“Mag-exercise tayo tuwing umaga/Tuwing umaga, tuwing umaga/Mag-exercise tayo tuwing umaga/Upang ang katawan natin ay sumigla.” – Lyrics by Yoyoy Villame.  Good life equals good health, or good health equals good life. Whatever the equation, the good is the exercise. It produces energy, prolongs life and keeps the doctor away. Yet there is always an excuse not to do… Read More »

“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the River. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food. It’s a plus for everybody.” – Anthony Bourdain. When news broke out that Anthony Bourdain committed suicide by hanging on June 8, 2018 while filming… Read More »

“There was no choice but to sit silently while history was narrated anew, no choice but to wait in a dumbly, unenthusiastic silence for the mocking dismantling of our old stories, until later when we could whisperingly remind each other what the plunderers had tried to steal from us.” – Abdulrazak Gurnah, Gravel Heart (2017). In one of… Read More »

“You could leave with dreams and expectations that by their nature were counter to your own best interest. Better to go with an open mind and take what comes and see what you can make of it.” – David Guterson, The Final Case.  I love the detective/mystery (D/M) genre. My first introduction was Perry Mason, the crime and… Read More »

“There are moments in life when the clouds lift and the curtain of rain blows back and suddenly the world stands before you, stark and vast, and you teeter on the edge of an enormous precipice of knowing, of understanding with every fibre in your soul, every hair on your head; and this was one such moment.” –… Read More »

“But God gives to it the body that He plans and sees fit, and to each kind of seed a body of its own” – 1Corinthians 15:38. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” – Gospel of Matthew 26:39. I hear Him clearly,… Read More »

“But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man/ That he didn’t, didn’t already have” – Lyrics from Tin Man by America.  “A shy man no doubt dreads the notice of strangers, but can hardly be said to be afraid of them. He may be as bold as a hero in battle, and yet have no self-confidence… Read More »

“But you should remember that in order that our efforts may not be in vain, that our counsels may be heard, and our hopes realized, it is indispensable that we harmonize our acts with the principles of right and justice, by learning to triumph over our enemies and yet to still our evil passions!” – Antonio Luna The… Read More »

“I was required to read books that opened up the world for me and made me see how much roomier it was than I imagined. I read books which gave me courage and helped me to see, and I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes.” – Abdulrazak Gurnah, Gravel Heart (2017).  “I… Read More »

“I’m never gonna dance again/Guilty feet have got no rhythm/…I should’ve known better than to cheat a friend/And waste the chance that I’d been given/…Time can never mend/The careless whispers of a good friend/…There’s no comfort in the truth, pain is all that you find.” – Lyrics from Careless Whisper by George Michael. Political sex scandals titillate our… Read More »