Blind Submission to the Catholic Church

by: boldstar

Starting as a small Jewish sect to one of the world’s largest religion, the Catholic Church and Jesus gospels according to Thomas Jefferson are "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man". That’s why to this day it appears that despite of its murderous history, corruption, debauchery and immoral conducts towards people it considers enemies and devotees, the Filipinos devotion to Catholicism remains steadfast. You can bear witness to this feverish and brutally blinding submission to god during the January 9th yearly procession of the statue of the black Nazarene. It shows no sign of abating despite numerous deaths, maimed bodies, thieveries and physical assaults.

And so the feast of the black Nazarene continues to perpetuate the notion that one must suffer for the dispensation of being granted a miracle, healed of diseases, a bountiful life and good luck. Not that it matters to the devotees that the statue paraded is a fake since 1998 when a member of the exalted Iglesia ni Christo shot the carving. It also never occurred to the devotees that the original statue has been decapitated ostensibly to preserve it from manhandling thereby using only the original body covered in armoured steel in the procession this year.

Yes those damned overacting devotees, that are too emotional, climbing, kicking, screaming and clambering over the statue to touch it can cause so much damage and henceforth deserve a fake one. Hybrid modification or not, fanaticism and idolatry continue to unite the populace as oppose to fighting the actual enemies. Indeed, the Filipinos love a hybrid. And only in the Philippines can a “hybrid” be as equally potent as the original considering that apparently it had “miraculously” survived many fires, a world war and sometimes a miracle.

Why my questionable attitude to this miraculousity?

Well, in life come hellfire and damnation my husband would drag my ass first. It is what romantics call love. And so it comes as no surprise to me that the Cofradia de Santo Cristo Jesús Nazareno or in Rizal’s time the Mendietta would seek to have the statue in a safe place.
So, thousands upon thousands of sinners and devoted followers suffer the heat and beatings, in order to touch the statue. But the rich ones and the priests are nowhere to found. They have exclusive entry to the church 364 days of the year without having to be among those poor people from the provinces and mobile phone snatchers. They could seek atonement for their sins in private, thank you. You will never see Imelda’s clan in the throngs of it, passionately expressing their devotion to the Black Nazarene? I mean that woman can absolve her sins from the world by carrying the cross herself, and she did have a practice during her racketeering and corruption charges in 1990. Why bother?

"Steal from the coffers of the people, and yee shall be forgiven for thy sins with the obligatory incantations of the Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary courtesy of the confessionals and donations. But if you ask me the confessionals have been used by the church to spy on its followers. Why can’t someone tell God directly without having to use a third party? "

Money it seems allowed some people special consideration. This year’s procession route for instance was changed. But those pesky demanding devotees pulled the procession towards the original miracle highway let good graces pass them by. How dare they change it, I donate to the church, some devotees demanded. Never mind that the new miracle highway is wider and therefore safer for the people. Two people died last year among the 50 or so people heavily injured. But for some, it was collateral damage to a devotion that is blinding as long as you never ever disturb the mass conducted by the Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. There is such a thing as overacting, just ask Ms Ruffa Gutierrez.

And so it seems in Manila the bigger your gun, I mean your donation the bigger your entitlement would be. With money, thy will be done. But it’s worse when you are from Mindanao. You are urged not to come seeking miracles and atonement in Quiapo. The powers that be had another one of those “HYBRID” statue sent to you so you can rub your hankies and towels yourself instead of asking the centurions to rub it for you. Its only one degree of separation and you may find that you are more blessed than ever.

With all these proclamations of miracles and our religious devotions, then why is the Philippines still forsaken? There are 20 million plus Filipinos that can seek atonement for the sins of the guilty and yet we are continuously abused, sold and traded by the powers within and the powers outside. We can’t seem to get a break, a decent break to get the lives of our compatriots at least better than the dogs of western societies. I mean Australia has a dog hospital who operates on your four legged with cancer.

That is why I refuse to believe that we must suffer in order to receive the miracles of the Lord. Frankly we have been through enough. We have been though more than 300 years of slavery, first under the auspices of Christianity, and then the Japanese and the Americans. What more suffering does one need to inflict upon oneself in order to at least have a decent life?
I am no Voltaire. I am also not the first to contend that the Roman Catholic Church is violent, intolerant, aligned more towards racism and bigotry while investing on ignorance and maintaining hostility from those seeking understanding like HIV sufferers in Africa and the world. It promotes servitude among our citizenry, and inflict upon the hopeless that one is not in control of one’s own life and destiny.

