What Works: Pre-Packed Baked Goods

In the early 1990s we were wowed by the Whammo’s brand of snack cakes. I believe this is the chocolate version of the American Twinkies. The price was a bit high but we did not care, the delectable chocolate fudge-filled mini cakes went down great and leaves us with a sweet feeling all over. With Whammo’s you can have your cake and you can take it with you anywhere and of course eat it too. Soon enough local companies picked up the beat and started coming out with their own version of the snack cakes. They are sweeter and cheaper and they come in interesting varieties.

Today Rebisco (the leading local biscuit maker) leads the pack in offering a wide range of pre-packed baked goods. Their products are a big hit with all markets. Mothers want them for their kids, teenagers gobble them up to keep energized, adults bring them to work for a little something during their coffee breaks and the elder set are totally sold to these sweet, soft and fluffy mini cakes for snacks or desserts.

These mini-cakes turn up in peculiar places as well. They are served at parties and conferences and they have replaced the biscuits served at wakes. The packaging fares well during all types of weather and can endure the highest temperatures in the country. They compact size makes them very easy to carry along. Packed in bulk they can stay in a cupboard or an office drawer for a long time.

My favorite snack cake brand is the Fudgee Barr, shaped after the Whammo’s and the Twinkies, this cake is great for satisfying pangs of hunger that get us at certain times of the day. The cake tastes really good and they are quite cheap at around PHP6.00 a pop. Flavors are chocolate, vanilla, mocha and milk, plus the popular local flavors of macapuno (soft coconut meat) and buko-pandan (coconut-pandan leaves) as well as the weird smelling durian (jackfruit) flavor. The cake is lined with pastry paper lining making it easy to handle as the mess is kept at a minimum. This snack definitely works for me.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

What Works: A College Diploma

Like it or not a College Diploma is a really big deal in this land of ours. All those stories of farming families selling their cattle or land just to send their eldest to school seems to have left a real and lasting impression on all Filipino families who can envision a better future. My parents never even had a chance to go to college but all seven of us siblings were given the chance to earn our diplomas.

Even with the advent of careers in call centers that do not require applicants to have a college diploma, those who do have stand a better chance at getting hired. There is no logical explanation linking livelihood with a college degree but I think the college degree becomes less and less important as a person’s wealth grows. Yet a lot of undergraduates, however successful or wealthy or intelligent they are still get defensive when the subject of their education background comes up. As if all the money and wisdom in the world could not make up for the lack of a college degree.

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When it comes down to it, a college degree is just as good as the person possessing it. These days it is not enough that you look good on paper you have to be able to exhibit the ability to deliver results. Today the battle is between those who can think big and those who can actually do big. One may have the most brilliant ideas stored up in their heads but if it stays there then it’s worth absolutely nothing.

Diploma or not a person desires to make a dent in this world. A college degree may give one the illusion of being better than others. It is dangerous though if one gets sucked into the illusion and expect something to come out of their college degree with only a minimum effort on their part. They will be jolted by the reality that the world owes them no favors. They might be surprised that only hard work and equanimity will get them from point A to point B the fastest. But still it cannot hurt to have a college diploma. It is after all an investment that will never depreciate and can never be taken away from you, except perhaps if you got a lobotomy.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

Facing the Music: The Manila Hostage Taking Crisis

Tragedies like the August 23, 2010 hostage taking turned-carnage at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila has the power to leave a nasty taste on everyone's palate that is difficult to dispel. Somewhere in the middle of the 12-hour crisis everyone assumed it was nearing resolution but things went south as the hours passed. How will the Philippine government explain the events of that fateful night?

I am a proud Filipino, I love my country I love my people, I believe in my government. But even I can't help but cringe at the ineptness of the people who handled the hostage crisis. I started following it on the news around 5:00 PM Manila time and was mildly surprised at how long it has gone on as it started around mid-morning. As a spectator, the demands of the hostage taker was the first thing I wanted to know. Ex-Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza wants to know the decision of the Ombudsman on his case. He got embroiled in an extortion charge and was relieved of his duties in 2008. He is set to retire next year and stands to lose his benefits if found guilty. Another demand is his reinstatement to his post. (He has been a police officer for 11 years and received recognition and citations for doing his job.)

In other words he was a desperate man. How he knew about the tour bus carrying Hong Kong nationals on their last day of a leisure holiday in Manila is beyond everyone. I don't think the investigation has gone that far yet. He hijacked the bus in Fort Santiago and took it to its last destination, the Quirino grandstand where just a few weeks before, incoming Philippine President Benigno Aquino III (Noynoy) took his oath of office.

