on the past 2 millenia

Lets' start with the death and resurrection of Christ.

Christianity spread like wildfire through the known world thanks to the "acute" timing of Pax Romana. The blood of the martyrs pave the way that by the 3rd century, Christianity is not anymore a "sect" but the embraced "religion" of the known and civilized world.

Thanks again to the roads build by the Romans to secure the empire, Christianity traveled. And thanks to Alexander the Great, too, for because of his empire, a common language permeated in the known world.

Christianity traveled to the ends of the earth that early church leaders, in order to be "at par" with the church martyrs, had to travel inwardly to spread the faith. Thus, the monks were born. Clear example, St Augustine.

As we passed by the 1,000 years mark, the faith had to be 'reborn'. The epitome of this movement were the lives of St Aquinas and St Francis and later on in the life of Martin Luther and Swingili (?).

But by the 1,500 year mark, and the first version of globalization in the guise of the Conquistadors, faith had to be 'reborn' anew. Thanks to the life of John Calvin and Wesley Brothers, it kept on marching on.

But by this time, faith had a 'mysterious cousin' - reason and logic introduced by the likes of Voltaire and Descartes on one end and balanced by Blaise Pascal on the other end. This times were times of great debates that led to the bloodiest of wars.

But by the turn on 1,700 years mark, the whole world was becoming 'crowded'. The wars of the past used by kings and queens is not anymore enough to sustain life. Its allure was growing stale. A new system had to be born - free markets. Thanks to the likes of Adam Smith. The idea of free markets became the 2nd degree cousin of logic and reason.

As industrial revolution gained steam to reach where we are now, we are faced with a new reality. A reality that shaping to be like "the whole world belongs to everyone". That the whole world does not belong to rich countries but it belonged to all us. That the world is a common wealth.

By today, the first 8 years after the 2,000 year mark, we are once again asked to be still and see the whole new world unfolds.

High oil prices, so high that solar and wind power is starting to look like a clear and viable choice. Ever wondered where the wind came from? I still remember that experiment they had when they kept a number of people caged called "biosphere"? Scientist observed trees falling down at a certain height and weight because inside the biosphere, wind did not exist to strengthen the barks of the trees as it grows. Interesting = )

What if the whole world can only afford to have one country like that of the US in its present set-up?

What if for the whole world to truly succeed in its 2nd round of globalization, it had to redesign and rethink the ideas of Adam Smith in a profound way. I mean, Smith assumed that resources are infinite, right?

To borrow the lines of Charles Dickens from A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

Brilliant. He speaks anew.

But here's another line, "... the love of money is the root of all evil."

I love that even better.

On Manny Pacquiao = )

I watched the bout again that night. The bout that made history for us Filipinos and Asians too - the first ever Asian to win four championship belts.

It was very uplifting. The one thing, without debate, that makes Filipinos very proud. How I wish we do not stop at this proud moment. How I wish it makes us ask ourselves how come Manny Pacquiao became Manny Pacquiao?

Sana we truly see the whole story.

We all saw the Manny Pacquiao boxing on the ring. How he danced and stung. We all saw how he tried to help David Diaz up after the referee had waved his hands. We all saw the victorious Manny Pacquiao. We all saw the historic moment.

But I hope we can see the training camp version Manny Pacquiao. The Manny Pacquaio that's trying to shed some excess pounds. The Manny Pacquiao that's watching what he eats as he increases the intensity of his training regiment. The Manny Pacquiao in the gym. The Manny Pacquiao that's starving himself = )

I like this bit coming from Manny, "Sa tutoo lang mas mahirap yung training kaysa sa fight."

Well, that's why Manny Pacquiao is Manny Pacquiao = )

from Joseph of OT

"My life is complicated but my God is faithful!"

affirmation from Him (confessions 2.0)

I can be good.
I am good.
I have been good.

I am salt and light.

I have helped women.
I have said helpful things to women.
I have done helpful things to women.

There have been a few times I felt so blessed.
And I found out why the Holy Scriptures said,
"God so love the world..."

I have been so blessed.
Lord, You're too much for me.

My humblest moments.
My most joyful moments.
Moments I rather stay on, forever...
Moments that eats me up
... when I am thinking evil
... when I am evil
And I am reminded that
... I can be good

I have embraced pure thoughts
Some are still in my head
Being attended to 24x7

And everyday
something godly pops up
... in my head

I have served those I profess to love
I have served those who held me dear
I have served those who loved me dear

I am godly...
I am hopeful...

