if you have to go, help me not to remember. leave with the memory of your face. de-occupy my thoughts and let this forsaken soul be in the ruins of his temple. be formless, like water. gather your silhouette and pour it into the sea. bottle your scent and dump it among the most foul-smelling garbage. and if a shower or two won’t do it, then I’ll bathe in the rain. never utter your name; remain a stranger.

An Attempt at Examining the Human Condition Through the World and Work of Fred Rogers — “Love is the root of everything. All learning. All parenting. All relationship. Love or the lack of it.” Fred Rogers The 1960s have always been a prominent decade in America. The country and its system have been challenged in a way that they have never been before. From the origins…

Analyzing Duterte’s role in Marcos’ campaign and his imminent triumph. — “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 The rampant attacks on the media under the Duterte administration were the start of what Facebook executive Katie Harbath considered an “infodemic” in the…

i’ve always perceived the sound of Your name in twofold like the sound of the rain. to some, is a quench from a long drought but for others, mostly a bitter memory of mouths mud-filled and rivers overflown. much of our last encounter in 2009 is monsoonal but with Your presence, the heaviness seems…

O sa Iba Pang Túngo ng Paghahanap at Pagbagtas — Hindi ka madaling matagpuan sa araw-araw. Sinubukan kitang hanapin sa ibat-ibang estranghero ngunit parati lamang akong nabibigo. Ang init mo ay dama sa alaala. Gaya ng pinagsaluhang hapunan at kumot sa malamig na gabi; kailanman ay hindi natumbasan. Salungat sa iyong pagdating, ang pag-alis mo ay inaasahan. Marahil ay hindi…

Araw-araw kong itinawid ang sarili mula sa hulaw. Nanuyo na ang bibig ko at gumaspang na rin ang pakiramdam ko sa aking lalamunan. Ginawa ko na ang lahat. Pitong bowan ko nang ipinagdarasal ang ulan sa Kalawitan, kung saan sabay akong tumangis at umindak. Isinuko ko na rin ang huli kong alingo. Marahil ay nakalimutan nang tumungo ni Lumauig; marahil ay mali ang pagkakakilala natin sa kanya. Nilamon na ng liwanag ang kapatagan. At kumakatok na ang mga poraw sa nasusunog naming ato.

Mayroong matandang paniniwala na ang lubog na pusod ay simbolo ng karamutan, kabaligtaran naman ang luwâ. Nakaugat ang pamahiing ito sa sosyo-ekonomikong aspeto ng pamumuhay. Sa tradisyunal na panganganak sa bahay, pinuputol ng kumadrona ang umbilical cord ng isang sanggol gamit lamang ang kutsilyo. Sa paraang ito, hindi nasasagad ang…

We were drinking and driving upon the streets of Maligaya. Ignorant of the orientation of its pavement, we gambled and bravely maneuvered. We turned a blind eye to every forking path and chose the least traveled in the hopes of making a difference. We admired the gentrified neighborhood juxtaposed with…

Describing 21st century humor wouldn’t be possible without describing the three generations that formed it first: the Boomers, Millennials and Zoomers. Boomers paved the way for socio-politically charged jokes; Millennials combines chaos with relevance and Zoomers plays with absurdity. These shape the humor (memes) that we consume today and each…