syntax. No wonder why after reading some philosophy materials I become sad and perplexed.

Philosophy ought to be written simply. Although the world is complex, one has comprehended it well when he crystalises his thoughts into short and simple sentences. Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote short and pithy sentences in his Tractatus and Philosophical Investigations; he's smart and intelligent thinker who understands the need to be understood as a philosopher.

Another philosopher that I admire is John Searle. What I like with him is that the way he writes is simple and clear. He's easy to understand unlike other philosophers, especially continental philosophers, who are so difficult to read and understand.

I believe that thinking should be rigorously done. It is difficult to do; and it needs discipline. But it does not always mean that a thinker redirects all his thinking into unhappiness and sadness. Of course, I understand that because of our limitations we cannot really comprehend the world nor provide a comprehensive explanation of it, but this should lead us more to wonder like a child on the different possibilities of thinking with joy and playfulness.

Cheerful thinking, I believe, is what we need, and what we ought to do. When we are cheerful we can express our thoughts clearly and lucidly. We can easily be understood. And in doing this, it requires a considerable level of self-knowledge.

Unmindful entry

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:51:00 +0000

It's September and I feel like I am compelled to write a new blog entry again. Well, to reflect about writing and blogging I cannot avoid myself thinking about the costs -- electricity, time, thoughts, internet connection. This is something that one has to consider when blogging.

Anyway, I'm happy that Blogger continues to improve its interface and services -- again, for free.

Everyday, the virtual world receives tons of information and ideas, destructive and constructive, helpful and garbage. There are tons of shit online too. But this does not diminish the potential of the internet for education, business, and even organisation.

For now, I'm just writing about nonsense. And I believe that my post now will not help; and that this will be just one of the shits out there. Nevertheless, I have to shit. There is spirituality in shitting too.

Honestly, I don't know what to write, but I'm writing. And I don't want you (reader) to read this post too seriously.

Dying for principles

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:37:00 +0000

Principles have, at times, sorry consequences to those who hold them. This is true to the universal values such as freedom, democracy, and independence. Many of those who fought for freedom have disappeared; they suffered torture and summary executions. Many have died for democracy and independence; they are our heroes.

History is a witness to the cruelty of humans to fellow humans. The Spaniards landed in the Philippines to colonise it for 333 years; the Americans came to snatch the revolutionary government from the hands of the Filipinos; the Japanese came to impose a puppet government during the War; Marcos put the country under Martial Law in 1972 that grossly violated human rights; and the Arroyo administration summarily executed more than a thousand activists and dissenters.

Around the world history unveiled the struggles of peoples under dictatorships and tyrannies; and many have shed their blood to buy freedom; to uphold democracy. Latin America is a child of revolution where blood was spilled to achieve the people's aspirations and self-determination; in Asia, people have fought for nationhood; the Arab Spring is the latest happening that history is recording in its annals.

Those who perished in the night are not just consequences of historical events; they have faces. They're real people. They have mothers. They have fathers. They have brothers. They have sisters. They have extended families. They are members of communities. They are citizens of their countries.

In the Philippines, those who perished in the Revolution, in the Philippine-American War, in the World War, during Martial Law, and in the time of Arroyo, they are Filipinos who are loved by their families. They have friends. But they disappeared as they defended the values that we so cherished. Let us not forget those who fought for us; let us remember the face of those who suffered cruelty . Let us hear the cries and agonies of those who suffered torture.

To make it more real to us, let us be reminded that the more than a thousand who disappeared during the 9 years of Arroyo administration are crying out from out there seeking justice. Arroyo must be held liable. There must be justice or else we'd forget those who died for their principles.

History has compelled us to act to ensure that justice is delivered; that those who inflict pain and do injustice will be brought to the courts.

Air of freedom in Libya

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 01:18:00 +0000

A young rebel is jubilant. Euphoric. He looted the bedroom of a 69 year old tyrant who ruled for 42 years. He took a hat that the dictator used to wear in his speeches as the leader of an oil rich nation with a statue behind him, a statue of a hand crashing a Western plane.

Now this rebel is the face of a new Libya that is governed by the Libyans. A Libya that is not owned by a single dictator; a nation emerging from dictatorship into democracy.

Muammar Gaddafi, a tyrant for four long decades, is nowhere to be found. But his regime has crumbled; it quickly slipped into the control of the rebels who captured the last bastion of the dictator's government.

The people of Libya welcomed the rebels; they welcomed the freedom fighters. They welcomed democracy, the rule of the people that was denied to them for four decades.

Critics and pundits say that they wouldn't succeed, and that the rebels' version of democracy is imposed by the West. Some commentators say that Western intervention has spoiled the Arab spring. But the people's victory in Libya is Libya's. Of course, with the aid of the UN Security Council. Libyan people need the support of the international community for them to achieve their aspiration and self-determination to transition into a democratic regime.

The world welcomed the new Libya except President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela who is a friend of Gaddafi, and a tyrant himself.

As for the West, the developments in Libya signal a victory for Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama. Obama, with the go signal from the UN Security Council, used the United States' aerial power to destroy Gaddafi's military installations. Sarkozy led the ground work in supporting the Libyan rebels with weapons and fighting alongside them. Politically, Sarkozy has gained political points; Obama, though cautious in crediting victory to himself, has proven himself right when he decided to launch an offensive against Gaddafi's Libya.

Credit is also due to the NATO that provided ground and technical support to the rebels.

But all in all, it is the Libyan people who owned the revolution. They earned their freedom with blood and sacrifice. Libyans won their liberty. The challenge now is how to rebuild the country after ousting the dictator from power. The people can now claim a country of their own; they will build their own country from rubble, from scratch.

Now the young rebel who took the hat, he will give the loot to his father who suffered a lot under Gaddafi's dictatorship.

I salute the persistence of Libyan liberation fighters, and welcome the new Libyan government.

Online education

noreply@blogger.com (Kelvene Requiroso) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:29:00 +0000

One of the privileges of children today is the availability of the Internet where educational materials and resources can easily be accessed.

An increasing number of schools and educational institutions are coming up with education innovation including the use of information technology in their curricula and programs, one of which is online education where schools are offering online degrees. In fact, there are online degree programs in education wherein teacher development is done online.

We are adapting to the new developments in our technological environment. However, we are also to be cautious in such venture. I still hold on to the idea that traditional classroom education remains the best education system that we have to preserve, develop and innovate. Although a student can save time, space and resources in online education, classroom and social interaction is still key to human development.

Nevertheless, online education is a convenient choice; it will certainly play a significant role in shaping our future. And that there are available resources for tuition and student aid online too (check this out: http://studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/collegefinder/advanced_find.asp).