Thoughts and Non Thoughts

Goodbye to 2006. Goodbye to all the heartaches and pain we felt and brought to others. Goodbye to all the regret for things we said, did or did not do. Goodbye to all the wishes unfulfilled and promises unkept. Goodbye to all the storms, earthquakes and disasters. Thanks for all the joy we felt and brought to others, the happiness we shared. Thanks for all the love we expressed, and things we did even if we didn't have to. Thanks for all the lessons learned, the wisdom gained. Thanks for all the sunsets and sunrises, the full moon and the unfailing spring. Thanks for another year. And welcome to another one. Hello 2007! Happy New Year to all!

Saddam Hussein. James Brown. Gerald Ford. Saddam survived his country's invasion, was captured in a foxhole, and in the end was hanged anyway by an American-backed court during Christmas season. Saddam is a symbol of defiance to the West therefore his followers see him as a hero, even if he caused the death of thousands of his own countrymen. To Americans his hanging may be some blood repaid for 9/11, but many in the Islamic world are vowing to avenge his blood. James Brown symbolized hope for the black man. He made them realize they can Feel Good about themselves. Thirty years after the civil rights movement, the voice has been replaced by gangster rap. Gerald Ford inherited a mess and had to clean up America's involvement in Vietnam. Thirty years on, look where America found itself again. Three lives with three lessons. I hope in thirty years we can celebrate the lives of people from whom we have truly learned. Hopefully not another tyrant hanged, or a voice of hope no longe...

The run up to Christmas was very hectic I didn't have time to get ready for it. I really thought I would be a scrooge this year. Well, it turned out not to be too bad, somehow the season managed to seep in. It may be a cliche but you really find the meaning of the season by looking outwards rather than inwards.

The latest CNN report. The latest twist to the Ipswich murders -- the Ripper, Strangler, whatever -- could be someone driving a blue BMW. A chubby Ripper. Not exactly the image conjured by Jack the Ripper of old. Nevertheless it could be a matter of time before this case is solved.

Jack the Ripper is back. CNN report on the Ipswich Ripper. Again. Every decade or so, a Jack the Ripper surfaces in England (and in America ?). The latest Ripper has killed five prostitutes so far, all within eleven days. UK Police are racing against the clock before the serial killer strikes again. Where to look for clues? I have a theory. This is genetic. The original 19th-century Jack the Ripper was never caught (see here a claim that the original Jack the Ripper has been identified). It is very likely that he had descendants. It might be worth testing the genes of the latter Rippers, or descendants of those claimed in the link above. Maybe there is a common gene there somewhere that could lead them to the Ipswich Ripper. And maybe help those with the gene to avoid turning into the next Ripper?

More than a year has passed since the Scandal in Animal Farm . The Pig decided to apologize to the farm animals, admitting it spoke to a Comselec official but not admitting any wrongdoing. It suggested that all of this noise is political and promised that the best solution to the problems of the farm is for the animals to dance the Chacha. The Pig promised to lead the Chacha dance, even if it could shorten its term as Supreme Animal. Some of the Pig’s allies thought this was the price the Pig had to pay for the Scandal, but its enemies claimed it was just a diversionary tactic. They tried to pressure the Pig to resign but the farm animals seemed bored by all the noise and ignored calls for protests. The overwhelming allies of the Pig in the House of Roosters made sure impeachment wouldn’t prosper there either. All seemed quiet for a while. Too quiet, even the farm animals were surprised that the the Chacha tune was now being played by a group called PI, or Pig’s Initiative. Many animal...

Now they're talking exit strategy. Sounds familiar? The magazine cannot escape the ghost of Vietnam. It would be easy to say that Vietnam didn't turn out that bad after all (neither did the US). Just a couple of days ago, the US Congress passed a law normalizing trade with Vietnam. The business press is all praises for Vietnam's coming of age as the new economic "tiger." So maybe we'll see a bright future for Iraq as well? But that is like jumping to the happy ending without the agony along the way. (Remember the movie "Click"?) Vietnam lost an entire generation from the war. It is still counting the social cost. And the US had to grapple with its conscience and its own human and political loss. (Speaking of movies again, the Americans had to foist the "Rambo" series and other Vietnam War movies to the hapless world in its very public act of catharsis.) Despite attempts by the US government to prevent news and photos of casualties from rea...

This latest movie is different from James Bond films of the recent past. Much has been written about it, so I won't do the comparison. But there were some scenes where the director and producer were certainly trying to tell the audience something. Like when James Bond tells M that double O's have short life expectancies anyway so she doesn't have to live long with her mistake (when she expressed that she may have promoted him to double O status too soon) -- obviously a double-entendre about Daniel Craig's casting as 007. Daniel Craig seemed like he was still auditioning for his role (in a sense he is). Clearly there is a lot of effort to win the audience over, as in the focus on his physicality, the near-death scene, the beating up while naked, the losing of his (only?) love, making him feel pain and his face scarred. Overall it succeeds. I don't agree with Time magazine's assessment that it's a movie with lots of body but no soul. On the contrary the romant...

