The wanderer's journey through minimalism and simplicity, discovering the wonders of every day, smelling the sweet aroma of arts and literature,enjoying the gifts of friendship, and the loveliest beauty of nature--he keeps on wandering and wondering.
"Tous pour un, un pour tous" (all for one, one for all)~from the Three Musketeers.
When we were young and unafraid; in our hearts
sprung eternal longings. We were ambitious as a bald eagle that soared the
clouds above Mt. Apo. We chased for the desires of our hearts. We swung our
swords up high and sought bounties in the high seas. Sometimes we fell but we
were not cast down. In this battleground of life, we were warriors. We wanted
to toil in the battlefield. We loved to batter the enemies’ airships with
treacherous muskets. We all wanted to be musketeers!
But as the years passed by, and the ipil-ipil
tree grew taller while more candles adorned our cakes; we started to get
settled (contrary to Steve Jobs’ advice from that famous commencement speech:
“Stay hungry, stay foolish... Don’t settle”).
But we settled anyway, on a cool dark theatre,
perched in a comfortable, cozy, black sofa chair in front of the big screen.
That new exquisite couch is one of the cool additions to an otherwise ordinary
Cinema. We lie comfortably on our backs, as we ate a box of pizza, washed down
with calamansi juice. Never had I been amazed with the Cinema chairs until I
experienced this one! I imagined I would've had slept comfortably but the
whooshing of swords and booms of the muskets kept me alert.
So here we are watching a prairie scene where a
country boy bids farewell to his parents. He is going to Paris to realize his
dream of being a Musketeer. When his father is about to give his parting words;
The young D’Artagnan cut him off, promising that he is not going to get into trouble.
But his father told him that he should run into trouble sometimes. Behold, as
it was quoted countless of times; to grow old and wise, we must be young and
stupid.
Teka-teka...
Ilang bundok ang aking naakyat
Maraming pagkain ang saki'y nagpabusog
Libu-libong litrato ang nakolekta
Mga kweba, ating sinuong
Lumangoy pa tayo sa malamig na bukal,
at nagtampisaw sa batis ng talon
Sabay nating pinakinggan ang tunog ng mga kuliglig
Habang naglalakad kasama ang mga bituin
Mabangin, mabato, maputik man ang tinatahak
Sino ba ang kasa-kasama?
Tumulay pa tayo sa maliit na kable
at lumakbay sa kung saan-saan
Natulog tayo sa lilim ng hamog
Sa pulbos ng puting buhangin,
tayo'y nagtampisaw,
habang banayad na dinuduyan ng alon ang mga isda
Sabay nakita ang mga diwata ng dagat
nang ating itong sisirin
Dumaan na tayo sa mga iskinita
at lumipad ng higit pa sa mga ibon
At ating dinungaw sa bintana ang alapaap
at lumapag sa malalayong isla.
Sa paglalakbay, at pakipagsapalran
Ika'y kasama
Pero higit pa sa mga magagandang lugar
ay ang mga masasayang awitin at tawanan
Kung may mas masarap pa
sa sisig sa tuktok ng Batulao;
mapapasayaw ka rin ba sa ibabaw ng papag?
Mas may nakakatuwa pa ba sa magdamagang kwentuhan
at kantahan, at kulitan?
May mas hihigit pa ba sa mga halakhak,
May lalabis pa ba sa galak
at sa tuwa, sa pagkakaibigang tunay?
Ang mga ito ba'y nangyari kaya
Kung di tayo nagkasama?
----- Para sa maraming summit pang aakyatin At maraming beaches na lalaguyin At sa maraming tea party-party Sa maraming pictures Sa maraming beers, Sa marami pang 'crunchy' Sa lahat ng walking distance At sa walang kasing sarap na wines --maligayang bati sa nadagdag pang taon ng pagkakaibigan.
For "songs that come free from the blue-eyed grass, from the dust of a thousand country roads" "For ancient evenings and distant music", "For high plumage and southern winds", "For the perigrines, the strangers, last cowboys."