Thank you, Lord!
Lord, You are my Audience of One!

confessions

I can be evil.
I am evil.
I have been evil.

I am rotten.

I have hurt women.
I have said hurtful things to women.
I have done hurtful things to women.

There have been a few times I snapped.
And I found out why Catholics said,
"Wrath is one of the deadly sins..."

I am not proud of it.
Lord, I do not want to do it again!

My weakest moments.
My darkest moments.
Moments I rather forget.
Moments that creeps in
... when I try to do good.
... when I am good.
And I am reminded that
... I can be evil.

I have embraced evil thoughts.
Some are still in my head.
Being attended to 24x7.

And everyday,
something evil pops up
... in my head

I have hurt those I profess to love
I have hurt those who held me dear
I have hurt those who loved me dear

I am rotten.
I am hopeless.

I am work in progress...
I have been forgiven...

Thank you, Lord!
Lord, You are my Audience of One...

on nature's service to humanity

As humanity's population increase, we in turn demand so much resources from nature. We demand that nature to be stable and predictable for our lives to move without a hitch.

Issues arise for nature is neither both.

But here's the blessing of the situation.

As we demand more from nature, we start to see nature for its reality, complexity and sophistication. We start to see that it is actually alive. Connected.

And then, we ask the correct questions... = )

"Paul" on Filipinos

We were exchanging views. Just shooting the breeze.

From out of the blue I had this itch to ask him, "So, Paul what do you think of us, Filipinos?"

Before I let you in on his answer, let me tell you who Paul is.

Fair?

Paul came from the land of kings and queens. He's been in Asia for more than a decade now. His most recent engagement in Asia is in the role of helping China's manufacturing sector be at par with 1st world standards. He is a hands on guy. Operations guy. An expat. He is married to a beautiful Filipina lass.

Now, back to his answer to my question of what he thinks of us, Filipinos.

He simply said, "Stop talking already and get on doing it..."

I love it.

I smiled and said, "All our old school leaders will die soon. As long as the new generation kids, like us, do what's right, in the end, it will all add up."

He smiled.

I love that even more.

Lord, help us understand that well done is always better than well said!

on communicating

What's the use of news telling, of communicating if all it does is to make us angry... numb to society's needs?

on numbers and on stories

Know the numbers behind the stories...
Know the stories behind the numbers...

the problem with President bashing

True, the President has her faults. I mean, think about the Garci Tapes.

But to attribute that that's the reason why we are where we are is like saying it is my Mommy's and my Daddy's fault that I am who I am now.

Wait.

True, Mommy and Daddy is a big part of our lives. But even if we have the best Mom and best Dad in the world, we can still go astray. And some have really gone astray. They have gone astray not because of Mommy and Daddy but because of the choices they made themselves.

It is also true that not all bad Moms and bad Dads will lead to bad children. The child can break free from this vicious cycle if he choose not to become a victim anymore and transcend the painful episodes of his life.

So, when can we start transcending ourselves as a race?

Let me start by praying, "Lord, thy will be done!"

on joy and on relief

"... the saddest thing that we can do is to exchange relief for true joy."

~ John Eldredge

this saturday last

It's an excellent thing when we unknowingly bless others, they bless us back. I'm humbled by the expression of gratitude.

I can not hold it all in. I have to write. It needs expression.

How can we give something if we do not have it?

How can we give love if we did not received it first?

How can we bless other people, if we were not blessed first?

We can give to others because we have received first from Him...

The thing is, we have to personally know what He gave us so that we can enjoy it and share it with others. For His gift is so indescribably magnificent, we can not hold it all in. We have to share it for it is meant to be shared = )

the corrupting effect of always blaming corruption for our woes

When I pressed him to answer the top three problems that the Philippines have on the short term and on the long term, he said "... corruption!"

If we are going for a high score in rhetorics, that answer is absolutely perfect. Don't get me wrong, corruption is really a problem. But my problem with the "corruption problem" is the fact that it is as old as humanity. It's like saying we will never solve it. If that's the case, why even bother stating a problem that will never be solved = )

But of course, there were brief and so far in between moments in our history where corruption was controlled. But only to resurface again. Well, that's that.