That’s why only in the Philippines can the people allow their lives to be controlled by a handful of masters. From what we eat to the telephone system we use, the same families control everything. Somehow one needs a miracle, a Wowowee handout, to rub a towel on a statue, and to beat one’s body into submission for a better life. Only in the Philippines that “over-devotion”, if there is such a word, can be seen as Faux Pax. For others like me it is considered a systematic abuse. Why then wait for January 9th to be given a miracle.

I’d say one must demand a better living every day, that’s how change begins.

High Society in Crisis

Independence Day Party at Embassy

The right to party. The right to get drunk. The right to stay sober. The right to puke. The right to mispel wurds. The right to take a shit. The right to play. The right to care. The right to give a damn. The right to be repetitive. The right to celebrate. The right to surf. The right to be right. The right to murder bloggers in their sleep. The right to suck. The right to spit. The right to swallow. The right to sleep. With anyone, anywhere. The right to be gone in the morning. The right to a one night stand. The right to break hearts. The right to be vain. The right to call in sick. The right to sing. The right to shop. The right to wear Gucci. The right to get hot. The right to smoke tobacco. The right to snort cocaine. The right to vote. The right to chat. The right to lie. The right to left. The right to grow hair. The right to make love, not war. The right to be inspired. The right to be gay. The right to be gay. The right to rock n’ roll. The right to sing in the shower. The right to fake an orgasm. The right to make a difference. The right to be free.

A SOCIETY IN CRISIS
by: boldstar

Alain Nemarq, the chairman of Mauboussin, the prestige jewellery firm, said that the world of luxury had gone wild in pursuit of the idea that nothing could be too expensive and no profit margin too exorbitant. "The pursuit of exclusive trophies ... is finished," he wrote in Le Figaro last week. "We will now return to reason, decency and discretion." Déjà vu or jamais vu? Either way we are going to get stuffed.

Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelt. The economic world is indeed in the midst of turbulence, worst since the great depression and we may need to execute an emergency crash landing. That means back to reality. So buckle up, and assume the brace position because you may find yourself waving goodbye to Lanvin and shopping for ukay ukay in Cubao, letting go of Angus beef for lunch and 0% shopping for beach gowns. Unless you are one of those rare breeds of people who have never been touched by this crisis, consider yourself lucky. Like Miss Paris Hilton, who graced us in Australia with her presence over the New Year and proceeded to apparently buy 31 dresses. But if you ask me I can smell a publicity X-deal.

Unfortunately for high end retailers like Chanel which slashed 200 jobs 2 days before 2009, and saw the cancellation of its mobile artistic installation featuring its quilted handbag, the meltdown in sales has clearly walloped its interlocking facade. The luxury purveyor is now starting to feel the brunt and will continue as its high net worth customers fortunes disappear into thin air. China Daily reported that Chinese billionaires dropped from 66 in 2007 to 24 in 2008 (China Daily, 2008). While LVMH, the biggest conglomerate, cancelled a plan for a megastore in Tokyo after losing 44% of its share value last year. Alain Nemarq believes they are facing a harsh future after a decade in which greed and easy money led to hubris.

As much as it is hard for the House of Chanel to admit its current losses it cannot shut its doors like when Madame Chanel closed shop just before the Nazis took over Europe and checked herself in at the Ritz for 30 years. If Madame Chanel recognised the irrelevance of fashion, what then would the relevance be for fashion blogs like Shoppingera, Bryanboy, and Chuvaness? Should they follow Madame Coco and retire? Or should they just morphed into something else focusing less on expensive wanting needing anything thereby showing us their skills, creativity and survival chutzpah to transform with the changing socioeconomic conditions and sentiments. Or would it be a free for all "bakbakan" in the blogosphere, and he/she who dares wins. Remember, their blogs are about their latest purchases, their lifestyle oozing with money and never-ending society dos, first class travels, and charitable efforts. No one can seriously disassociate the commercial objectives of such artistic endeavours. How else would these fashion blogs survive without x-deals, advertising rents and media freebies?

People it seems are no longer interested in the latest "It" whatever, and going to fancy designer installations that is fundamentally just a shrine to decadence and wanton spending for something malignant. So blog traffic to Mabuhay girls, BB's and Chuvaness's may seriously be dented by this crisis. Unless of course the "Chikatime" fever, arising from the dominant pastimes of every Filipinas and Filipinos I know, here and abroad would reveal that all three are mortal enemies.

