Hey, Mister Mom: The househusband phenomenon

It used to be that only men could wear the pants in the family, so to speak. That is, men were the ones who had to go out and earn their keep, and come home with the salary that they would give to their wives, for the monthly budget. Heck, in even more archaic traditions, they didn’t give all of their salary to their wives – women had to make do with what they were given for the monthly home budget.
Times, happily, have changed, and now we see more instances of men becoming “house husbands,” as the term is now known. And yet, instead of welcoming the idea, there is still a fair amount of resistance to the idea of a man taking care of the household chores.


Read more at The Philippine Online Chronicles

Photo: “The Househusband,” by JoseMa Orsini, c/o Flickr.com

Getting back into shape - The beginning

Now, for the past few years, I hadn't really thought about my health. I figured, as long as I didn't feel anything too disturbing, that I was fine. The bad part was, I was still thinking this way even though I was already going around 200 to 2010 pounds in weight. I was on a stack of anti-hypertension meds, too.

And then it happened.

Pics or it didn’t happen: The search for trust and proof

The other day, I told some friends about the time that I jumped off a cliff. Now, it was easy to remember: I was with my high school class, and I was the only one, practically, who did not know how to swim. However, since the rest of the guys were already down in the nice small cove next to…

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Embracing our Roots, Learning from the Past

It is at once one of the greatest strengths and one of the most striking weaknesses of the Filipino psyche: Somehow, Filipinos seem to have a very short memory when it comes to unpleasant events. Depending on the context of the situation, this is either proof of the Filipino’s capacity to forgive, forget, and move on, or it could also be evidence that Filipinos are culturally hopeless, as they will be doomed to keep on making the same general mistakes over and over again.

And the sad part is, we do actually have a saying about it:
“Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan.”

Read more at the Philippine Online Chronicles


Photo: “Memories” by Marina del Castell , c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

Usapang names: The Tito Bhoy effect

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When it comes to naming children, Filipinos are among the most creative (and cruel, depending on how things go) people in the world. It’s actually a wonder that there are no national laws being strictly enforced (if they exist at all) about how we name our kids. If you think that a naming law is silly, think about it this way: Denmark, for example, has a list of acceptable names. If you want to name your child with something that isn’t on the list, you have to get church and government approval – and still follow rules for gender and conventional surnames.
So, how do we codify the Filipino way?


Read more at the Philippine Online Chronicles

Photo: “My name is…” by , c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

Don’t be a Drone: Some reflections on how people are with their jobs

By: Richard Leo Ramos
 

There will be heaps of advice, on how you shouldn’t stay too long in one job, and always look for better pay, and higher rank. If you have kids, then it’s even more important to find a job that will take care of them. Once you have more resources, you’ll find time for your hobbies and interests.

It’s the perfect lifestyle. However, you have to ask yourself: does it get to be repetitive? Is it a bit of drudgery? Many people will instantly tell you that, of course, you have to learn to love the job, or at least find a job close to your interests that pays well. And it you don’t like the job, then you should just suck it up and think of the money, and how it can at least give you the chance to afford a nice hobby that you like.

Does that sound fair? Would you bite that apple? If you do, then what you should do is prevent yourself from becoming a drone.

Read more at The Philippine Online Chronicles



Photo: ”Wind him up” by Newtown grafitti, c/o Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Balancing digital freedom and online responsibility

The Internet is still as raucous a global community as it should be. However, in the bid for total digital freedom, many people are forgetting that with freedom comes responsibility – even in online communities.
So where do people make mistakes, what makes people cross the line from espousing freedom, to being abusive Internet trolls? Well, it’s not actually a simple situation.
Fighting the “Man”
One important facet of the issue about freedom of speech and human rights online is that it serves as a release-valve for social pressures. The online world is where people now take their soapbox issues and grievances, be it legitimate or not. In that way, it is actually a sort of social equalizer, in that as long as you have access, it does not matter if you are rich or poor. You have a voice, and that is very important.


Read more at the Philippine Online Chronicles

Image by Stian Eikeland from Flickr.com. Used under CC license. Some rights reserved.