But, maybe, we have mistakenly identified The Problem.

I mean, even if the solution is right to the "wrong problem", since it is the "wrong problem" the right problem still exists and continues to wreck havoc. It's like prescribing headache medications when the real problem is that it is time to wear a pair of glasses.

The corruption in our government will still exist and it will be, sadly, in steroids soon.

Why do I say that?

Well, our country, the "pearl of the orient" Philippines is in a period where it has to invest so much and serious money in infrastructure to make herself competitive once more. She has to dynamically LINK all her islands into a network of economically thriving markets. Markets that does a healthy business locally, regionally and globally.

And this "infrastructure" is worth so much that all the past corruption cases that have managed to catch our anger and wrath will look like a puddle of mud compared to the depths of the Philippine Deep = )

Corruption exists because money exists. And corruption intensifies as volume and size of the transaction increases. So, as the Philippines accelerates in investing in its infrastructure expect corruption to accelerate, too.

The key thing here is to answer what makes "corruption" gain that bravado? What gives the people that courage to accelerate the hoarding of so much ill-gotten wealth?

The answer is the status quo and the people that benefit from the status quo = )

For all the headlines that the ZTE deal got, where the Filipinos shown the process of how the Philippine Government goes about the acquisition of 21st century essentials like a broadband network to link all government offices nationwide to better serve its citezenry?

We heard the story of how the power players went around the process with ease to enrich themselves but how come they can go around the process with ease in the first place?

If we are already comfortable with blaming corruption as the root of all these mess, then, corruption has already corrupted our minds so much that we are now unable to think = )

Thy will be done, Lord!

an afternoon with the Director for External Affairs from The Palace

It was supposed to be Senator Richard Gordon. But something came up, I guess, for Senator Gordon canceled or our student lied to us the whole time. The nerve! = )

Personally, I actually doubted that the Senator was coming. We had MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando last Friday and I think "we are not that lucky". And the fact that the organizers were actually choosing between Senator Gordon and Senate President Villar weeks before the event is too good to be true = )

But hey, let's give the student the benefit of the doubt here!?!

But for all its worth, Director Rene Custodio did a splendid job. A very good communicator. I loved the PowerPoint, specially the "Gollum slide" .

But you know, maybe because it was a last minute thing and Director Custodio did not have the time to "really prepare" his talk, I felt disturbed.

The Director flashed the impressive 7.3% GNP growth of 2007. Anyone who took Economics 101 will really smile. But what if the audience actually had more than just plain vanilla Economics 101 and is smirking inside and sheepishly asking, "... but which among the four engines of the Economy actually delivered the growth?"

(Hint: They are considered the new heroes of the Philippines.)

Well, the canned Powerpoint presentation did not show that which brings me to another point. I teach in Mapua Institute of Technology. We're regarded to be the cradle of Engineering education in this part of the world and somebody from The Palace brought a canned PowerPoint presentation? Hmmm, it's either we were considered to be non-involved thus they can just impress us with their PowerPoint-making skill and rhetorics or the Director was really just being a boy scout.

Lord, I am hoping it is the later!

But for all its worth, I appreciate what transpired this afternoon. In flesh in blood, I saw my government. I saw that they really cared for what Citizen Mapua might think if they did not send someone over. I really appreciate the effort. I saw that the Director has the heart for this... but Sir Director, I just noticed po, you're starting to sound like JDV. Serious = )

And for Senator Gordon, here are the questions I prepared for you. If you have time, I hope po you can answer:

1. The Philippines has a lot of problems, in your opinion, what are the Top 3 short-term issues?
2. What are the Top 3 long-term issues?
3. And on both, what are you prepared to do to affect change?
4. On a personal level, what was, so far, is your greatest challenge?

Well, that's that...

on becoming a University

It started during my graduate school studies.

I thought what the school can provide was enough to feed my hunger but it only made me realize that if I need to have my fill - I need to become my own university.

Thus, the journey begun in becoming my own university.

In this university, the curriculum has only four courses and the four courses are all co-requisites. These are DreamBig 101, Curiousity 101, Problem Solving 101 and Never Give Up 101.

And the only way I know I can move to the next class and the next lesson is when I have solved the problems and when my curiousity has been filled.

My university is the most fun and most relavant university I have ever been in.

Would you want to put up your own university?