MANGKOKOLUM!

NO THINKS for the mammary but it’s not what you thank, oops… Rather not suckle on fist-sized freshwater snails some folks call escargot— quite plenty of such in the river that feeds Bustos Dam in Bulacan. In years past, we used to gather a basketful or two of ‘em, gave the booty as peace offering to my father-in-law. In turn, he whipped out a spicy alchemy of coconut cream, ginger, chilies, and kangkong . The recipe is easy as pie. Saute: 5 cloves crushed garlic, 5-6 pieces minced lasona (shallots) and two thumb-sized ginger cut up in julienne strips. Next, dump-toss there 2-3 cups (no, no, not C- or D- or such cups that fit snugly onto an interesting female body part) of suso. As the wonderful juices ooze out of the suso —and such juices do seep as intense heat nudges suso to let its juices out—pour 1 cup coconut cream (the so-called kakang gata, hindi po kangkang yata ). Then, add 5-6 whole finger chilies ( siling pansigang, opo, hindi pangkalikot na daliri sa ...

MADALING maging tao—kahit sa tabi-tabi ubrang makipagdaupang-ari, may mabubuong tao. Maraming nakakarami sa tabi-tabi, sulok-sulok, gilid-gilid—sa gitna yata pinakamasarap na nalalasap. Mga anyong tao ang nabubuo. Pero hugis-tao pa lang. Hugis pa lang. Mahirap kasi ang magpakatao. Linawin natin: ‘Yun lang talagang tao ang ubrang makipagkapwa-tao. Kailangan munang maging tao para maunawaan ang kapwa tao. Payak lang ang pamantayan ng pagiging tao— na nagpapakatao. Nalimutan lang marahil na ang ganoong pamantayan ay mula mismo sa Tao Te Ching . ‘Landas ng kapangyarihan’ o the way of power ang tahasang katuturan niyon, isang sinaunang aklat. Kalipunan ang naturang aklat ng samut-saring panuntunan para makamit ang lubusang kapangyarihan at mainam na paraan ng pamumuhay. Tao = landas. Masikip na landas na kapag tinahak, tiyak na magiging madulas—lalo na’t kumakatas. Nagiging madalas. Magiging gawi’t bahagi ng gawa. Yung mga tumatahak sa ganoong landas o Tao ang talaga...

MAKAPITIK-BAYAG ang ulat na nangunguna ang Pilipinas sa kabaklaan sa buong Asia. Baka maiugnay ang pangunguna ng bansa sa buong rehiyon pati sa kabulukan sa gobyerno. May matinong halimbawa sa kalikasan. Walang alanganin ang kasarian sa lipi ng tilapia ( Tilapia nilotica, T. brassica ). Nagiging lalaki ang babaeng tilapia kapag kulang ang bilang ng kalalakihan sa pulutong. Nagiging babae ang lalaking tilapia kung kulang ang kababaihan. Karaniwang isang lalaki bawat limang babae ang kailangan sa pulutong para sa mainam na paglago nito. Oops: Kabilang ang tilapia sa mga hayup na may gulugod. Vertebrate. Mas marami raw aligi ang alimango, talangka o alimasag na bakla. Teka, kabilang ang mga ito sa mga animal na walang gulugod- invertebrate. Nabanggit ng balikbayang pinsan Sonny Ampil na may mga lokal na bakla na dumadayo sa Gitnang Silangan. Nagpapabarukbok sa kapwa bakla para sa dagdag na kita. Doon kasi, mabigat na parusa sa bulsa ng lalaki ang mag-asawa. Matindi ang presyo n...

PAULO COELHO’S best-selling novel, “The Alchemist” avers that any individual who musters his skills and strives to seek out his rightful place in the sun would surprisingly find that the entire universe and its manifold powers shall help him get there. For years, a popular Filipino broadcaster was continually urging the hapless among his listeners to draw an inventory of their skills and know-how. He admonished them to seek out at least 100 prospective employers that may avail of such unique capability. There’s a worldwide market out there for every skill. There’s a job assignment waiting to be filled in by the right man—or woman—and all it takes is two-bit tenacity to seek it out. Ah, the Scriptures are reassuring: “Seek and ye shall find.” The international definition of unemployment is “those who have no work and are looking for work. Not those who are unemployed and who do not wish to seek work.” The Department of Foreign Affairs clarifies that such an international...

Story 1. One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishl...

Tilaok sa bagong taon ILANG araw din na nabilad sa maghapong hagupit ng araw ang alagang halaman—‘buntot ng diyablo’ o ‘buntot ng dragon’ ang nakagisnang tawag sa naturan na kamag-anak ng gabi’t calla lily. Kahit sagana sa dilig, naluoy ang mga dahong may hugis buntot ni Lucifer na hawig sa larawang nakatatak sa nakagawiang paboritong inumin-- ‘yung marka demonyo. Pinakay, binungkal at binitbit mula pa sa Bundok Makiling ang naturang halaman noong nakalipas na semana santa. Disyembre 26, 2004 nang tila nanlupaypay na kasarian matapos labasan ang mga mala-buntot na dahon at tangkay. Nagkataon lang marahil. Hindi laging nasusubaybayan kung saang lungga napapasalaksak ang kuwan, oops, ang mga tangkay at dahon ng alagang buntot. Disyembre 26, 2004. Natapat lang sa lagim na haplit ng tsunami sa Indonesia at mga bansang bawat pampang ay hinihimod ng alon mula Indian Ocean. Ikibit-balikat na lang: nalalantad sa ibaba anuman ang nakalatag sa kaitaasan. Nakaukit ang ganoong pag...

Department of Energy records show that the country’s end-users and consumers burn an average 62 million liters (equivalent to 388,000 barrels of raw crude) of various fuel products in a day. Diesel, traditionally tabbed as “fuel for the masses” accounts for the second biggest share at more than 31 percent – about 18.6 million liters daily -- of the fuels used up. Bunker fuel which costs two or three cents more than crude oil takes 36 percent of the nation’s daily fuel consumption with power plants using up as much as 30 percent to generate electricity. Since the fuel of the masses runs jeepneys, buses, marginal fishermen’s boats, Benzes, Pajeros and the more recent makes of fuel-efficient cars, lawmakers whose hearts bleed for Filipino fuel users may opt to hack out a niche market in the fuel retail business and give Petron, Shell, Caltex, and 40 other new entrants in the oil industry a run for their money. Now, such a huge number of competing firms also means a huge number of...