Every Filipino is born ready to fend off attacks from evil witches and flying fetus-eating vampires. Fo' realz!

via youtube.com

This is so funny because it's true! *ROTFLMAO* I can't count how many American horror films I've seen and yelled: "That's not how you should do it!"

Yeah, we third-world rustics know everything about monsters. Fo' realz!

If it was Kate's idea to plant trees in Westminster, I love her already!

According to this article, the idea was definitely hers: Kate loves the outdoors and, according to the Daily Mail, she ordered more than four tons of foliage to create an English country garden setting inside Westminster Abbey, including pyramid-shaped ornamental Hornbeams to frame the choir and a "living avenue" of 20-foot-tall, 15-year-old English Field Maples through which guests walked to their seats. The cost? About 50,000 pounds, or $83,335.

I hope the trees get replanted, though!

I am serious when I say I am a monarchist.

And it has little to do with the recent wedding of the Duke of Cambrige, Prince of Wales-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Kate of wherever-the-fuck-is-Middleton (I say this in jest; don't kill me).

I admit, though, that my allegiance is hardly rational and is almost purely sentimental (so don't argue politics with me just yet). I am an advocate of secularism and I love my democracy; but my concern and affection for Their Majesties go back several generations in my family and are very difficult to dismiss. I choose to continue keeping that love.

All that said, I wish the royal couple well. If the United Kingdom must remain a constitutional monarchy -- and I pray it does for it to remain the United Kingdom -- it is only natual that we wish the newly-wed couple the best of all things: Hail and be well, Ye Duke and Duchess of Cambrigde! We wish you continuance and prosperity. God save the line of Kings!

PS: The Majesties mentioned above refer to the King and Queen of Spain, but may also extend to their kinsmen (which just about includes every royal house in Europe), thus also the Queen of the UK (sovereign of my adopted culture) and her newly-wed grandson.

This is how you should oppose us, CBCP: With reason and dignity.

It is entirely possible to be against the RH Bill and not be a moron or an arsehole. I still side with the more practical priests who support the RHB, but I can definitely respect the views of this bishop.

Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma has proposed a non-antagonistic way that the Catholic Church and other opponents of the Reproductive Health Bill may use in campaigning against the controversial measure.

In a pastoral letter dated April 19 and read during the Easter Sunday masses, Ledesma said that the best way to say “no” [to the RH Bill] is to say “yes” to natural family planning.

The church strongly opposes the bill for promoting the use of contraceptives a number of which are allegedly abortifacient.

In explaining the natural family planning program of the archdiocese, Ledesma said that 1) all modern scientific NFP methods should be included; 2) NFP method should reach out to all parishes and chapel communities; and 3) NFP is being promoted without backup contraceptives.

He cited the archdiocese’s engagements with local government units in Misamis Oriental, Camiguin and Cagayan de Oro in promoting the NFP.

The archbishop emphasized that they are pushing NFP as an “engagement, not collaboration” since the Church wants it to be independent of the LGU. He added the NFP can only succeed if there is widespread acceptance of it by both the church and LGU.

Ledesma reiterated the stand of the church against abortion which he said is also in consonance with the Philippine Constitution.

He further stressed that instead of the government policy drifting towards “reproductive health,” more stress on responsible parenthood should be pushed. He explained that responsible parenthood can be differentiated from reproductive health to mean the “parents’ exalted role in giving birth to another person, body and soul…”

This should not be misconstrued however as abetting the country’s high population growth, he said.

“Christian parents must exercise responsible parenthood. While nurturing a generous attitude towards bringing new human life into the world, they should strive to beget only those children whom they can raise up in a truly human and Christian way,” he said. (BenCyrus G. Ellorin/MindaNews)

Read the rest of the quoted article at mindanews.

Ang kahibangán na itó ay maihahalintulad sa kaululán ng isáng asong malapit nang mamatáy sa rabies.

These faux holy men are free to believe in the bogeyman under their beds, but if they must mention the spirit of deception, I believe they are more acquainted with it. We musn't tell lies, bishop. We musn't tell lies.

