Jay Leno

             Just half an hour before midnight
             And all your worries turn to flight;
             Your TV host--a jawsting knight!
            
             Laugh, chuckle, or just smile a bit,
             Ere grudgingly the sack you hit;
             No gloom nor tears need end your day...
             Out, Woe, fly away! Here comes JAY!
       

"Weather, weather,lang."

        "Weather, weather lang..." sums up the rise and fall of the high and mighty.   No one would have expected Joseph Ejercito (Estrada) to rise from his rather inauspicious beginning as an expelled student from the Ateneo de Manila to President of the Philippines.  Neither could the son of a poor 'provinciana' born out of wedlock be thought capable of becoming Senate President of our country.  Instances of those who fell from their rarified heights of power and glory come to mind, but I dare not mention names lest I cause anger and/or embarrassment to those involved and/or their kin...including undoubtedly at least one member of my own clan. By way of further summing up Estrada's observation:  "Weather, weather nga lang, pero ang magiging 'weather' or destiny mo ay nasa sa iyong kamay."  Your fate is in your hands.

Who to Blame

                     With the popularity rating of our President diving to record lows, I keep asking myself if it is fair to keep pointing the 'blame' finger at him. It seems people have forgotten that we have three separate branches of government:- the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Hence, if unpopular or bad laws were passed, the blame should be borne by the legislative branch. Perhaps, the President as Chief Executive may even refrain or refuse to implement or enforce a federal statute that he thinks will not be to the best interests of the citizenry. He may even ask the courts thru his subordinate executive officials to to rule on the constitutionality or legality of the measure (assuming that he had originally initiated or approved it in haste--as in the so-called universal health care law). Since many employers have evidently refrained from making any new-hires because of this new law, I think it is not too late for our leaders to take appropriate remedial action. Blaming the President is no remedy at all.

A Longer Life Span

              From the Science Channel hosted by Morgan Freeman (Channel 272 at Comcast), I gathered that the key to mankind's longer life span lies at the cellular level. The mitochondria which are supposed to accurately replicate our human cells (that die every ten days or so) become weak, unreliable with the passage of time. And the new or substitute cell that is supposed to replace the dead or dying one is not very accurately copied by its mitochondrium. There are trillions and trillions of cells in one human body with their corresponding mitochondria at their edges, surfaces, or rims. The cell 'copiers' must be kept healthy and strong by the individual who wishes to have more earth time to enjoy. Health gurus are correct in encouraging intake of good food as well as for us to exercise with moderation. In addition, a sunny, friendly disposition anchored in one's unshakeable faith in a Loving Creator should further add to the vitality of these cellular copiers.  Methuselah's secret lies in his spotless mitochondria.
            

WRECKAGE

              With age this physical body becomes a wreck,
              Retired from that rat race, I thought I got a break,
              Except that now I am feeling more aches and pains,
              Compelling me to use at times walkers or canes.
              Kneeling to pray becomes a risky enterprise,
              As without help I might not be able to rise.
              Goodbye to lithe and limber limbs that used to dance,
              Enough of rock; this old horse can no longer prance....
           

Demy's Complaint

        My friend, Demy, having read Thomas Paine's "The Age of Reason", has often sought to debate with Iglesia ni Cristo followers on biblical/religious issues, most of which really could be resolved if the literal or layman's meanings of the texts are avoided. To maintain, for instance, that Joshua actually made the sun stand still simply because God is all-powerful and can do anything is to argue like a child in pre-school. Like most poems on exploits of Roland or Ulysses, these tales were not meant to be taken as factual accounts but as epics of the imagination, romances, songs by poets or bards writing or performing for ordinary folk or shepherds sitting around their camp fire.
        There is one other topic, however, on which Demy becomes even more agitated.  When an Iglesia follower cannot give his contribution (tithe) in a given week, he is recorded as 'owing' for that week.  For how long or for how many weeks he will be recorded as 'owing', I am not sure.  Then he says, "I am willing to contribute a tenth, even a third, of what I have. But 1/10 of zero is zero. If God will make me win the Megamillion jackpot, I will give 1/3 of my winnings to charity, especially to the homeless street children in our country. But not to your church, because everybody knows your church is already very rich with so many 'sambahans' (temples or places of worship) all over the world.  What I can't understand is why churches' monies are tax-free while that new-hire at Macdonald's is subject to all kinds of taxes by the IRS and the State..."
         It does seem unusual that not only the Iglesia ni Cristo sect but most (if not all) organized religions have rich coffers, the Vatican's material wealth/treasures, for example)... When Christ advised that we give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's, I believe He was referring to us all. 
         Speaking for myself then, my sou is for Caesar, my battle-scarred soul - for God.

