Between the Idyllic and the Pragmatic

Lord knows I don't really know what those terms mean and I'd hardly use them during conversations especially with Zaki. Still, I do believe that one of the most enduring conflicts that dominate childhood (or at least from an adult perspective) is how to thread the line between the fantasy stuff and what actually happens.

Coincidentally, there's a brilliant piece about the movie "Where the Wild Things Are" that essentially illustrates this dilemma.


Adding to that is how ever-enduring is the magic of Sesame Street - 40th year (photos), that people of all ages had come to embrace despite what what the hypercritical may label as 'politically incorrect'.


At the end, the lessons may not be as apparent as we'd like to learn at that exact moment, whether at the end of the film or TV show, because truthfully, we can all just trust time to do that. And it never fails.

Love then sit back. Enjoy the ride.

A Day in the LIfe

I read the news today oh boy

About a girl who had me turned away

And though each day just seems to pass

She always makes me gasp

In silence, I would laugh

Now there she stands across the floor

Could something better be worth living for

And if it seems that hopes' beyond

I'd just close my eyes

Could go on but certain that no words could capture all these thoughts

(Borrowing from John, Paul, George and Ringo) - Info

Probably the lowest I've ever felt happened three years ago in October.

Now, each day is, truly, a blessing.

Tau and Destructive Power of Love

Go ahead, Pacman! Enter politics. It would be better to have a brain that can be corrupted than remain the hero who in the future cannot even recall, why he is revered as such and at same time, wondering why he is still alive. Don't care whether you're doing it to help more people but by all means, realize that it's time to stop, no later.

Few of us would have the sense to recognize that we cheer brutality even if it's something that's happening right in front of our faces. Nowhere is it more apparent than in the field of boxing - which by all accounts remains to be the toughest sport there is. In a way, television has cushioned some of the violence that boxers endure while inside the ring because ask anyone who has watched ringside or has seen fighters spar that those punches thrown are by no means, just pitter-patter slaps.

I love boxing.

I admit, I have such high regard for boxers. Not only do they endure the most difficult discipline of training but even more, most do it for measly sums of money. It's as if it's a test of character, spirit and strength all rolled into one. Inside the ring, it's mana-a-mano. No weapons besides your hands and the skills developed inside the training gyms. It's a virtual mythology happening within your lifetime, of rising from ground up and conquering odds, conquering through all that life has thrown at you. Victory and recognition are fruits made sweetest by the unmatched physical pain boxers go through.

Yet, much as I am ecstatic to see my boxer pull through, the fact isn't lost on me that besides physical punishment, the losing boxer loses even some of his spirit.

But those are intangibles and waxing poetic about health won't move legislation nor blind sports passion. And until a concrete proof comes - that such contact sports do cause harm in a big way, can all of us really stop to consider the consequences of our actions or inactions.

I think that, finally, there's proof or at least I think research on Alzheimer's opened something. Malcolm Gladwell writes.

The stained tissue of Alzheimer’s patients typically shows the two trademarks of the disease—distinctive patterns of the proteins beta-amyloid and tau. Beta-amyloid is thought to lay the groundwork for dementia. Tau marks the critical second stage of the disease: it’s the protein that steadily builds up in brain cells, shutting them down and ultimately killing them. An immunostain of an Alzheimer’s patient looks, under the microscope, as if the tissue had been hit with a shotgun blast: the red and brown marks, corresponding to amyloid and tau, dot the entire surface. But this patient’s brain was different. There was damage only to specific surface regions of his brain, and the stains for amyloid came back negative. “This was all tau,” Ann McKee, who runs the hospital’s neuropathology laboratory, said. “There was not even a whiff of amyloid. And it was the most extraordinary damage. It was one of those cases that really took you aback.” The patient may have been in an Alzheimer’s facility, and may have looked and acted as if he had Alzheimer’s. But McKee realized that he had a different condition, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.), which is a progressive neurological disorder found in people who have suffered some kind of brain trauma. C.T.E. has many of the same manifestations as Alzheimer’s: it begins with behavioral and personality changes, followed by disinhibition and irritability, before moving on to dementia. And C.T.E. appears later in life as well, because it takes a long time for the initial trauma to give rise to nerve-cell breakdown and death. But C.T.E. isn’t the result of an endogenous disease. It’s the result of injury. The patient, it turned out, had been a boxer in his youth. He had suffered from dementia for fifteen years because, decades earlier, he’d been hit too many times in the head.