The Philippines is not new to hostage taking but more often than not these events end with the hostage-taker losing his life and the hostages living to tell their tale. This could have been the outcome of the Monday hostage drama. It had all the indications of being resolved. If you watch all those US police crime series you would think that Mendoza is the type of hostage taker the police would want to deal with. His demands were quite simple, a ruling on his case and his reinstatement to the force. His actions indicated that he is disinclined to resort to violence. He released a total of 10 hostages (children and the aged) to show good faith. Let us not forget though that he is a desperate man out to kill and be killed, the mere action of taking innocent people at gunpoint would indicate that. One does not need a specialty in criminal profiling to know that measures need to be taken to ensure that he does not get more agitated and angry than he already is.

Going South, Turning Sour

Things started to go downhill after he trashed the document he received from the Office of the Ombudsman saying that his case will be given a 10-day priority review and ruling. This was around 5:00 PM. He started losing his calm demeanor especially after his brother Gregorio also a police officer (who was helping the negotiators) fueled Mendoza's anger by suggesting that Mendoza demand the return of Gregorio's firearm taken by the police earlier in the day.

Mendoza finally lost it when he watched his brother cause a scene and resist arrest. I think this is where the first big mistake happened. It was reported that Mendoza was monitoring the events on the television inside the bus and saw his brother's emotional outburst to the media about being arrested. This was the start of the end of the crisis and everything was caught on TV as the whole world watched.

The Tune of the Aftermath

How the police can make a poor job of rescuing the hostages from a lone gun man is the niggling thought on everyones mind. It was in mine at least as I watched outraged at the ineptness of our Special Weapons and Tactics team (SWAT). It is plain to see that they were too afraid to take on Mendoza even after he has started shooting his hostages. Much of the tentativeness of the assault team was clearly due to the fact that they were ill-equipped to undertake an assault. Most of the men on the team had no helmets, no Kevlar vests and only had handguns. After gassing the bus they were unable to storm in immediately as they had no gas masks. They used sledgehammers that could not break the fiber glass at one go, they used a rope to pul out the bus door and the rope broke (wasn't there a chain anywhere?). It took them almost an hour to subdue Mendoza after he opened fire on the hostages. It also took a while to get to the survivors and bring them to safety.

Facing the Music

After watching the sorry events that took almost 12 hours I believe the anger and resentment felt by the Hong Kong people is warranted. Now every move that our government makes towards appeasing the anger of Hong Kong is met with suspicion and skepticism and anger. Even President Aquino's smiles during interviews and press conferences after the event were highly criticized. Every little move...

I still believe that the Chinese people is intelligent enough to see through the shortcomings of our police force to our genuine grief and remorse over the whole affair. Nobody should have to go through what the hostages went through that night, it is really a painfully sad event. And indeed we are facing the music as best as we can. Five police leaders have been sacked for the major errors in judgment committed on that fateful night. Profuse apologies have been made left and right and the resolve to improve our capabiilties has never been stronger.

Our President is not making light of the events, he simply cannot afford to, and he is after all of Chinese descent (his middle name is Cojuangco). He may need to school his features when speaking in public. I have noticed early on that his smile is very similar to his sneer, a trait that he shares with his father former Senator and national hero, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. I have seen some of Ninoy's speeches and interviews against Marcos and noticed that he masks his anger with a sneer that is masked in a smile.

This is the most serious problem facing our nation at this point, my hope is that we learn our lessons well. I pray for the ones who did not make it and I hope the flames of anger and strong emotions will not be fanned by careless comments, hasty judgments and further missteps as we face the music.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

beyond sadness

The hardest to deal with are the tears that won't fall. They stay gripping the heart, squeezing it tightly and never letting go. So after you have shed oceans of tears for mountains of reasons the soul is still weary like an old man stripped of all glory. The inside is empty and hollow. Like a gaze that penetrates but does not comprehend. I wonder if anyone else recognizes this texture of sadness when it shrouds their lives. This is worse than losing a loved one or getting your heart broken because at least there is the visceral pain that accompanies these kinds of sadness. Pain is something that everyone can relate to because its almost alive, almost tangible. This barren grief though cannot be described and cannot be named. Empty and hollow, it does not inspire suicide, no, that would have been too easy. This sadness drags you by the hair kicking and screaming to imprison you to a state of nothingness. It does not inspire anger, just resignation and it draws a bleak shade on everything that used to be happy and bright and it stays. Keeping watch, waiting to pounce again and again without warning.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

James Cameron's Avatar

I feel I need to watch this again to give it the attention it deserves. What I've got at home is a crude cinema copy which I bought just to be able to say that yes, Ive seen the film. I did try my best to pay attention to the story, the effects as you would expect was lost to me, none of the magic comes across when you're watching a crude cinema copy. After a few minutes to the movie, I was bored but the movie buff in me tried to hang on because often the good ones start a bit slow. On the half-hour mark, I threw the towel. Not this wasn't the Avatar that was crocked up to be, I mean everybody, every single person I spoke to loved it. I on the other hand simply didn't get it. It kind of reminded me of that old television series where humans lived with an alien race, was that V? Well I hated that series, something about humans canoodling with aliens is just off-putting to me. I want my aliens to be the enemies, like in the X files. I want them to be bad and destructive not sensitive and intelligent. So I should like Avatar right? Because in this film the tables were turned, it was us humans wanting to subjugate an alien race. Hope I got that one right.