What is so wrong with being able to make your own choices that concern your own body, your own reproductive system free from another person's boot on your face? What is so wrong with having the right to quality healthcare and proper education about your own body? What?

This insanity bears striking resemblance to the madness of a dying rabid dog. All the better, then. Die, culture of deception, die. Die, culture of hypocrisy, die. Die, culture of ignorance, die. Die, Dark Ages, die.

The second highest leader of San Pablo diocese has expressed dismay that high ranking people who promote the controversial Reproductive Health Bill (Responsible Parenthood Bill) are employing the devil tactics of deception to lure unsuspecting Filipinos to favor its passage into a law.

Barcenas knew that by definition “reproductive rights may include some or all of the following: the rights to legal or safe abortion, the right to birth control, the right to access quality reproductive healthcare, and the right to education and access in order to make reproductive choices free from coercion, discrimination, and violence.”

Our enemy in fighting against RH Bill (otherwise known as House Bill No. 4244 the proposed Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011) is not the person (RH proponents) endorsing it but Satan who is behind them and seducing these people to spread the lies and make people believe that abortion is not allowed in RHB.

“In this fight against RH Bill, our true enemies are not the people (who proposed it) but Satan. It is the evil that is manipulating the minds of all (pro RH Bill Congressmen) or those higher ups in the world. This is the reason why it is difficult to fight this enemy,” the prelate admitted.

He said this issue about the RH Bill is not only the concern of Catholics (Christians) but of all Filipinos of good will.

Meanwhile, Diocesan Family Life Director Fr. Jerry Oblepias has expressed his doubts whether President Aquino has studied thoroughly the controversial Reproductive Hill bill (RHB) when he said in public that “I’m against abortion” but at the same time strongly pushing for the approval of the bill.

“Perhaps the president does not know the whole content of RH Bill. He said that he is against abortion perhaps just to appease the Catholic hierarchy,” Oblepias said.

“My (humble) advice (to our President) is to understand that Easter is a celebration of life. And (my advice) to those who support the RHB, they don’t deserve to celebrate Easter (because) it may be an outright contradiction (if they do so),” Oblepias concluded.

The CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) has said that although the RH Bill’s title has been changed from Reproductive Health (RHB) to Responsible Parenthood Bill (RPB), investigations made by Catholic experts showed that the contents of the two bills are all the same. (Fr. Romy Ponte)

Read the rest of the quoted article at cbcpnews.

It's official: I am a terrorist. Fear me!

According to these crazy old men, at least. So. Freakin. Scared.

Advocates of the reproductive health (RH) bill are no better than terrorists because the measure could lead to the death of innocents, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Tuesday.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, CBCP vice president, said condoms and abortion were tantamount to killing the innocent.

The Catholic Church, led by the CBCP, opposes the bill because it believes the measure will allow couples to gain easy access to condoms and other methods of contraception that can cause abortion.

Palma expressed dismay over lawmakers supporting the RH bill, which seeks to provide couples a choice of what family planning methods to use.

Reacting to reports that the bill was gaining adherents even from other religious groups, Palma said on Radyo Inquirer dzIQ: “I hope that it is not true. If it is, we can only pray.”

“If people vote because of money then it’s almost like becoming Judas,” Palma said.

He said he wished the President would recall the “walang mahirap, walang corrupt” campaign promise “because threatening legislators that they will not receive their pork barrel if they will not support RH bill is a form of corruption.”

Malacañang has not issued any statement to the effect that the President would not release pork barrel to legislators against the bill.

President Benigno Aquino III has said he was against abortion but favored giving couples “the right to choose how best to manage their families.”

Emphasis mine. Read the rest here via inquirer.net.

Friendster to say good bye on 31st of May. Not just a rumour.

It's a bit sad, I admit, but I'll get over it. Definitely exporting my profile tonight.

Farewell, old friend! I had a great time.

MANILA, Philippines -- Social networking pioneer Friendster has advised its millions of users to take their files elsewhere, or face oblivion by May 31, when the site begins a reincarnation of itself as a non-Facebook-competing, "entertainment and fun" service.

