Is the Philippines Backwards, or Even Grammatically Correct?

In my communications classes at the University of Southern California, I was taught that there is perception and there is truth. Take the case of all the stray dogs roaming the Philippines, passing their fleas, ticks and rabies to people whilst helping recycle garbage into fertilizer that too often ends up where people walk, and … Continue reading

Confidence as Weakness

One of the characteristics that sets Filipinos apart from other cultures, which can be seen as weakness or strength, is a durable sense of self. I have no statistics to back it up, but my guess is that Americans have more insecurities than Filipinos. A lot. It is the result of all the introspection that … Continue reading

Strategies, Principles and Techniques

I was reading a Reuters article on President O’bama’s forthcoming trip to Europe. There are many important topics on the various agendas with top European leaders, including Middle Eastern turmoil, the unstable European economic situation, US missiles in Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Pakistan and terrorism. One point of coordination is withdrawal from Afghanistan. The US will … Continue reading

Dignity of Man

Dignity is an admirable concept. Rather like integrity or honor. These are not colors that you can see, a streak of red upon the lips or a blue t-shirt. They are not for tactile exploration, like rough or smooth or wet. However, they are slippery, not always easy to grasp or paste upon someone. They … Continue reading

"Joss"

I have been wading through the entire set of books by James Clavell, five of which showed up one day on the shelves of National Book Store. My current reading is Noble House, which centers on Hong Kong in 1963. The protagonist is Tai Pan Ian Dunross, a descendant of the original British Tai Pan, … Continue reading