Serious stuff, my friend

There are 75 posts filed in Serious stuff, my friend (this is page 1 of 11).

Saguisag offers to pay additional fine to speak out against President Marcos

(Photo from Marcos Martial Law: Never Again Facebook page)

(Photo from Marcos Martial Law: Never Again Facebook page)

In February 2016, minutes before the soft launch of Raissa Robles’ Marcos Martial Law: Never Again, in Makati, I was able to interview former senator Rene A. V. Saguisag, who wrote an introduction to the book. [See: Marcos Martial Law book’s Facebook page]
However, I phrased my question incorrectly, as featured in the following audio clip. I should have asked the former senator how it felt like to write an introduction to the book, not about how it felt like writing the book itself.
Good thing he got the idea, ignored my error, and all too enthusiastically provided an answer.
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Biking, Fast and Slow

 

The Messenger parked at the office.

The Messenger parked at the office.

The woman wore a light blue mask to cover the tear on her upper lip which doctors had sewn together a few minutes earlier. Her face hit the ground when she was thrown clear from her electric bike, she said. Not only did she skip on wearing a helmet, she also brought along her daughter, who was, fortunately enough, unhurt when they went out for a quick trip to the grocery that rainy Monday night. [See: Biking, Fast and Slow]

Spinbusters, Raissa Robles, and other forces of disruption

Cover of my copy of The Future Just Happened, hastily photographed.

Cover of my copy of The Future Just Happened, hastily photographed.

[NOTICE: Please feel free to debunk my assertions because this is not expert opinion, just amateur observation, which is the result of thinking too much about several topics including the future, personal fulfillment, journalism, the Internet, and, you know, other shit like that. This piece was also brought about by reading and re-reading works by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and other journalists, whom Taleb, by the way, despises because their jobs make it difficult for them to distinguish between noise and signal. Also: I may be wrong about my assertions because of the Dunning-Kruger effect.] [See: John Cleese on the Dunning-Kruger effect]

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Bromance, the Buddha, and the Black Swan

I hate to say this because it sounds so grand and affected but this book has changed my life.

I hate to say this because it sounds so grand and affected but this book has changed my life.

Edgar (not his real name) knew he was too old to be scolded for bad behavior.

This was because the 70-year-old retired businessman, who also happened to smoke cheap menthol cigarettes, was considerate enough to respond to my attempts at small talk even though the social gesture—the sheer activity itself—was disallowed.

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The Lucrative Business of Making Women Feel Bad About Themselves

Picture attempts to be ironic. Operative word: attempts. Also: That's Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore in the movie, The Big Lebowski, in the main photo.

Picture attempts to be ironic. Operative word: attempts. Also: That’s Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore in the movie, The Big Lebowski—which you should see, if you haven’t yet—in the main photo.

(From a private Facebook note of Ichi Batacan, author of the award-winning novel, Smaller and Smaller Circles, who has given me permission to upload this on my blog on the condition that some names be withheld.)

It’s been awfully hot these last few weeks, and my ends of my hair — falling about two inches below my jawline — have been making my neck itch. Continue reading →