TechCrunch, an IT-website, has reported that "Friendster has advised registered members to install a custom application that will export all their profile data as most of it will be deleted on May 31, 2011."

The report, along with several others that discussed how Friendster planned to stay relevant in the age of Facebook domination, has sparked rumors of a winding down or at least a reinvention that will see the destruction of a social networking site that has connected people and made them friends.

But Friendster itself has explained to its users in its help page that the removal of all users' information -- blog, photo, profile -- is to pave the way for the introduction of a new Friendster.

"We are introducing a new and improved Friendster in the coming weeks that will be focused on entertainment and fun. There will be new features that will leverage on your online activities and will enable you to connect with friends or engage new friends with similar interests."

Friendster said the "improved site is designed to create new profiles that allow you to connect differently with people and do things differently than other networking sites. Basically, the new site will complement your existing online presence in other social networking sites."

To do this, Friendster will retain users' friends lists, basic profile information, wallet and games.

Attempts via phone and email by abs-cbnnews.com to get more details about this from Friendster failed.

TechCrunch described the impending move "exactly like Myspace when they started feeling the Facebook heat for real."

This observation comes against a backdrop of intense attrition for social networking sites.

"Tech industry analysts comScore say figures show MySpace lost more than 10 million unique users worldwide between January and February... Year on year the site has lost almost 50 million users, down from close to 110 million in February 2010," BBC reported in March.

Yet, in a ZDNet Asia report just this month, Friendster CEO Ganesh Kumar Bangah may have hinted how his company views this kind of brand reinvention.

In that report, Bangah pitched for a unique value proposition in an attempt not to be sidelined by a global social graph dominated by Facebook.

"Friendster... will be re-launched as a social entertainment site that will leverage the global social graph using Facebook's "Connect" feature... will not compete with but instead will complement Facebook," ZDNet Asia quoted Bangah as saying.

A preview of what the site may have in mind may be the announcement last September that it is launching social media portals for music and social gaming fans in Asia.

Friendster claims to be a leading global online social network with 95 million members worldwide.

via abs-cbnnews.com

Brainless bishops launch tactless non-Easter related offensive in pulpits versus the much needed RH bill.

I added the necessary adjectives to describe exactly how I feel right now. There is nothing in the bill that pushes for abortion. READ! And stop spreading lies, you cheap hypocrites. If you can't subscribe to logic, fight fair at the very least.

On the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Catholic bishops in various parts of the country stepped up their campaign against the Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

In San Fernando, Pampanga, the chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Commission on Family and Life asked the faithful to pray for the conversion of lawmakers as defenders of Filipino families.

“Let’s pray for our congressmen, congresswomen and senators so that they and their families will be blessed by the Lord and they shall receive graces in understanding the irreversible consequences of the [RH bill] that is being tackled in Congress,” Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said in a circular read in parishes in Pampanga on Easter Sunday.

Aniceto, 73, said Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s salvation by winning over death and freeing humankind from sins. This paschal mystery, he said, happened in the context of families among Israelites in the Old Testament and among the 12 disciples and Christ’s followers in the New Testament.

In modern times, he said this meant renewing baptismal vows or living according to the teachings of God.

“The family is an important element in the liberation of those in Israel against slavery by the pharaoh. The family is the true defense of humankind,” Aniceto said in a three-page circular written in Kapampangan.

In March, Aniceto called on Catholics in Central Luzon to fight the passage of House Bill No. 4244 (the proposed Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011) with “deeper spirituality.”

The bill mandates sex education in all schools and promotes birth control, both natural and modern methods.

In Nueva Ecija, Representative Rodolfo Antonino, who is among those against the RH bill, said name-calling had no place in the debates surrounding the pending measure.

“The anti-Christian labels should not be brought up,” said Antonino, when sought for comment on President Aquino being called “anti-Christian” and a “bad Catholic” because of his position on the RH bill. Antonino said making one’s position known on the RH bill should be an individual decision.

Instead, he said, the RH bill should be viewed as a family issue. Antonino, who represents Nueva Ecija’s fourth district, made public his opposition to the RH bill during a recent pro-life rally led by Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud.