"Ang mundo ay isang napakalaking Quiapo, ang daming
snatcher, maagawan ka, lumaban ka! "~Carmi Martin’s character in No Other Woman.
Noother choice but to linger for a while. The rain is still
pouring heavily outside making it impractical to go home yet. The bookstore
doesn’t seem inviting either. I better roam around first. I notice two old
people talking to the cashier at the Cinema’s ticket counter. I nose around,
pretending to check what’s Showing. The old man hands an ID and signs the log
sheet. In Makati City, senior citizens can watch movies for free. It’s sort of
the Country for Old Men “Ganito kami sa Makati!”
A few minutes later I
am inside the Cinema; the earhty-smell permeating the air.
Then the film rolls.
The gorgeous Anne Curtis occupies the big screen as you try not to drift to the
dream land of fantasy where Anne is your mistress. And you teleports to a
care-free, high-flying resorts lifestyle of the character Anne portrays.
No
Other Woman: a cocktail of fashion, butt shots, under cleavage, feisty bikini
cat fights, and the all time one-liners.
The new box-office hit, eclipsing the
previous top grossing films like Tanging Ina and Tanging Yaman; fulfils the
viewer’s fantasy of “bawal na pag-ibig”, with the sexy blend of trendy fashion,
carefree lifestyle, saucy bed scenes, and a lesson or two about the
consequences of having an affair. It effectively connects with the viewers.
Aside from joining the gig of infidelity
movies of the quarter (My Neighbor’s Wife, Friends with Benefits, etc.); it
brings to mind the recent incident involving the much-publicized confrontation between
a woman and her cheating husband in one of the malls in the metro. That video
went viral and was even commented upon by one of the characters in the movie
citing that women today are becoming more aggressive in fighting for their
relationships. In the movie, the women are portrayed as strong individuals
battling for their love. The battle is not like the low-class, violent confrontations
we witness in real-life; but a contest of wit and character, and a cat fight
with a touch of style and fashion. It’s a sparring of showcasing who has the
trendiest bikinis and the exchange of sharp one-liners (a staple of tagalog
box-office movies).
No Other Woman is a story about a gorgeous resort
heiress, Kara Zaldriaga (Anne Curtis) who lives by the mantra: no strings
attached. Living a liberated lifestyle, she gets into relationships with men
and leaves them the moment they fall in love with her—a violation of her “rule”.
She meets Ram Escaler (Derek Ramsey) -- a young business man building a
family--who is there hoping to grab the contract to be the furniture supplier
for the resort. She gets involved with him; and as her luck turns out, he is a
married man. She dismisses the idea that they are having an affair stressing
that she is not his mistress. One would only become a mistress if there are
emotions involved. They are just two consenting adults having fun. Yet as the consequences
unfold, the two becomes too attached to each other, sinning deliciously. Kara inevitably
falls in love with Ram and ponders the question: “What would you do if the man
you’re in love with is already married?” She vows not to give up without
putting up a fight. Earlier than that, she boasts that she is not a mistress
and never will be. It makes one recall the line by John Lloyd Cruz in his hit
movie with Sarah Geronimo: “I am not jealous, I was never jealous! Ngayon lang.”
The meek yet feisty Charmaine Escaler (Cristine
Reyes) discovers that his husband is having an affair. Encouraged by the witty
Carmi Martin (Charmaine’s mother who’s sharp lines becomes viral), Charmaine
decides to assert her status being the legitimate wife and fight for her
marriage. Cristine Reyes is criticized for not faring well like Anne does in
terms of acting, “sexy-ness” and looks. Yet, one would be in awe at how
stunning and ravenous she looks on the confrontation scene in pool side; where
the two hot girls clad in their two-piece’s are about to have a cat fight. Kara,
on the other hand, wears a snake-skin printed bikini, that exquisitely shows
her under cleavage (or Australian cleavage as defined by Wikipedia); to which Charmaine
bitch-slapped, “Bikini mo ba yan, o balat
mo?” There’s no argument however, that the movie is all about Anne Curtis—it’s
her shining moment. And it’s not surprising that the “princess of all media” is
would be the new box-office queen.
