Article - Music, rebellion, and generations: Mamatay ka sa ... ingay?

Music, rebellion, and generations: Mamatay ka sa ... ingay?

Being a music lover, I’ve held the idea or a long time that I could take just about any song and appreciate something in it. Be it pop, metal, rock, jazz, or blues, I figure that there must have been something in it that made its writers want to write it, some sort of truth.

That was, until, I have to say it, I heard songs from Justin Bieber. And Rihanna. And, recently, Daniel Padilla. Now, I’d like to make the qualifier here: I don’t mind the singers themselves, I mean, hey, they’re making more money than I am, that’s for sure. But the songs! Why would anyone want to listen to those songs?

And that was when it hit me: I’m the older generation now.

Click here to read the full article at The Philippine Online Chronicles

Article - Giving up the ghost: Surrendering the Green Card

Giving up the ghost: Surrendering the Green Card

My family has always had a thing for the green card. When I was younger, I remember my mother and father traveling back forth from the ‘States, to rack up residency time. They didn’t go there together, sometimes; some summers, my dad was gone, and in other times, my mom was. They would always come back with balikbayan boxes full of chocolates, clothes, toys, and, in my father’s case, even electric guitars and audio-video equipment.

There was talk around the table, of how, soon, we’d all be there. I remember being excited; it hadn’t sunk in at that time that I would have to leave everything behind.

Click here to read the full article at The Philippine Online Chronicles

Article - Demonizing the middle class and the rich: “Mayaman kasi sila, eh”

Demonizing the middle class and the rich: “Mayaman kasi sila, eh”

Whenever I do ride a taxi, I make it a point to chat the taxi drivers up. I do so since it helps pass the time, and, in some cases, keeps them awake, or at least alert enough to avoid possible accidents. The conversations can sometimes be light and amusing, but at other times can also make me wish I hadn’t even started the conversation.

However, I’ve had a few observations stick to my mind when talking with them, and one of the more interesting – and disturbing – points is that, well, when someone does good, or is able to get away with murder (figuratively or literally), then that person is “may pera kasi” (“has money to use”). Now bear with me, as some people may say that it’s just a saying. However, I’ve had quite a few more experiences where people say practically the exact same thing: from street children in Manila, to fellow workmates when I was working in a mall, it all came down to “mayaman sila” or “may pera sila.”

The way it was said was either one where there was a certain sort of fatalism, while another way would be with a sneer and a malicious smile. And it made me wonder: Why is it so easy to demonize people who are in a higher income bracket here in the Philippines?

Read the full article at the Philippine Online Chronicles!

Article - Adultescents: Playing in the fountain of youth

Adultescents: Playing in the fountain of youth

It’s one of the newer terms inspired by the mish-mash that is pop culture: the Adultescent.

Forever young
Do you have a friend who still acts and sometimes looks the same as he was in high school? Does he still dress up in clothes that belong to a younger generation? Is he totally immersed in youth culture, playing their games, listening to their songs, and watching the same TV shows?

Well then, chances are, you have a person who could be an adultescent. However, it’s not just acting young that makes the adultescent what he (or she – there are female versions, too!) is. And just like many things, there are both good and bad sides for adultescents.

Click here to read the full article at the Philippine Online Chronicles

Article - The Culture of Poverty: The many states and views of being poor

The Culture of Poverty: The many states and views of being poor

When we talk about being poor in the Philippines, you can practically see the great divide in terms of opinions. On one end, you have people who look down on the poor, seeing them as people who wallow in their state of poverty, even taking advantage of it so they can get a free ride on other people’s taxes. On the other end, you have people who emphasize the fact that no one wants to be poor, that what should be done is to give opportunities to the dispossessed, so they will have a chance.
 
At the very heart of it, poverty means that you are practically at the bottom rung of the socioeconomic classes in a society – the have-nots that define the other side, the rich, and is the boogeyman for the middle class, in the sense that being poor is to be avoided at all costs.

Click here to read the full article at the Philippine Online Chronicles

Article - Opening the box: Grown men who collect toys

Opening the box: Grown men who collect toys

The following scenario could quite probably be many a woman’s nightmare:

You’ve just met a good-looking, well-mannered, educated guy, who looks like he’s also wise enough to be able to save up for the future. So a few dates later, he asks you over to his place. The moment he turns the lights on in his apartment, you are suddenly surrounded by toy robots, all in glass cases.

Oh, the horror. You’ve been dating a toy collector.

Click here to read the full article over at the Philippine Online Chronicles