In Lucena City, Bishop Emilio Marquez called on the faithful to protect and defend the “unborn child” from being “killed” with the impending passage of the RH bill.

“We should respect and defend life because it is very important, it is God-given. Unfortunately, there are people who want to kill the unborn child inside the womb of their mothers,” said Marquez in his homily during the Easter Sunday Mass at the Saint Ferdinand Cathedral.

Marquez said the resurrection of Jesus Christ gave hope to people in becoming “good Christians.”

He then asked the churchgoers to raise their hands if they supported the bill.

Not surprisingly, nobody raised a hand.

Emphasis mine. Read the rest at inquirer.net.

I get really angry when people laugh at others with 'disabilities'. Challenge assumptions!

via youtube.com

This has got to be my favourite Byzantine hymn evar!

via youtube.com

Greek transliteration:
Christós anésti ek nekrón,
thanáto thánaton patísas,
ké tís en tís mnímasi,
zoín charisámenos!

English translation:
Christ is risen from the dead,
By death He conquered death,
And to those in the graves
He granted life!

Orthodox priests can be titanic arseholes at times, but I've always loved their chants and vestments!

via youtube.com

Morons everywhere!

What customer said: Pa-load!

What I did: *reached for phone*

What customer said: 0918...

What I said: Saglit lang ho...

What customer said: 0918...

What I said: Saglit lang po. Pwede?

What I really meant: Saglit nga lang! Pag-dampot mo ba sa phone, loading screen na agad?! Cheese and crust!

Salvete, Lares Familiares!

Kind divinity of this homely enclosure, this habitation;
With the kind divinities of this land, this foundation;
By the auspices of the Gracious Powers
That have established their province amongst us;
Do bless and watch over the people who live here:
Our family, our collective numena and individual genii;
All who we call our friends,
All who we invite as guests,
And all that we own,
In this day that is today and every single day.

Salvete!

Brings back happy memories, this.

via youtube.com

Still makes me happy, actually. I wouldn't mind this playing at my funeral.

Farewell, AJ Perez: I do not know you, but I wish you well as you go.

Antonello Joseph Sarte Perez, more popularly known as AJ Perez, dies at 18.

I had no idea who he was until he died. I do not watch local entertainment very much. But still, I mourn him: Someone so young snatched from our world by an untimely death. That I knew him very little does not matter to me, at all. A death is a death and we all must mourn our dead, for we are all born of the same earth and must return to the same stars.

I have always had an undiscriminating empathy for those who pass away and those they leave behind, regardless of whether I knew/know them at all. With the recent passing of my father, that sensitivity has only grown deeper, especially for those who meet death at such a young age and by accident. That sort of shock, pain, and loss is undescribable.

Antonello Joseph, brother in the earth, I wish your spirit strength to fly to the land beyond the setting sun, beyond the curtains of this world, beyond pain and strife and sorrow. May your memory and legacy live on in the hearts of those who love you, and your guidance shine on those you love.

I pray for the same peace for all who have died today. In truth, may the Ancestors receive you all in love.

Kristy Fermin has been on my 'Fuck You Very Much' list since god-knows-when.

Abuse of Power by Coalition Against Trafficking In Women – Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) on Monday, April 11, 2011 at 6:38pm

Dear Editor,

Women friends asked me, why is Cristy Fermin even allowed to say the following on air in defending Willie Revillame?

1. "…dalawang lalaking personalidad lang ang parang pinapayagan ng publiko na maging ‘matulis’. Si Rico J. Puno lang atsaka si Willie. Pag sila ang nagdeliver para bang malaking karangalan mo pag mabastos ka."

2. "(Aiza) Seguerra should not talk about morality as she lives an immoral life."

The first justifies sexual harassment when done by certain individuals. Is there a worse way of humiliating women than by dignifying harassers? The second maligns lesbians as immoral. Both are appallingly, terribly sexist statements which condone abuse of women.