Which leads me to wonder if this was the cause of the behavioral changes that happened to Billy Collins after that tragic fight which ultimately led to his death. It was easy to attribute his broken spirit to the beating he took and failure to live to his celebrated potential thereafter.

Yet, it seems that what we have here is actually a direct correlation between head traumas and drastic behavioral changes which manifests as alcohol abuse, unexplained headaches and strange, out-of-the-blue violent outbursts.

I'm not sure how this will change sports such as boxing and football but people should know what they're cheering inside that sports arena and face the facts. Boxers, promoters, sports officials and sponsors are not entirely to blame.

We could be just as guilty as they are.

Related:
Kevin Iole on HBO's Assault in the Ring

PS: Also addressing it to you, Zaki, so you may not get the idea that Daddy is blood-thirsty as you may think just because he is a big boxing fan. Because, more than boxing, I care about boxers (and the well-being of all humans) even more.

Hans 2009

He probably would be the 2nd unofficial family member after marrying our dearest Neng - exactly when, I could not remember at the moment.

He mostly kept to himself but always ready to to help with whatever chore with never a hint of dismay. Always with a ready smile, he seems a content with how life is most often, a struggle to find a steady wage. Yet, his biggest enemy remains to be his asthmatic condition. For years, it has been such a pain with the suddenness of attacks which made it more difficult for him to do what he can do best - to work in construction jobs.

Alejandro or Hans finally succumbed to asthma just past midnight today. Although we never had much contact the past few months, he is very much in our thoughts, his company expected whenever we get a chance to go North Metro for a visit.

Seems we won't get a chance to see him or talk with him again soon. But with the works he has done, in my old room, our house and even here in Las Pinas, I'm sure we will never forget him. A pity Zaki didn't get to play with you as much as she wanted.

Bye, Hans.

Unconditional

Like most first-time parents raising kid/s, the urge to get it right often leads to plenty of research and book expenses. We're we for the better for it? Or was it all about approval for our parenting methods as a result of our own childhood experiences. In any case, I feel helpless and confused. Worse, Zaki would be the one who suffers the most.

There must be a better way. I'm not looking for perfect! Thanks, Alfie Kohn!

Septem-whirl

You may not be able to remember this in a few year's time, Zaki but this was one week where we spent consecutive days going on daily trips even as the rains kept pouring. Sure, it was a Monday holiday (in honor of Mr. E. Manalo who passed away just a few days prior to that), but we never did get some rest. Starting with the weekend, we just got ourselves into trouble going to Alabang and ended up going back and settling on SM Southmall.

Monday was no different as we both went to the office to retrieve some stuff I needed to bring early Tuesday morning for the Y4IT event. And it did not end there as after that, we proceeded to go to Nasugbu - Calaca in Batangas at almost 12 in the evening hoping to get a glimpse of the supposed apparitions at the pilgrimage site. And how memorable it was for the surprises that greeted us there at almost 2 am of September 8.

The rains were relentless and the ground wet with mud. Still, what was more surprising were the number of people who were there! Talk about devotion in pursuit of things of the spirit.

It was a miracle that none of us got sick after that arduous trek that I even went straight to work without the benefit of sleep that almost lasted 37 hours. I was worried that we would be putting you in harm's way by letting you come with us but again, it wouldn't be the same going without you.

Then, of course came another special day - you're Tito Mike's and Tita Sharon's wedding. Nothing special if it were not for the fact that you'd be the flower boy, err, girl. It was pretty memorable topped off by the loss of my wallet containing not only IDs and a ATM payroll card.


Shall we do it again soon?

I certainly hope so and the sooner the better to make those pilgrimages. Otherwise, you may well be carrying dad and not the other way around. And if we can do some other things besides offering eggs for a better weather, then we'd be doing ourselves (and our laundry) a great favor.

CAH and it's weight in Gold

Controversy on the Caster Semenya case ... Debate will be either philosophical or scientific/medical standards. Debating sex ...

Brings to mind the past and quite possibly, what athletes who have CAH has in the future.