I was looking at sample photos taken with my point & shoot camera and saw this shot taken in September. It's the ill-fated MV Leonida 2 . So far 15 feared dead including a town mayor. It gave me the creeps. Look at the picture and judge for yourself about possible overloading.

Can't wait for spring of 2007... If the rumors are true, then we will see the 5D evolve into two versions - a smaller version (7D) with the same sensor (full frame) but with Digic III, sensor cleaning, wider AF (and cheaper!) - an upgraded version (5D mk2?) with more resolution (16 MP) ff sensor, also with Digic III and sensor cleaning (albeit the same price as when the 5D came out, rougly $3k). This would put Canon firmly in the lead again. And I'll finally take the plunge to upgrade my 10D to a ff body. If the rumors are true....

Was driving earlier today when I heard this on the radio. Had to turn up the volume... Caller (woman): Hi, I have an important message for my boyfriend... DJ: Who is this? Caller: Mitch. Anyway, I hope my boyfriend is listening coz I wanted to tell him something important but he was in a hurry. DJ: OK, what's your message? Caller: Well, I hope he's listening right now... coz I think he ought to know that I MISSED MY PERIOD .... DJ: What? I don't know what to say... Caller: Well I think it's kinda important for him to know. I wanted to tell him earlier but he was in a hurry to leave... DJ: Oh yes, that's important alright... but why was he in a hurry? Caller: He said he had to rush to this important thing... this three peso off per liter promo of Shell. Dang, clever...

I'm enjoying Countdown to Ecstacy on vinyl by Steely Dan . Great songs, not to mention that weird cover. I think I got a smile like the figure on the right. This music is really timeless. I have many of the Dan's CD's and LP's, starting with the 'best of' compilations ( Showbiz Kids I think being the best). Lately I've been listening to the individual LP's, and hearing the less known songs, I find I like them too. In fact I like their old music as much as the later ones. Time to flip the record to side B.

Killer Instinct. That's the difference. Between a great champion and a good boxer. Technique, speed, power - Viloria has them too. But he didn't want to bruise his pretty face. Pacquiao says bring it on and dishes out his own. He knows you got to get some to give some. When you've go to go in to finish the job. That's why he's a champion and Viloria is not. Just want to say hats off to Morales. He has the heart of a champion. Too bad, that night wasn't for him. But he's had a glorious career. He was right when he said it was time for him to think hard about the future and whether he would like to continue doing this. Like an old warrior coming home from too many wars. All the best to Senor Morales.

A smile-detecting camera? It's in the works from Canon. This would be a great help for wedding and event photographers. Canon already has a camera that can recognize faces and focuses on them. The Ixus 850 IS has Face Detection technology. What will they think of next? These are no longer lenses with a chip, these are computers with lenses. Smile!

Get this if you can. On vinyl. Great recording, great music. You'll shed... Tears of Joy

Analog. Vinyl. LP's. Yes, those. Ticks, pops, scratches, skips -- not! Not when you have a VPI 16.5 record cleaning machine -- yes, they've got things to vacuum the dirt out from the grooves. And play them on a VPI Scout with a Dynavector 20xL cartridge. Through a Jolida JD9 phono stage. They may not be top of the line high end, but, oh, what joy!

to find the vision you never had?

i burst into song and flap my wings i break through the clouds and melt the dawn i cry my lungs out held upside down i announce myself to the world

But what if the itch is inside your head?

Does anyone still believe in biorhythm and all that stuff these days, with instant uppers and starbucks? :-)

Once there was an Audiophile who was looking for the Audio Truth. He searched far and wide until he met The Guru. The Guru was meditating on the wooden floor, raised above the ground on wooden posts. The Audiophile sat in front of The Guru. “Pray tell me,” he pleaded to The Guru, “what is the secret to sonic nirvana?” The Guru asked him, “why do you come here?” “I have the best high-end gear around. Even the cables are the best,” the Audiophile replied. “Why do you come here?” The Guru asked again. “There’s something missing,” the Audiophile sighed. “I have been upgrading and upgrading my equipment, but each one doesn’t bring me closer to sonic nirvana.” “Ah, the Upgrade Path,” The Guru nodded. “Unfortunately, that does not always lead you to enlightenment.” “So tell me, dear Guru,” the Audiophile asked excitedly, “what is the True Path.” “Ah, the True Path,” The Guru nodded again, “does it exist.” The Audiophile wasn’t sure if this was an answer or a question. After a moment of silenc...

