Mitsuru

It will be just hours before New Year’s Day in the Philippines and Filipinos will literally welcome 2007 with a big big Bang ! Yes, we are a riotous lot and very loud revelers at that; just drive by or walk around in every nook and cranny in the 7,107 islands be it low tide or high tide when the clock strikes at midnight and you will know what I mean-- From the loud, energetic dancing in the streets to the boisterous drinking sessions like there is no tomorrow to the never-ending explosions in the air and smoke-filled surroundings, we’re one hell of a nation that really knows how to party come hell or high water. And many of our countrymen will pay the heavy price literally and figuratively in terms of money and limb for we really are a stubborn people and inherent in each one of us is his/ her own set of beliefs/ views on things that would put Rizal’s Filosofong Tasyo to shame and the most glaring one in our character is that we don’t want to be told, period. So, the usual ...

Three poems on Christmas, that is. Written on three different occasions that show my moods at a certain time. It’s nothing special though, just some inane scribbles on my notepad while trying to pass the time. Anyway, read ’em and weep... It's midnight and here I am once again tapping on the computer keyboard Trying my best not to fall asleep as I try to write my piece. It’s been going on like this since I started this pointless exercise one quiet and cold evening a month ago today-- I am still here at the crossroads unable to take the necessary steps to move on and get on with it. I wonder if how many people in this place are still awake at this very moment? I can now hear the noise of the people next door; the hurried footsteps, the gaily laughs and inaudible chatters The rush of people passing by at my doorsteps. I wonder why they’re also up and about at this very unholy hour? At a distance, I heard the Church Bells ringing. It was only then that I re...

Christmas Eve unlike last year there is no snow yet but the wind chill is quiet cold-- Numbing your skin tearing into your bones freezing your emotions… In the dead of night I am awake-- lying in my bedroom staring into the gloom with nothing else to do But I like the quiet; the stillness of the place the serenity of the moment. For I am at peace with myself when I am alone in total darkness.

I was about to punch in to start my day at the Emergency Room of Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital in Michigan when my cell phone buzzed. I could feel the heat of my blood rushing under my skin when I heard what the person on the other line have to say. It took me a moment or two before I summoned the courage to ask the Clinical Coordinator for the day to allow me to go home and check the news online myself-- And there it was on the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines Star, ABS- CBNNews and other news websites the grim reality and horrific pictures of the devastation brought by the super typhoon Reming (International codename: Durian) to Albay Province and Legaspi City , places that I am very familiar with and known like the palms of my hands. I scanned the pages and my eyes caught the heart-rending, gut-wrenching stories of tragedy and despair of the people; my people, of whom I am very much familiar with their way of life and customs but you could only take a deep breath to relieve t...

While waiting for the 10:00 pm CSI Miami on CBS, I went channel surfing last night and chanced upon the 2006 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on PBS and decided to watch the show instead and did not regret it. It’s a star- studded affair honoring this year’s recipient, Neil Simon whose works is said to have been the most widely performed next only to Shakespeare. He was feted with accolades, tributes and testimonials at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by friends and colleagues who in one way or another owed their careers to the foremost American playwright. Neil Simon , the prolific writer who at one time have a record of four Broadway productions running simultaneously has authored more than 40 Broadway plays since 1961 most of them light-hearted and humorous plays but is best known for his autobiographical Eugene Trilogy (Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound) and Chapter Two which critics considered as his finest work and was written shortly after hi...

Today is the 62nd year anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the greatest battle in the history of naval warfare. It occurred in the Philippines in the closing months of the Pacific War in a desperate effort by the Japanese Imperial Forces to draw the US Navy’s Seventh and Third Fleets into one final engagement hoping to annihilate them in the process that will result in the isolation of the Allied Invasion Force in Leyte from its lifeline and prolong the war and the survival of Imperial Japan with the knowledge that once the Philippines is lost, the war is over. I am a self- confessed history buff and ever since I was a young boy I was always fascinated by the men in uniform and their exploits-- --Blame it on the proliferation of war movies at that time. I can say that I watched a lot of war flicks ( “Tora! Tora! Tora!” “A Bridge Too Far,” “The Longest Day”, “Force 10 from Navarone,” etc.) with my Mom and Dad in the movie houses of Tabaco (Jojo Cinema) in Albay Province as well as ...

