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24 December 2016

Merry Saturnalia or Jesus Put On Some Weight After He Came Down from the Cross (A Satirical Essay)

Santa Claus as illustrated in 
Puck (magazine)
Image part of public domain
Warning: This article contains some adult language that is not suitable for children

What is Christmas? For me, Christmas is a curious season for irony and paradoxes. In fact, like many people, I have noticed that Christmas has less to do with the humble man who was supposedly born on December 25. Instead, another man dominates the scenes. Santa Claus in his iconic red suit is the real king. He is the real Christmas symbolic deity that drives us to spend, and we comply blindly. If we do not, we feel guilty. “Oh dear, I have nothing to give this Christmas,” we secretly tell ourselves. Jesus of Nazarene is just the afterthought, maybe, after we feel guilty spending more than we should and consuming more than we need. So we say, “Praise the Lord” or “Peace on Earth.” These simple cliché phrases are enough to justify our over-consumption. Perhaps, it is only fitting that Santa, and all that he represents, overshadows the son of a carpenter because, after all, a beverage company originally designed and peddled this jolly overweight white man to the public.  Business comes first, above all else. Everywhere you go, we are encouraged to buy.  

11 May 2016

Calaguas, Camarines Norte: "Better Than Boracay but for How Long"

Calaguas, Mahabang Buhangin Beach
Travel Review

As the saying goes, you get what you paid for. For the first time, we went on vacation using a travel agency. The trip to Calaguas Island, Camarines Norte is around 10 hours, give or take, and so we felt that we might be wasting time if we opted to do a D.I.Y. trip. We were only available on Saturday and Sunday.

The verdict: Calaguas Island is beautiful indeed but the tour package that we availed was moderately satisfying. But then again, for 2,300 pesos, we get what we paid for.  This amount did not include the transportation cost. Other tour companies include transportation service and their overall cost is around 2,900 to 3,000. Mostly, you would be sharing a van with other tourists. We chose to rent our own van because we wanted to get a deluxe one that is more spacious and comfortable. We do not want to be stuck in a crowded van for 10 hours. That would be torture. We could have taken the bus but the van would take us directly to the port, and we do not have to run to the bus station to get a bus back home to Manila. The van that we rented is affiliated with the tour company.

NEVER AGAIN!

NEVER AGAIN!
Brun Philippines joins the nation in remembering the evils of Martial Law and the fight to bring to justice those who are responsible for the human rights violations and other atrocities committed

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