So I didn't get it and I'm a bit bemused because I'm usually sold to the mainstream popular stuff. Somehow I feel I owe everyone an apology for not liking it one bit. But I'm willing to give it another shot, hopefully with a clear copy or even inside a movie house.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

Christmas Classics

It is a given fact that the holidays bring back fond memories of the people who are no longer there to celebrate it with. At my family's Christmas dinner we all particularly miss our mom. We also miss our antics every time mom goes through her sacred ritual of cooking the Christmas meals (for they are many) and then later on having guests over during Christmas. I don't know if anyone else does it like my mom but she is Martha Stewart crossed with General Patton in the kitchen at Christmas and all the other family gatherings we've had.

For instance she and only she gets to pick the food for the feast. Oh sure we can all make our little requests of what we wish to see on the table, but ultimately, she does the menus (for they are many). Our neighbors and relatives always anticipate what we're serving. Mommy has a lot of protocols when it comes to her cooking, and she has trained us well on keeping to the program. To sum up what she demands from us, it is to get out of her way and let her do her thing, but always be available for when she needs assistance.

After our Christmas dinner the other day, me, my sisters and their children were gathered around in the living room just chatting and connecting to each other. Our conversation turned to how mom was during the holidays. We all agreed that she was the best cook we all knew. She only buys the best ingredients, did not scrimp on the mayonnaise in salads, her menudo did not have even a smidgen of pork fat, she hates extenders and any other cost-cutting schemes when it comes to the food that she cooks. Absolutely no one is allowed to hover on the table while she's cooking unless you want to hear an earful on right conduct. After she's done with the stuff that needs to be refrigerated, no one is allowed to open the fridge, even for drinking water.

Since we're a huge family of seven siblings, our mom has taught us the art of making ourselves scarce once the guests arrive. We either eat in the bedroom to lessen the traffic downstairs or we wait for the guests to finish eating before we can eat. In a huge household you learn to make room. I didn't mind, in fact I was quite content listening to the conversations through the stairs. At some point she'll call on us to introduce us to the guests, and to answer their questions politely. Who needs charm school when you've got a mother who teaches us how to conduct ourselves in front of other people (I guess the correct word is decorum, and I think its sorely missing in the youth of today).

How I miss my mom, the good food, the wisdom, the love only a mother could give.

Author: Monie Maunay
email: buddygallagher@gmail.com

when you've made your bed you can still complain for sure

it could be discontent, chasing rainbow's ends...ho-hum its a slow sunday evening-monday morning. If you're still up at this hour chances are you're glued to a good re-run on HBO or you're thinking of your life or what's become of it. Well I'm watching the very first (and I think the best) Batman movie. Michael Keaton is the best Batman far as I'm concerned. Jack Nicholson, the better Joker by far.

Up next is Twilight Zone the Movie! Me oh my and on Christmas time at that! I remember this film quite well, John Lithgow's plane hallucinations really stuck to my memory. I also distinctly remember the line "...wanna see something scary..." Of course it didn't hurt that the film had this remarkable song also called Twilight Zone, by the Manhattan Transfer. But this film became known in history for the accidental deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two very young Vietnamese extras while shooting scene.

A while ago I was at the nearest mall from my place, its called Cash and Carry and its about as busy as any mall would be during xmas time. I wanted to get gifts for my nephews and nieces and did manage to purchase about five items. So my gift list has been trimmed down to about 24, and this is just my family, but on the other hand its already the 19th and I have work till the 24th so that's that.

What really caught my attention was the small conversation I overheard from three or four teens outside our house while I was waiting for transport. Now these are your regular public high school kids. In this part of the planet, we are notorious for looking down on our noses at the quality of public school education, even more so if the subject is English. But this scene I witness gave me hope that maybe finally, our youth is getting better in speaking English. So one of the teens is buying something in the store and her friends, who were a couple were walking towards her holding hands. Soon as she spots them she shouts "Ang cheesy nyong dalawa!" (You two are so cheesy). Well I didn't know that teens use this expression these days, that's really something I think.