My order from Amazon of this CD finally arrived today, played it twice already. It's a well-produced album without sounding over-produced -- quite refreshing for Fagen or Steely Dan for that matter. Musically it's a synthesis of the first two solo albums -- the lyrical mastery of The Nightfly and the groove of Kamakiriad . After burning out post-Nightfly and ending up with a ten-year writer's block, Fagen made the rhythm section pre-eminent in Kamakiriad. Thankfully, in Morph Fagen brings back a heavy dose of the Steely Dan melodic and chord sophistication while keeping the beat. The bass lines, specially in the opening track, are superb while the falsetto in Brite Nightgown reminds one of the funk of Prince. The other tracks could easily belong to any Dan album sans the guitar work of W Becker, though Jon Herington does a great job here. Here is an artist who has found his voice and his groove. Message-wise, it gives voice to the current New York state of mind. Unf...

Discovered this wonderful digital camera. Was looking for something small enough to bring along that also provided good image quality. The FX9 has the form factor but I was pleasanly surprised with the image quality. Must be the Leica lens -- in fact the image quality reminds me of a film rangefinder, though of course the small sensor gives a different depth of field. FX9 review at DPReview.com.

;-)

“Who was that cute couple you just talked to?” he asked as he walked into her home studio with his coffee mug. She was doing Photoshop on her Mac. “Barbie and Kenny,” she replied. He raised his eyebrows. “Seriously, those are their names!” she said, half-laughing. “What do they want for their pre-nup?” he asked, referring to the pre-nuptial photo shoot that couples want included in their wedding photo packages nowadays. “The usual – outdoor, playful,” she said as she continued working on her Mac. “She wants it shot around his BMW,” she giggled. “Ha! I knew it,” he said. “And only this Barbie talking while….” He sipped at his coffee. “…Kenny…” “…while Kenny kept looking at your hemline. Not a good sign.” “Dad! He wasn’t looking at me. And stop being a marriage…forecaster!” she laughed. He sat beside her and put down his coffee mug on the computer table. “You know I’ve shot countless weddings, then baptisms, birthdays, graduations…” his voice trailed off. “My clients say I chronicle thei...

She sneaked and sat on the bench beside me. It was our last week on campus. Our senior year was ending, summer was approaching and with it the rest of our lives. We were facing the wide lawn as the late morning sun shone through the canopy of old acacia trees overhead. “Thanks for what you did for me. That was sweet, asking our lab class to sing,” I chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll ever get another chance to have people wearing lab gowns and goggles sing me happy birthday.” “And don’t forget the money I raised for the party,” she smiled. “That’s on Friday night.” She had passed a hat for a small party to celebrate the end of the school year. She was wearing that hat now, a wide-brimmed straw hat that framed her face, so beautiful against the warm light. Her smile held all the promises of summer. I held her hand and she didn’t move. “What is this rumor I’ve been hearing,” I said, “that I have a big crush on you?” “Is that a bad thing?” she asked, without looking at me. “What did you say?” ...

I only remember Ms Dianne Reeves from her late 80's hit "Better Days." With this new CD, she has caught my attention as one of the best acts in jazz today. She is great here and, with a superb band, swings effortlessly throughout the album.

"Love from Lust" This is a very talented Pinoy band. You can hear the musicianship in all the tracks. Intelligent and heartfelt lyrics too (eg, "Dear Nonoy", which is an OFW's letter to his son, and the white-collar anthem "Makinarya"). This band deserves to get more airplay -- they would bring some freshness to the local music scene. They could have chosen a better CD cover though. The CD will also give your hifi system a good workout -- with those deep basslines, funky saxophones and superb guitar licks, not to mention very expressive vocals -- demanding the best that your system can give.

Do heroes make history, or are they products of their time? Many seem to believe that it is a bit of both. Context is important, but so are the hero’s actions. Gandhi’s heroism is great because it happened during a most critical junction of India’s history. The time was right, yet without Gandhi’s unique leadership style he wouldn’t have been a hero. The path of human progress or a nation’s history is marked by several inflection points, times when the convergence of events becomes unstoppable and their significance transcend individual lives or lifetimes. The French Revolution, the American Civil War, and the two World Wars come to mind. It is in these occasions when people rise up to become heroes. When you ask a Filipino to mention a national hero, the expected answer would be Rizal or his contemporaries. Late 19th century was a critical point in Philippine history, when Spanish global power was coming to an end. Rizal and his friends began defining a Filipino identity and even foug...

In an earlier post , I wrote about Boracay, Zen and the Art of Paradise Maintenance. Here's a new gallery of Paradise Revisited . Let the photos speak for themselves this time...