In a small Manila fashion pond, jealousies, intrigues and debt obligations do create havoc between relationships. By writing about these blogs does it also mean that I am aiding and abetting their survival? Hopefully my efforts can be seen not just as a panacea to the ills of our society but as a stepping stone for all our personal growth.

But then again there is Hermes. Saved by the bell, err I mean Twill, silk scarves which are its entry level product. And so does Gucci, and Tods', in that rarefied status. Crisis! What crisis? For some, at least if you are wealthy and working like Chuvaness, its LV to the max and hello bodyguard. For Shoppingera Mabuhay Girl, it is a case of Scarlett asking, "Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?" He answers, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn". OK that was just for drama as it is actually rent me! Rent me; rent my blog, this space for yours!

Therefore amidst the crescendos of bravados, I shall name thee Jenni Diversification Epperson, mabuhay extraordinaire.

And then there's Bryanboy, who would probably state in his will to get buried in haute couture outfit by any members of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture wrapped in a chinchilla full length fur coat. And then like Paola Fendi bribe the officials of Campo Verano, an exclusive but full cemetery just to get buried next to the exalted of Roman society. Hence, for some, luxury till they depart or, holding a Hermes bag while they are being departed. With rampant lay-offs and specially in manila where poverty is hard to ignore, it would be suicide carrying a Louis Vuitton bag worth 150,000+ pesos around unless of course one never venture beyond the borders of one's gated community, air-conditioned car and shopping malls accompanied by a bodyguard. Personally, I would feel like Robert (Will Smith) in "I am Legend" hunted by 588 million Darkseekers.

For other mere mortals, like many Chinese professionals, extolling the virtues of frugality is a necessity. So in with living for a "100-yuan for a week" campaign, blogging budget tips, and recipes for meals, that cost less than 10 Yuan ($1.46), wrote Michael Wei from Reuters International. But then again millions of Filipinos have been living for a dollar each day as proof of our martyrdom in this never ending political thievery.

Reason, decency, discretion, and frugality are our survival mantras. Overall, if you don't have it, don't borrow to spend it, and pretend rich, because as much as you'd think rich and be rich ala Tim Yap, there is such a thing as "can't really afford it" and some of us who knows the truth. Wake up! Because like a tiger in an African savannah, who hide it's captured prey up a tree away from thieving hyenas, the natural law of the jungle will eventually force you to share it.

A SOCIETY IN CRISIS

Independence Day Party at Embassy

The right to party. The right to get drunk. The right to stay sober. The right to puke. The right to mispel wurds. The right to take a shit. The right to play. The right to care. The right to give a damn. The right to be repetitive. The right to celebrate. The right to surf. The right to be right. The right to murder bloggers in their sleep. The right to suck. The right to spit. The right to swallow. The right to sleep. With anyone, anywhere. The right to be gone in the morning. The right to a one night stand. The right to break hearts. The right to be vain. The right to call in sick. The right to sing. The right to shop. The right to wear Gucci. The right to get hot. The right to smoke tobacco. The right to snort cocaine. The right to vote. The right to chat. The right to lie. The right to left. The right to grow hair. The right to make love, not war. The right to be inspired. The right to be gay. The right to be gay. The right to rock n’ roll. The right to sing in the shower. The right to fake an orgasm. The right to make a difference. The right to be free.

A SOCIETY IN CRISIS
by: boldstar

Alain Nemarq, the chairman of Mauboussin, the prestige jewellery firm, said that the world of luxury had gone wild in pursuit of the idea that nothing could be too expensive and no profit margin too exorbitant. "The pursuit of exclusive trophies ... is finished," he wrote in Le Figaro last week. "We will now return to reason, decency and discretion." Déjà vu or jamais vu? Either way we are going to get stuffed.

Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelt. The economic world is indeed in the midst of turbulence, worst since the great depression and we may need to execute an emergency crash landing. That means back to reality. So buckle up, and assume the brace position because you may find yourself waving goodbye to Lanvin and shopping for ukay ukay in Cubao, letting go of Angus beef for lunch and 0% shopping for beach gowns. Unless you are one of those rare breeds of people who have never been touched by this crisis, consider yourself lucky. Like Miss Paris Hilton, who graced us in Australia with her presence over the New Year and proceeded to apparently buy 31 dresses. But if you ask me I can smell a publicity X-deal.

