Thoughts and Non Thoughts

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...