Love
triangle, Extra-marital activities, and car accidents
Ram (Derek Ramsay) serves a cautionary tale
about infidelity and its consequences. He is just a man trying to build his
career and family whose reputation got tarnished when he yields to temptation. One
single adulterous act almost ruined his dreams, his marriage and his life. Derek
Ramsay’s movie is somewhat similar to that of her real-life girlfriend, Agelica
Panganiban’s movie (with Aga Mulach and Maricel Soriano)—A Love Story. Shown in
2007, A Love Story is also about a love triangle involving extra-marital
affairs. The difference is that, in No Other Woman, the characters are not
presented as victims but strong individuals battling for their love.
It also makes us recall I Love You, Goodbye.
A 2009 Tagalog movie of almost similar theme—starring Gabby Concepcion,
Angelica Panganiban and Derek Ramsay—where Derek’s character was run over by a
car. His death ends the infidelity, and makes the characters come to their
senses; which is similar to what happened in No Other Woman, except that in the
latter, he survived the car accident. It’s so formulaic of romantic tragedy to
have the characters die in a car crash. Now it brings to mind Anne Hathaway’s
character in One Day and Luis Manzano’s character in In My Life.
Several miles away, in Quezon City a boy is trying to
convince his parents to watch a movie with him. His parents are not persuaded
so he took a ride to the nearest mall--the one where that infamous shooting
incident took place. When he presents his ticket, he is asked to show his ID to
prove his age. (Though the movie is rated A by the Cinema Evaluation Board; it
is rated R-13 by MTRCB). When he enters the theatre, he is surprised it is half
empty. He can only hear the suppressed giggles of the invisible crowd concealed
in the dark as the characters throw their one-liner. But when the light switches
on, he realizes that the Cinema is almost full.
It is the first time he watch a movie alone.
He goes home to tell his little adventures. I remember, I watched the movie by
myself, too. Thanks to the downpour.
Then he asks: “Ano ba ang mas mahirap kalaban,
‘yong putang mahirap o ‘yong putang
mayaman?”
I am compelled to answer: “Pare-parehong puta
lang yon. Yong mayaman bumibili ng Hermes sa mall; yong mahirap, bumibili ng Hermes
sa Greenhills”.
"What the caterpillar calls the
end of the world, the master calls a butterfly."~Richard Bach (Illusions).
"If
nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies".~Unknown.
The tweet.
Since I can't think of anything to say, I posted it it in my Google+.
Celene got a very interesting thoughts about it.
It started with a tweetfrom a friend who asked me to ponder on
a quote which struck me as a coincidence since I posted the same quotation in
my Facebook status at the height of end-of-the-world brouhaha. I reckoned it’s
from one of my books so I scrambled to find it. Then, there it is! Included as
one of the maxims in the Messiah’s
Handbook & Reminders for the Advanced Soul—a kind of a bible for
masters—is the same quote she was asking me about. I brought the book to the
office and read it between calls, during breaks and even during team meetings;
yet I couldn’t fathom what that quotation means. I put the book inside my cute
backpack and went home after my shift. While sitting in a jeep, I felt
something cold on my thigh and was horrified that my trousers were wet, like I peed
on my pants. My bag was dripping. I realized I didn’t properly close my supposedly
leak-proof water bottle. Everything inside my bag was soaking wet. The Illusions, a thin paper back absorbed
most of the water and became a damped fat book.