(Truth) SCAVENGERS

                         Some scraps of truth from yesteryears' buffet
                         Could be the scavengers' repast  today.
                         A new interpretation may contain
                         Vintage secrets that might ease doubt or pain.
                         Excitement mounts as truth seekers surround
                         New hypotheses at the Science mound...
                         Grant us a larger share of that bounty,
                         E'en though undeserved, O God Almighty!
                         Restore our faith; while we have much to learn,
                         Survival of our souls is our concern.

Warblers I (a list of red); Warblers II (real warblers)

         I          Wine after steak is for sipping.
                    Algae may mean red tides are coming;
                    Rubies are precious gems for admiring,
                    Blood sometimes spurting, then dripping;
                    Lips open softly ready for kissing,
                    Eyes due to sleepless nights or prolonged weeping;
                    Rose petals falling after two weeks of blooming,
                    Sunset - just another day dying...


        II         Weber, Josepha
                    Amelita Galli-Curci
                    Roberta Peters
                    Beverly Sills
                    Lily Pons
                    Edita Gruberova
                    Renee Fleming
                    Sutherland, Joan

HILLARY

                     Hillary, your task is monumental;
                     In your unending pursuit of global
                     Lasting peace, you have shown unwavering
                     Leadership and skill in maneuvering
                     Antagonistic views to one template.
                     Romp on to Vict'ry with a new nameplate:-
                     You deserve to be our new Head of State!
 

PARIAH

                 Perhaps, 'no deal' is best deal for rogue nations,
                 Avoid business or trade contacts with them all;
                 Regard them as totally non-existent.
                 Ignore or snub their crazy provocations.
                A tough talker is a big bluffer...  Just call
                His bluff;  His poison is mostly non-potent.


                                 (This comments on tyrants in North Korea, Libya, and their ilk.)

FUTILITY (Re- The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict)

                 Forbear! No human being need be slain.
                Uncertain what the 'dead' can do, refrain!
                To free a vengeful but immortal soul
                Incites him to do acts you can't forestall.
                Let patience and diplomacy explore
                In amity solutions short of war.
                The problem with using the coup de grace--
                You might be inducing Man's LAST HURRAH!

The Big Bang (a revised version)

              A few days ago, Morgan Freeman reported a new version of the Big Bang which incorporates the idea of parallel and/or muliple universes.  It is now hypothesized that our cosmos is on (or in) a brane (or membrane) and that there are other branes, much like leaves or pages in a book.  About 13.7 billion years ago, our brane and another (probably parallel) brane came into contact with one another (like two hands clapping), resulting in the Big Bang, such that enormous energy from that other brane exploded into and spewed forth into our brane, thus creating the present cosmos we are in now.  It is possible that the Big Bang spewed into our brane the three different forms of matter/energy that cosmologists have named, to wit:- 4% ordinary matter (like the stars, galaxies, solar systems, etc. that formed or solidified about 7 billion years ago);  then 21% dark matter, which holds galaxies, star clusters, solar and planetary systems together; and 75% dark energy, which is also invisible with strong gravity and could be the force that is causing galaxies to accelerate or fly away from one another in all directions. It could also be surmised that dark energy may have been ejected subatomic quanta with speeds faster than light. Although invisible to humans, these must have spread faster and accumulated or piled up at the very rim or edges of our 'brane', thus attracting or pulling our galaxies away from one another. The alternative theory that a stronger repulsive force came out of the 'singularity' 7billion yeaars after the 'Big Bang' thus causing the accelerated expansion of the galaxies is hard for me to swallow. Shouldn't it be simpler to concede that it is the Creator's own invisible energy that is causing this attraction and acceleration?
              Extrapolating further from the above hypothesis, allow me to surmise that that other or parallel brane which blundered or bumped into ours must have been inhabited by beings possibly mostly constituted of living non-material energy; hence, unlike us with mostly material/physical components.  These alien beings could be the unexplained UFOs that have been visiting our world through various locations on Planet Earth as well as on other solar systems in the Milky Way where their brane somehow continues to have some point of contact and/or entry to ours. I suspect these beings can sense the energy patterns of our thoughts or even the divine spark of our souls. They may have perceived the powerful potentialities still hidden from mankind's full awareness.  Are they perhaps waiting for our continued development and 'enlightenment' before they openly contact us and communicate with us? Perhaps, they know, as we ourselves all know, that we have reached a critical fork on the road of our earthly existence--one leads to global desolation and extinction, the other to mankind's near deification.  We are no longer brutes; I trust we would be able to make the wiser choice.

FIND THE TRUTH

          False beliefs are born out of Ignorance;
          Ignorance blindfolds edification.
         Next, more charlatans rise to dominance.
         Doubters then shy away from religion,
         Trust in God Almighty is eroded;
         Hedonism becomes modern man's goal.
         Efficacy of Faith is corroded...
         Time to focus on the world of the soul:-
         Rid your mind and body of all things gross;
         Use your will--accept God's invitation.
         Those worldly temptations are mostly dross.
         Heaven is your soul's true destination!

