“All of my life I have wondered about the possibility of life elsewhere. What would it be like? Of what would it be made?”—Carl Sagan. Science never played a prominent role in my upbringing and educational progress, especially astronomy. When I looked up at the sky, what knowledge I had was informed by my Catholic faith. Religion taught… Read More »
“It seemed that human sorrow was always based on regret and pain in the past, and that neither time nor location nor history made much difference.” — Abdulrazak Gurnah, Gravel Heart (2017). By Rey Moreno We distinguish. We discriminate. We love ranks, hierarchies and categories. It’s them versus us. Love your own kind. Belonging and identity define us;… Read More »
“I’m not afraid and these 15 days convinced me there is nothing to fear. Let them be afraid instead.” — Alexie Navalny. When I heard the news that Alexie Navalny died on Friday, March 16, in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, my first reaction was of great sadness. I thought why would… Read More »
“The cancer that demands our urgent attention is corruption and poverty.” —Miriam Defensor-Santiago. “Corruption is a cancer, a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity.” —Joe Biden. Every country has a history of corruption. Those which are well-governed have managed to curb corruption to its minimal impact. That’s… Read More »
“Mag-exercise tayo tuwing umaga/Tuwing umaga, tuwing umaga/Mag-exercise tayo tuwing umaga/Upang ang katawan natin ay sumigla.” – Lyrics by Yoyoy Villame. Good life equals good health, or good health equals good life. Whatever the equation, the good is the exercise. It produces energy, prolongs life and keeps the doctor away. Yet there is always an excuse not to do… Read More »
“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the River. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food. It’s a plus for everybody.” – Anthony Bourdain. When news broke out that Anthony Bourdain committed suicide by hanging on June 8, 2018 while filming… Read More »
“There was no choice but to sit silently while history was narrated anew, no choice but to wait in a dumbly, unenthusiastic silence for the mocking dismantling of our old stories, until later when we could whisperingly remind each other what the plunderers had tried to steal from us.” – Abdulrazak Gurnah, Gravel Heart (2017). In one of… Read More »
“You could leave with dreams and expectations that by their nature were counter to your own best interest. Better to go with an open mind and take what comes and see what you can make of it.” – David Guterson, The Final Case. I love the detective/mystery (D/M) genre. My first introduction was Perry Mason, the crime and… Read More »
“There are moments in life when the clouds lift and the curtain of rain blows back and suddenly the world stands before you, stark and vast, and you teeter on the edge of an enormous precipice of knowing, of understanding with every fibre in your soul, every hair on your head; and this was one such moment.” –… Read More »
“But God gives to it the body that He plans and sees fit, and to each kind of seed a body of its own” – 1Corinthians 15:38. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” – Gospel of Matthew 26:39. I hear Him clearly,… Read More »