Media has long played a critical role in objectifying women, including children (as shown by the now controversial episode of Willie Revillame’s program), and this has led to the normalization of abuse against us. Men have thought it acceptable to harass or buy women (and children) as long as one is able to ‘deliver it well’ ala-Rico J. or Willie R. Those who own media outfits as well as advertisers capitalize on the sexual objectification of women and children. Homophobia and stigmatization of lesbians is also a form of gender-based violence.

We have had enough. It is high time that we talk about the role of media in stereotyping, sexualizing and justifying abuses and violence against women and children. It is heartening that artists are speaking up against these forms of abuse.

Corporate media, stop profiting at our expense!

Civil society, let us join hands in shaping a more responsible and gender-sensitive mass media.

–
Jean Enriquez
Executive Director, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia
Pacific (CATW-AP)
Telefax: +632-4342149

via sssip.wordpress.com

No Earth Day on Good Friday?

MANILA, Philippines -- Since this year’s Earth Day celebration falls on Good Friday, a Roman Catholic prelate asked President Aquino Wednesday to postpone the celebration and move it to another day.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-NASSA), said the President should postpone the celebration of Earth Day in deference to the holy observance of Good Friday.

“I told the Archdiocese of Manila that Earth Day cannot be celebrated because April 22 is a holy day because it’s Good Friday,” he said over Church-run Radyo Veritas 846 yesterday.

“The Church is busy during Holy Week and its observance is more important,” added Pabillo.

During Good Friday, he said, most of the faithful are also busy reflecting.

“If it’s possible the government should just move the Earth Day celebration to another date since most of the people are reflecting and making sacrifices that day,” Pabillo said.

Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. It was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, first held on April 22, 1970.

via mb.com.ph

If two fucking holidays coincide, they coincide. You do NOT move the date just because ONE institution finds it inappropriate for their members to celebrate two holidays on the same day.

Harry Potter TV Show? Watch and weep.

via youtube.com

At first, I was: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then, I went: Oh, fuck.

Now, I'm all: MAKE THIS REAL OR I'LL START KILLING PEOPLE!

Gratitude to Ronald Lim for sharing this. Broke my heart.

Broke my heart, this movie. Still hurts. I want my heart back.

via youtube.com

I think I may have actually died watching this.

Mother Earth granted human rights in Bolivia.

Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as "blessings" and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry.

The country, which has been pilloried by the US and Britain in the UN climate talks for demanding steep carbon emission cuts, will establish 11 new rights for nature. They include: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; and the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered.

Controversially, it will also enshrine the right of nature "to not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities".

"It makes world history. Earth is the mother of all", said Vice-President Alvaro García Linera. "It establishes a new relationship between man and nature, the harmony of which must be preserved as a guarantee of its regeneration."

The law, which is part of a complete restructuring of the Bolivian legal system following a change of constitution in 2009, has been heavily influenced by a resurgent indigenous Andean spiritual world view which places the environment and the earth deity known as the Pachamama at the centre of all life. Humans are considered equal to all other entities.

But the abstract new laws are not expected to stop industry in its tracks. While it is not clear yet what actual protection the new rights will give in court to bugs, insects and ecosystems, the government is expected to establish a ministry of mother earth and to appoint an ombudsman. It is also committed to giving communities new legal powers to monitor and control polluting industries.

Bolivia has long suffered from serious environmental problems from the mining of tin, silver, gold and other raw materials. "Existing laws are not strong enough," said Undarico Pinto, leader of the 3.5m-strong Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia, the biggest social movement, who helped draft the law. "It will make industry more transparent. It will allow people to regulate industry at national, regional and local levels."

Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said Bolivia's traditional indigenous respect for the Pachamama was vital to prevent climate change. "Our grandparents taught us that we belong to a big family of plants and animals. We believe that everything in the planet forms part of a big family. We indigenous people can contribute to solving the energy, climate, food and financial crises with our values," he said.

Little opposition is expected to the law being passed because President Evo Morales's ruling party, the Movement Towards Socialism, enjoys a comfortable majority in both houses of parliament.

However, the government must tread a fine line between increased regulation of companies and giving way to the powerful social movements who have pressed for the law. Bolivia earns $500m (£305m) a year from mining companies which provides nearly one third of the country's foreign currency.