Unfortunately for high end retailers like Chanel which slashed 200 jobs 2 days before 2009, and saw the cancellation of its mobile artistic installation featuring its quilted handbag, the meltdown in sales has clearly walloped its interlocking facade. The luxury purveyor is now starting to feel the brunt and will continue as its high net worth customers fortunes disappear into thin air. China Daily reported that Chinese billionaires dropped from 66 in 2007 to 24 in 2008 (China Daily, 2008). While LVMH, the biggest conglomerate, cancelled a plan for a megastore in Tokyo after losing 44% of its share value last year. Alain Nemarq believes they are facing a harsh future after a decade in which greed and easy money led to hubris.

As much as it is hard for the House of Chanel to admit its current losses it cannot shut its doors like when Madame Chanel closed shop just before the Nazis took over Europe and checked herself in at the Ritz for 30 years. If Madame Chanel recognised the irrelevance of fashion, what then would the relevance be for fashion blogs like Shoppingera, Bryanboy, and Chuvaness? Should they follow Madame Coco and retire? Or should they just morphed into something else focusing less on expensive wanting needing anything thereby showing us their skills, creativity and survival chutzpah to transform with the changing socioeconomic conditions and sentiments. Or would it be a free for all "bakbakan" in the blogosphere, and he/she who dares wins. Remember, their blogs are about their latest purchases, their lifestyle oozing with money and never-ending society dos, first class travels, and charitable efforts. No one can seriously disassociate the commercial objectives of such artistic endeavours. How else would these fashion blogs survive without x-deals, advertising rents and media freebies?

People it seems are no longer interested in the latest "It" whatever, and going to fancy designer installations that is fundamentally just a shrine to decadence and wanton spending for something malignant. So blog traffic to Mabuhay girls, BB's and Chuvaness's may seriously be dented by this crisis. Unless of course the "Chikatime" fever, arising from the dominant pastimes of every Filipinas and Filipinos I know, here and abroad would reveal that all three are mortal enemies.

In a small Manila fashion pond, jealousies, intrigues and debt obligations do create havoc between relationships. By writing about these blogs does it also mean that I am aiding and abetting their survival? Hopefully my efforts can be seen not just as a panacea to the ills of our society but as a stepping stone for all our personal growth.

But then again there is Hermes. Saved by the bell, err I mean Twill, silk scarves which are its entry level product. And so does Gucci, and Tods', in that rarefied status. Crisis! What crisis? For some, at least if you are wealthy and working like Chuvaness, its LV to the max and hello bodyguard. For Shoppingera Mabuhay Girl, it is a case of Scarlett asking, "Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?" He answers, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn". OK that was just for drama as it is actually rent me! Rent me; rent my blog, this space for yours!

Therefore amidst the crescendos of bravados, I shall name thee Jenni Diversification Epperson, mabuhay extraordinaire.

And then there's Bryanboy, who would probably state in his will to get buried in haute couture outfit by any members of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture wrapped in a chinchilla full length fur coat. And then like Paola Fendi bribe the officials of Campo Verano, an exclusive but full cemetery just to get buried next to the exalted of Roman society. Hence, for some, luxury till they depart or, holding a Hermes bag while they are being departed. With rampant lay-offs and specially in manila where poverty is hard to ignore, it would be suicide carrying a Louis Vuitton bag worth 150,000+ pesos around unless of course one never venture beyond the borders of one's gated community, air-conditioned car and shopping malls accompanied by a bodyguard. Personally, I would feel like Robert (Will Smith) in "I am Legend" hunted by 588 million Darkseekers.

For other mere mortals, like many Chinese professionals, extolling the virtues of frugality is a necessity. So in with living for a "100-yuan for a week" campaign, blogging budget tips, and recipes for meals, that cost less than 10 Yuan ($1.46), wrote Michael Wei from Reuters International. But then again millions of Filipinos have been living for a dollar each day as proof of our martyrdom in this never ending political thievery.

Reason, decency, discretion, and frugality are our survival mantras. Overall, if you don't have it, don't borrow to spend it, and pretend rich, because as much as you'd think rich and be rich ala Tim Yap, there is such a thing as "can't really afford it" and some of us who knows the truth. Wake up! Because like a tiger in an African savannah, who hide it's captured prey up a tree away from thieving hyenas, the natural law of the jungle will eventually force you to share it.