RELIGION

                 Religion must and does evolve in time;
                 Enlightenment should not be thought a crime.
                 Let not 'literal interpretation'
                 Ignore Truth based on solid foundation.
                Galileo's supposed 'heresy'
                In due course proved to be no fantasy.
               Our sacred books need new interpreters;
               No one should stand on crumbling sepulchers.

Global Economy

                  Go to the Philippines, build there your factory;
                  Lower labor costs will ensure your victory.
                  Overhead will not be as heavy as elsewhere,
                  Bright and industrious but jobless graduates are there.
                  Ask a corporate law firm to represent you;
                  Legal services will surely be needed too.
                  Expert skills learned from our top-rated schools abound;
                  Cast your hiring net where good workers can be found.
                  Out there, everyone understands and speaks English;
                  New hybrid words you might also learn--in Taglish!
                  Obviously, we love the American culture.
                  Many came here in search of a brighter future;
                  Yours truly, too--So thanks for Uncle Sam's nurture.

DEJA VU

                Did I just dream that I was king eons ago?
                Egyptian vistas in my sleep sometimes did show...
                Judge not too harshly please, a young boy's brief kingship;
                Almighty God alone I know we must worship.
                Vizier Ay and his cohorts were all mistaken.;
                Unum Deum, I never should have forsaken.

The Twin Towers

           That catastrophic day in September
           Has compelled all of us to remember
           Existence here on Earth is an ember
           That we may briefly use till De(ath)cember...
           We should not complain if life seems transient;
            In God we can trust; hence, be reliant.
           No cause to decry or be defiant.
           True, three thousand deaths, sudden and senseless
           Overcame the weak-kneed and the feckless;
           We do need His Strength, lest we turn godless.
            Each fallen sparrow, the Almighty knows;
            Riven from body, the soul also goes
            Swiftly back Home...where forever it glows!
          

MAGNIFICENCE

      My great-grandfather had a bamboo hut,
      A mansion it definitely was not.
      Golden-hued light bamboo, its walls were made;
      Neatly thatched cogon grass, its roof gave shade.
      Its floors a-gleam from vigorous brushing,
      Fine coconut husks were for polishing.
      It snuggled down the foot of a small hill,
      Close by a dense growth... I remember still,
      Every uncle and male cousin hid there;
      No enemy patrol would ever dare
      Come to hunt us at that enchanted place.
      Escape with me now, we will leave no trace...

PREEMPTIVE ACTION

     Prevent NOW nuclear proliferation;
     Rogue nations seeking world domination
     Espouse and support senseless destruction.
     Enough with sanctions and toleration;
     Might is right, if there's no other option!
     Protect our world, our civilization;
     Those who spill blood to spread their religion
     Invite their very own extirpation.
     Vendettas start between rival factions,
     Expand ultimately to locations
     Around the globe with newer weaponry...
     Can we be sure what's in their armory?
     To trust a group inured in savagery
     Is difficult; therefore, we must forfend.
     Our helping hand in friendship we extend,
     Not once but thrice...then: - "All good things must end!"

AUDACITY

           A beggar in rags stood by the church door,
           Unshaven, unappealing to the core;
           Despite his unsteady voice and facade,
           Apparently a mere dime made him mad.
          "Come. come, be a good sport," he retorted;
          "I know WE have much more...  Be comforted;
          "Tomorrow, a real treasure will be thine.
          "You see, more than a trillion worlds are mine!"
          

Thy Will Be Done

                  The reason why we have evolution:-
                  He loves and sustains His whole creation.
                  You ask:-  Then why nova, star destruction,
                  Whole galaxies destined for collision,
                  In earth years left our Sun, just five billion?
                  Let not the above cause desperation;
                  Look, from supernovae new stars are born.
                  Births, deaths, rebirths--events we cannot scorn,
                  E'en now, we pray to see a brighter morn.
                  Divine energy cannot be destroyed;
                  Our resurrection, we cannot avoid...
                  New Age for homo superior, we forecast:-
                  Eternal life and bliss with our Lord, at last!

Al Qaeda, Awake!

                    A group of Muslims led astray by Hate
                    Left a trail of death indiscriminate;
                    Quranic prohibitions not to kill
                    Are totally ignored as they did spill
                    Even the blood of innocent children,
                    Dishonoring 'Islam', their own brethren,
                    And dealing unto themselves this grim fate:-
                    A short and certain path to Saitan's Gate.
                    Why not change course and follow the mystic;
                    A Sufi suggested this old technique:-
                    Kill not your foe, make him instead your friend;
                    Enemies to friends, then all wars will end.