Illusions:
The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
The book is a journal of the adventures and
reflections of a pilot who flies an old biplane both as a passion and for a
living. The narrator, Richard is a skilled mechanic and a pilot. He is doing
his hobby in solitude until he meets Donald Shimoda, another barnstorming pilot
who identifies himself as a reluctant messiah. From then on they become
partners in their trade, travelling from town to town selling rides—three dollars
for ten minutes in the air. As they rest between flights, they talk about the
ways of life, and exchange wisdom about reality. Donald is a weird guy who later
becomes Richard’s teacher. Donald got tired of his celebrity status and would
like to quit being a messiah. It is probably the reason why he passes his
knowledge to someone who may be a potential successor. Since then, they fly
biplanes together. Richard benefits from the team up, raking more money than what
he is able to make before.
The first chapter of the book looks like a facsimile
of Richard’s greasy journal which attracted me to buy the book from Booksale. The
story is a follow up of the best-selling Jonathan
Livingstone Seagull and carries almost the same tone. It appears like the
narrator in the novel is Richard Bach himself. Richard Bach is said to be the descendant
of Johann Sebastian Bach, the famous baroque composer.
The Illusions
can be likened to The Alchemist in
terms of allegorical representation. Richard Bach uses the student-teacher
relationship to convey his philosophical views in the book. A pilot in real
life, it is said that the story is about his earlier days in flying, and that the
two main characters in the story are two versions of himself—one being the
young and adventurous Richard, and the wiser and content Donald.
After serving in the air force, Richard Bach became
a real-life barnstormer. He also became a technical writer for a magazine about
flying. His novel, the Illusions was published in 1977 (according to
Wikipedia). The novel features quotes from the Messiah’s Handbook: Reminders
for the Advanced Soul, which includes the passage my friend tweeted abut.
Caterpillars
and Butterflies
The narrator challenges our perception of
reality. What we consider a reality may just be an Illusion. Reality, as is implied in the quote, is a matter of
perspective: “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls
a butterfly.”
Change can either be beneficial or
detrimental—usually, it is both. Change, then is a matter of perspective. And
when you say change, you will most
likely think of a butterfly, a mariposa.
And when you think of a mariposa, you
will most likely think of Rustom. (I actually think about Keana urinating in
the PBB garden). Seldom does one think of oneself as a caterpillar. We prefer
to associate change to a butterfly,
which resembles a positive transformation—how’s that for a better perspective!
It all boils down to whether you are the
master or the caterpillar. If you are a gross, squishy little creature; you
will find change as unlikely, depressing, the Dark Ages, the end of the world.
But if you are the master, you will flap your wings and fly with it, like a
butterfly hopping from one colourful flower to the next, you will savour the
sweet nectar of the morning blooms. When the day turns to dusk, you will find yourself
restful. As the darkness turn to dawning, you are full of excitement. When the
clouds cover the sun, and thunder rolls as you walk down the beach; you are thankful
that you don’t need to apply sunblocks anymore. When the storms of life come,
your spirits does not wither and your
hopes springs eternal knowing that there’s a rainbow always after the rain.
And there’s a pot of gold at the end of
the rainbow!
It started with a parableabout a village of river creatures that clung tightly to twigs and rocks
at the bottom of the great crystal river. One of the creatures got bored of
clinging endlessly and decided to let go letting the currents take him wherever
it’s going. It was difficult for him at first. He tumbled and fell; and the
other river creatures ridiculed him for what he did. He refused to do what
everyone was doing and allowed the current to lift him. He was free like a
bird. When the other river creatures saw him, they thought they saw a miracle,
a saviour; they begged him to save them. But he replied: “"I am no more
Messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go.
Our true work is this voyage, this adventure."
In their
adventures, Richard saw Donald made the wrench float in the mid-air. We can
lift ourselves above the clouds if we will ourselves to do so. We don’t need
biplanes to fly. And we don’t have to go somewhere else to find a messiah. As
the beginning and ending of the book say: “There was a Master come unto the
earth, born in the holy land of Indiana…” We don’t even have to search the town
and swooped down to meet the messiah. Maybe we just have to look within
ourselves. Have you found your messiah?
Sources: Wikipedia and the book itself
(Illusions: The Adventures of the Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach). Thanks also to Celene who give her more than two-cents on the subject. Follow her at Google+.