In the indigenous philosophy, the Pachamama is a living being.

The draft of the new law states: "She is sacred, fertile and the source of life that feeds and cares for all living beings in her womb. She is in permanent balance, harmony and communication with the cosmos. She is comprised of all ecosystems and living beings, and their self-organisation."

Ecuador, which also has powerful indigenous groups, has changed its constitution to give nature "the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution". However, the abstract rights have not led to new laws or stopped oil companies from destroying some of the most biologically rich areas of the Amazon.

Bolivia is struggling to cope with rising temperatures, melting glaciers and more extreme weather events including more frequent floods, droughts, frosts and mudslides.

Research by glaciologist Edson Ramirez of San Andres University in the capital city, La Paz, suggests temperatures have been rising steadily for 60 years and started to accelerate in 1979. They are now on course to rise a further 3.5-4C over the next 100 years. This would turn much of Bolivia into a desert.

Most glaciers below 5,000m are expected to disappear completely within 20 years, leaving Bolivia with a much smaller ice cap. Scientists say this will lead to a crisis in farming and water shortages in cities such as La Paz and El Alto.

Evo Morales, Latin America's first indigenous president, has become an outspoken critic in the UN of industrialised countries which are not prepared to hold temperatures to a 1C rise.

via guardian.co.uk

Emphasis mine.

At first, I went like "whaaaat", but then I realised that this kind of philosophy should have been running the world right from the start.

Law may need some revision, though, but I think it's on the right track.

 

This sliced my heart. Then I burst into laughter.

via smilepanic.com

1. Because I love Keanu Reeves, his acting prowess aside. Actually, I think he might have been my very first boy-crush!
2. Because this is so mean that it's hilarious. I hope Keanu does cheer up on Cheer Up Keanu Day because I'm going to start hurting people if he doesn't.

If my father were here, we'd be talking about this for hours.

via youtube.com

I'm a bit scared, I admit. Okay, maybe even more. Like what I told my father here: If the aliens are going to be cool like those kids from that Witch Mountain movie, bring them on. If the aliens are going to be like those insectoid-bastards from Independence Day, no thank you.

Janus-Hermanubis

Ever at guard between worlds is the Waywalker

Who is the Pathfinder

Who opens doors and keeps pathways safe

Who is our Guide, the ever vigilant

Who stands at the threshold, looking both ways

Who asssists travellers, living and dead

Who is our swift-footed Messenger

Who is ever clever

Who speaks with the best wit

Who is the Giver of persuasion

Who presides over commerce

Who is agile and the Lord of games

Who shakes the idle with laughter

Who is lucky in all things

Who is Master of chance

Who protects our flocks with sleepless vigilance

Who is our watchful Shepherd.

Hail the Traveller, the Fortunate, the Way-maker, the Guardian!

Hail our Lord and Brother!

 

Words by Aldrin, Art by Stuart Littlejohn

It was Hermanubis who held my father's hand and sang this song to him as they raced to the undying shores.

via youtube.com

Hail the Traveller! Guide of Souls!

Bisexuality as transitional homosexuality?

I have the habit of converting lengthy comments into blog entries, so you'll have to get used to this.

Yesterday, somebody asked me why a lot of people equate bisexuality with homosexuality. I argued that homosexuality (same sex is hot) is just one part of bisexuality (both sexes are hot) with the other part being heterosexuality (opposite sex is hot). So, in a way, yes, bisexuality may be (arguably!) a form of homosexuality. After all, exclusivity is not implied in the term.

I think the bigger issue, though, is that some people think of bisexuality as an "impossibility" since you either like males or females, and can't genuinely like both. Even amongst self-identified homosexuals, there seems to be a prevailing notion that their former (or occurring) heterosexual feelings (ie. bisexual feelings) are stages of confusion or denial. And whilst it can certainly be confusing to a number of people, to call it "denial" is putting our fluid nature in a box. A very, very small box.

It's true, we probably don't actively choose who we find hot, but we're not predestined to fall into neat boxes, either. That's just sexual calvinism and it's not very intelligent.