Chariots of fire Racing against the tide Blowing in the wind Rushing into the fire Struck by lightning Roaring like thunder Defying the gods of the sea and sky. Goaded by the blazing sun Restless spirits Wandering souls Warriors of the past Kamikaze! Too young to die For a cause that We will never fully Understand. Two days from now on October 25 will mark the 62-year anniversary of the first successful attack of the Japanese Special Attack Units (tokubetsu kōgeki tai) popularly known albeit erroneously in the West as the Kamikaze Special Attack Force. It was recorded on the U.S. escort carrier St. Lo to mark the beginning of a new form of warfare never seen before in the annals of war that brought terror in the eyes of the Allied Navy during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the waning months of the Pacific War. "Kamikaze" roughly translated in English as Divine Wind (kami= god; kaze= wind) was the name of the legendary typhoons that crushed the Mongol Fleet in the Sea of Japan in...

Are you superstitious? It's odd to wake up early in the morning and the first thing that greets you when you open up the door is the piercing cold wind that immediately numbed your face and you wished for a warmer weather that you are so used to several thousand miles back home across the Pacific. It’s even eerier when the only sound that you can hear is the sound of your footfalls echoing in the sleepy neighborhood and you realize that today is Friday the 13th, that day of days dreaded by a lot of people all over the world. I don’t particularly pay much attention to these things for I am not superstitious but today an uncanny thought immediately crossed my mind while I was walking through the wet walkway on a stormy morning heading to my parked car in the deserted parking garage of the flat that is my “home” for almost three years now. I can’t help it but I remember my old friend Jason, he of the notorious sequel- rich urban legend cum slasher flick, Friday the 13th and visions of...

“My God, what have we done?” - Colonel Paul Tibbets B- 29 Pilot, "Enola Gay" HIROSHIMA leap of faith jump into the water soar into the sky. run like a mad man go for the stars and catch the sun. a race for life a contest between the devil and man. split the atom drop the bomb run for your life, hide from the fall out or be doomed like the rest of us. Note: The Atomic Bomb nicknamed Little Boy was dropped from the B- 29 Enola Gay exploded at approximately 8:15 a.m. (Japan Standard Time) on August 6, 1945 killing more than 200,000 people... Nuclear Winter I am standing under the evening sun, its iced heat cooling my burned soul. Quickly, the zinnias and marigold wrinkled in despair, fading into oblivion. Our shadows lasted a lifetime of insanity- the petals dropped, my chocolate skin sagged. The acid rain finally fell from the great beyond Standing at the dusty crossroads, time stood still for a moment Reaching for my folded-faded umbrellas; I tried to ward off...

The Philippines’ Mt. Mayon, the most active volcano in the island has once again shown the world her legendary beauty albeit dangerously during the past few days. But I can only watch the colorful but deadly spectacle on the videos available in the Internet having been left the Bicol region a couple of years ago and now living half a world away from my hometown of Tiwi in Albay. Mayon, which rises at 2462 feet above sea level, is one of several active volcanoes in the Philippines (the Country being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire) and one of the most destructive wherein in 1814 buried the town of Cagsawa, killing an estimated 1,000 residents where the only reminder of that fateful day is the famous Church ruins and its Belfry which is now a National Park that attracts thousands of tourists year round. The volcano, which is famous for its almost perfect cone, was named after the tragic maiden in the Bicolano legend of Daragang Magayon (Beautiful Maiden in the local Bicol dialect...

The Bikini is believed to have been around for centuries, as seen on some Minoan wall paintings dating back to circa 1600 B.C., but the widely held belief of its “invention and creation” as well as its popularity today is widely attributed to two French designers: Louis Reard and Jacques Heim (although it was the former who was credited for the name), and made a big splash into people’s consciousness 60 years ago today at a fashion show in the French Riviera when a French nude dancer-stripper, Michelle Bernardini, modeled the explosive two-piece swimwear for all the world to see, and the rest as they say is history. It is amazing how a piece of clothing, a swimsuit for that matter, can be the subject of so many debates and discussions over the years. It revolutionized the way common people viewed and perceived the human body and how we dressed in public. It has captured the imagination of every one of us. Its influence and relevance was studied and analyzed repeatedly by so-called ...

Today in the Gregorian Calendar is the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of the third millennium or in short it is 06/06/06 which many people especially those who believe in esotericism is the number of the beasts which was further reinforced by the Holy Bible in-- Revelation Chapter 13, Verse 18, “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast: for it is a human number; his number is six hundred and sixty- six.” The number 666 which was attributed as the Devil’s number by blind followers of religious zealots is also studied extensively by mathematicians as well as cryptology and numerology enthusiasts for ages and you’ll be amazed by the hundreds if not thousands of results with both scientific and inane relevance to our beliefs and knowledge that will further lead us to think on how complex the human brain works. The study of Gematria came to the fullest here. It has affected a lot of people and even inspired a cult among heavy metal followe...