"Fake it until you become it!"

That's an advice that many of us may have to start using as one of those tools. That's because it's a way to recognize those who have influences us one way or another. That's how babies learn a lot of very critical and basic activities that they need so they will be able to grow and become adults, and be able to serve their purposes as to why God created them. But we have to stop at a certain point in time in using "faking" or else, we will be thought of as fraudsters by many, inadvertently. We got to learn to come up with our own style following our own selves, our inner directions, our very being. Just remain thankful for your sources of how you faked it until you become it, literally. You can actually make plenty of changes along your journey of faking it.

SHAMELESS PLUGS:

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Fishing at the Brooklyn Bridge Park

I took a walk along the Brooklyn Bridge Park today and saw that a man has just caught a big striped bass. It was still breathing, with its gills still moving. And I saw that the fish, when its belly was opened up, had been feasting on other fish heads used as baits by other fishermen in the area. Although ghastly to look at a big fish being cleaned up, it was a delightful experience seeing a fish being prepared by the man who caught it. The man said striped bass grows as big as 6 feet. And he has seen many of them passing by along the Brooklyn's side of the East River that meets with the Hudson River at the New York Harbor. It is the same kind of fish that people would eat; they are never sure if their fish was passing by or was actually living in the spot where they happened to be caught by fishermen. I recall a previous visit here, which I did not record nor write about. This is the second time that I've seen a fisherman caught a big fish in this area. I congratulated the man for his good work, which he responded to with a very gleeful 'you're welcome.'

The good life is having a great lunch with a good friend

My good friend, Roger Calvin, and I would find reasons to meet for lunch every now and then. These lunches almost always take place in his Roosevelt Island apartment, a place he has continuously maintained and kept very home-y, pleasant all these years. These lunches include having the best food that Roger will prepare from scratch. And it is not the same dishes that we would have each time we would have lunch, as Roger is very creative when it comes to hosting and preparing meals for his loved ones, friends, and relatives. You must have seen a number of pictures of these meals that he would lovingly prepare and serve his guests.

As a guest, you instantly get a sense that it is privileged experience you are soon to get into for the next few hours at Roger's place. Your eyes gaze into the view of the flowing East River that separates the island from Manhattan, which brief distance is bridged, among many choices, by the subway and the tram. In the comforts of the apartment, you are being served by someone like Roger who gives and shows prime value to shared home-cooked meals. And I get to know better the kind heart-ed person behind that man who was first introduced to me by a common friend who is based in Los Angeles, California, at least 4 years ago as of this writing. You get a sense of the peaceful lifestyle that Roger leads at his neck of the woods in that part of New York City.

The food he prepared this time deviated from the usual that he would come up in previous occasions that we had lunch. We had his version of fresh green salad mixed with his own dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, honey, pepper plus garnishing including walnuts, cheese, and craisins. He also baked salmon this time with dill on the pieces, which I found fresh and very tasty. He emphasized that baking fish doesn't need to be overdone or longer than the usual 20 minutes or so, or else its unique flavor would be gone. He made sure we had fried shrimp dumplings, too,and he asked me about my preferred sauce to dip them on. I thought I'd like the usual white vinegar with red chili pepper from the gardens of one of his friends out in the West Coast. I recalled we had chocolate ice cream, coffee and cookies for dessert, which we enjoyed much later after our lunch. Needless to say, it's been a grand feast, which is always the case when I have lunch at Roger's place.

On Foods I Usually Have Practically Every Day These Days: The Food of Italy

The Food of Italy by Waverley Root
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is kinda long read, actually, especially if you're not fond of, nor familiar with technical aspects of cooking. But really, I learned a lot from it (particularly about sausages, hams, cheeses, wines).  It's a great introduction to Italian history and culture, more than anything else.  


View all my reviews

I live with a landlord who's of Italian descent in Staten Island, close to the ferry terminal, in an old but updated and modernized house that has 21-rooms (excluding the bathroom). Along with that arrangement is the fact that I do most of the cooking these days, which I didn't do much back when I was still living in the Philippines. But since I've moved into this household, I've learned to prepare and cook mostly Italian foods, the American-ized variety, admittedly. The book, which I reviewed briefly (almost like as if I didn't want to share what I learned from reading that thick book), helped me a lot in putting into context the meals I prepare these days with the help of my landlord who used to own and operate for over 10 years his own restaurant that offered Italian-American meals.

My landlord's family hails from the northern part of Italy, which he explains has a distinctly different cuisine compared with those meals in the south. He says it's more French-y in influence, among many strong influences---I'm aware that I don't fully understand what that remark means exactly, except the fact that I'm not exactly excited by French cuisine because it requires me to read it properly (or else, I'll feel stupid having it) with the correct accent. But the author of this book, 'The Food of Italy' happened to have written another book, which is 'The Food of France', of which I'm sure I'll be reading one of these days to make me understand and appreciate French cuisine (and get me started to making such meals soon).