I stand by many of our social scientists that bisexuality may actually be the default (?) and most natural form of human/mammalian sexuality. Most other animals are known to exhibit mixed sexual behaviour rather than a strict homosexual or heterosexual lifestyle, after all. Homophobia seems to be uniquely human.

I think humans are mostly just sexual beings: Only a very small percentage of the species is actually into pure androphilia (love of males) or pure gynephilia (love of females). This nature, however, can sometimes be superceded by our societal or self-constructed biases (or both), as evident in our race.

Related to all this is the equation of sexuality with gender. Like, if you're a man and you like other men, you have to be effeminate. Almost just as silly as sexual calvinism, but I shall bore you with that at another time.

Nestle 100 Years "Pag-Ibig"

via youtube.com

This commercial is so cute and aww in so many ways.

On unapologetically ithyphallic gods.

Tomorrow is the Festival of Min.

According to the festival list in the temple of Rameses III, the festival of Min began on the new moon of Pakhons and lasted for four days. Representations on temple walls depict the Pharaoh hoeing the ground and watering the fields while Min looked on, and on this date, the start of the harvest season, the Pharaoh ceremonially reaped the grain. This is a time to celebrate the growth, fertility, and abundance that Min represents. If you have a garden, spend time in it. Get fresh vegetables and make a feast in his honor – especially lettuce as this is his sacred plant, said to be produced from the god's semen. Min is an unapologetically phallic god, therefore anything sensual, ribald, and downright sexy would be a great way to honor him at this time. Just be careful – he is very much a god of fruitfulness! [Neos Alexandria festival list]

Since it's nowhere harvest season where I live (at least not the primary crops), I think I'm going for the other aspect of this festival – especially after being alerted to this. Fucking blew my brain to bits, that.

Anyway, is anybody else celebrating the Festival of Min tomorrow? This is actually my first time to formally honour Min or any other Egyptian god other than Hermanubis (who is really Graeco-Egyptian). Also, is it just me or does Min bear striking resemblance to Frey? Any other ithyphallic gods of fruitfulness in mind?

Secrets of the Kapamilya newsroom - Mosquito Press

via mosquitopress.net

What could be truer! Applies to Kapuso et al, too.

Of love and beauty and Hellenismos.

via youtube.com

What could be more beautiful than getting married to the person you love, in the land that you love, in the ways that you love? I love everything about this video. Someone get me the title of that song!

Cutest kids ever.

via youtube.com

Stand Up! - Don't Stand for Homophobic Bullying

via youtube.com

Four things I feel about this video:
1. Don't stand up for any form of bullying, full stop.
2. I love that this is set in Ireland.
3. I was crying at the third minute, I had to pause.
4. Wouldn't this be a million times cooler if it actually happened? This should be shown in schools, like, seriously. I'm sure there isn't enough of this happening in real life, so I hope we can encourage the new generation to make a stand against ignorance, intolerance, and hate. Don't wait. Make the move.

Gratitude to Marlon Lacsamana for sharing this video. Please flood my Wall with more of this.

Child Witches Accused in the Name of Jesus

via youtube.com

What could be more urgent than to tend to our abused children who have to endure the painful consequences of their parents' ignorance? How many more thousand years do we need 'til we finally see Jesus' gospel of love manifest in his flock? What have these churches really done for Africa?

Thank you, Marlon Lacsamana, for sharing this video.

On Faith, God, and Faith in God.

This is what I mean, and I hope what other people mean, when I say that faith in God gets us through our problems:

• It is through our awesome family and friends and our own innate awesomeness that get us through life's adversities and struggles. This awesomeness is the immanent, pantheistic God.
• It is through faith in ourselves and faith in the people who love us that we have faith in God.

What I don't mean, and I hope what other people don't mean, is that:

• All help must come from a supposedly all-loving transcendental God who afflicts us with all sorts of maladies to "test" our faith. Cancer is there to test us if we can still have "faith" despite the unbearable pain, and tsunamis are there to remind us to return to God because we've all been so wicked. Either way, there's nothing we can do; it's all up to God.

Which do you think is closer to what you mean? More importantly: Which do you think is more rational and more applicable to the human condition?

Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English

via ted.com

I wholeheartedly agree with Ms Ryan. No language, and especially not one's own, should be pushed aside for the sake of the lingua franca. There is so much beauty and depth in our local languages, and yet so much stigma attached to their use in intellectual discourse. We all know why. The question is: What are we doing about it?

Gratitude to my friend Doni for sharing.

Afternoon muffins with Granny.

I am, at the moment, baking blueberry muffins with Grandmother. The aroma is killing me!

Hail Blueberry Muffins! Salve Vesta Mater!

Homosexual priest suspended for defending gay 'marriage' legislation in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, March 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Nicolas Alessio, a homosexual priest who denies the Catholic Church’s teachings on homosexuality and has publicly agitated for the approval of Argentina’s new homosexual ‘marriage’ law, has been suspended from his priestly functions following a trial by the Archdiocese of Córdoba.

In an interview following the ruling, Alessio said that he was refusing to comply with the suspension, which requires him to cease administering the sacraments, claiming that he owed obedience to his ultra-liberal order, which calls itself the Enrique Angeleli Group of Priests, and openly supports homosexual ‘marriage’. He told a reporter that only force could stop him from continuing in his duties at his parish

“I obey my community first, before him [Archbishop Carlos Ñáñez], and his canons and decrees and sanctions,” he said. He noted that the whole group has refused to comply with the archbishop’s order to retract their homosexualist position.

In a videotaped speech posted on YouTube, Fr. Alessio is seen at a rally in support of homosexual ‘marriage’ where he “asks forgiveness” for the Catholic Church for opposing the homosexual political agenda.

“First, I want to ask forgiveness because I belong to an institution that is still converting to the gospel of Jesus, a Jesus who never condemned homosexuality, who never condemned homosexual marriage, and, to the contrary, this same Jesus condemned the proud, the powerful, and those who discriminate.”

“I want to ask forgiveness for this institution that doesn’t want to lose power and still wants to manage our consciences, wants to manage the consciences of Argentineans, wants to dominate the consciences of all of those who want to live in freedom. I want to ask forgiveness for this Church that is not resigned to lose power and wants to impose its truths as if they were unique and absolute.”

Alessio openly acknowledges that he himself is a homosexual, and denies it is an illness based on his own experience.  “It not only is not an illness, it not only is not a deviation, much less a sin.  Homosexuality is a gift, it is a richness of nature, that must be recognized and respected,” he says in the speech.

In contrast to Alessio’s statements, the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual behavior is “intrinsically evil”—evil by its very nature—and that the homosexual orientation, while not a sin, is an “intrinsically disordered” attraction that must be resisted.

Appearing to endorse polytheism, Alesso goes on to say that “Those who speak, and believe themselves to have the authority to speak in the name of God (...) Please, the gods, the gods are more pluralist than we are.  The gods are liberty, the gods are love, the gods are a rainbow of diversity and the gods are with us.”

Argentinean television reports that sources within the Catholic hierarchy say that if Alessio refuses to obey the Church, he will be excommunicated.

via lifesitenews.com

I digress, but I am both surprised and excited that this Catholic priest said "gods".

Some good changes.

Just when you thought you had the perfect host, you meet posterous.com. Now, I no longer need to shut down my Tumblr because Posterous allows me to autopost to both my Tumblelog and Blogspot, and automatically shares it on my Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Although I'm a bit disappointed that their theme editor isn't as user-friendly as Blogger's (because I'm no CSS major), they had me at 'keep all your communities happy at the same time with a single service'. I'm easy to please.

I won't be importing -- ZOMG another awesome feature! -- old Blogger and Tumblr entries, though, so you may need to check the old hosts for my pre-2011 ramblings.

And no, nobody pays me to say these things. I genuinely like articulating these changes. Can everyone see the font I installed?

May Father Janus and Brother Mercury Cyberneticus bless this blog.

I have changed the blog's name to 'The Nomadic Mutt'.