But other than the context that Waverly Root's book has provided me, the book also gave me the chance to imagine myself being in Italy. It's really a thick, well-researched book that has been mostly based on the author's actual experiences of living, eating, being in Italy. And of course, nobody could beat that, including researchers who pore mostly on secondary sources. My recollections of Mr Root's food book on Italian cuisine has prepared me to take lead in understanding the meals I make these days at my household.

Among Italian cuisine influenced meals I make these days, I love the chicken parmigiana, the chicken cutlets of which we fry instead of bake. This meal takes a lot of work to prepare, such that it makes sense to make a big batch of it to make best of your time making it. Of course, I like the many tomato based sauces we make with different kinds of pasta. I like to emphasize that what sets the difference in preparing these meals is basically on using the most fresh ingredients you can hold of. Also, you want to make sure you have a reliable source or supplier of pre-cooked ingredients, including the raviolis and the tortellinis,  that use you in preparing these meals. I tease my landlord that these raviolis and tortellinis are basically Chinese dumplings, and he would roll his eyes from hearing the sacrilege I'm committing, and we would laugh aloud.  Also, I love hearing my landlord as he makes comments on the cheese, which to me, is almost ridiculous.

But as I keep on having and enjoying these meals, I get a better appreciation of how regional influences, including those far away countries, have seeped into what we prepare these days. Preparing these meals takes a lot of hard work, love, patience, and loads of practical intelligence and lessons gained and transferred from one generation to another. It's just that Mr Root has taken the time and effort to write down in a book what he has learned from eating, cooking Italian meals (purportedly while he was still in Italy, or while he was connecting with his network based in Italy).

Go, buy the book, and try to read it. It's loaded with so many tips that you may find useful if you're keen on knowing more about food, especially the type being cooked in Italy.

Fascinated by the Clothes and their Owners In This Documentary

I can understand why the clothes featured in this documentary are THAT expensive. It's mainly because they're all handmade from scratch, right from the design and up to all those artisans and other workers who have contributed to make them. And as long as you have the means, you can always get these clothes, and wear them if you're a woman (or probably a transgender, which is really no problem).  

These clothes remind me of those awesome old, used clothing pieces I've seen many years ago, and they're all hand made. I've seen so many of them kept in wooden chest cases. And I recall having been in one of those exhibits of the late Ramon Valera, a Filipino haute couture designer, and recalled being awed by his works. It is both sad and a happy event that we've seen how we humans have progressed much in our endeavors, including in the way we make our clothes. Most clothes these days are made by machines. But I know from experience that hand-made clothes feel a lot more better to the skin, as I had pants specifically made for me when I was growing up. I know and remember the tailors who made them. And they always look good on the body, for they've been fitted on the person who would wear them before they were made. 

Such a feeling could be in the minds of those women who wear those wonderfully made clothes. I admire them for sticking to something that's not usual these days. They look snobbish, as a result. But they could do more by endeavoring to make it very fashionable to the general public to always choose to wear hand-made clothes. Indirectly, this will lead to more work for people who have the dedication, the heart, the endless inspiration to create such wonderful works of art that are meant to be worn and be seen on the human figure.

Moving On: Some Insights on Acquiring English Accents from Watching Videos and Other Materials

Why I Consider Books As The Second Most Useful Set of Helpers in Taking Lead In My Life

Other than the inspiration I got from watching the video above, I was prompted to write this posting mainly because I got reminded by my own set of memorable experiences in reading books all these years. Not to sound preposterous here, but I can claim that I've been reading books as far as I can remember being up on my feet. I was an early reader because I was influenced a lot by some relatives and family members whom I would see reading books, magazines and the like. My parents would buy me illustrated comics that have been among my earliest reading materials. We would have cabinets at home lined with books when I was growing up. Also, I was exposed to Sesame Street on TV where I learned so much on the English vocabulary, counting, numerals, symbols and, other tools used in improving your skills in reading. 

Books, needless to say, are essentially subversive materials, whether you agree to this notion or not. And reading them, particularly the best ones, literally will change directions of your life. But you don't have to take my word for it. Just observe and learn about the lives of the most important people in the world. Some examples: Jesus Christ,  himself, was into reading. In fact, in one of the narratives where he read parts of the Torah, he even proclaimed that what had been written has become real and actually happened in the very eyes of those gathered around him to listen to him read aloud from the holy books. And we all know that Mao Zedong was a book reader. He learned so much from his books, such that he used them in leading China, which is now becoming more and more the leading nation in the world each day.  And have you heard about the Persian storyteller Scheherazade of the book 'One Thousand and One Nights'? She would have been forgotten by now if she didn't hear or read about the stories that she shared with a certain Persian king, who wanted her killed but who would eventually spare her life, marry her, have children with her and make her into his queen. 

You may consider books as your lovers in printed or digital formats, especially when you are down and you feel neglected and ignored by your loved ones (or those whom you believe should love you in return for the kindness you've poured on them). In the pages of books, you'll be embraced by all the warm limbs coming from the outcomes of the very minds of the book authors. You'll be heard, strangely. At times in your reading experience, you'll get a sense that you're being listened to. And books are not exactly passive lovers as they feed you with a lot of ideas and that sense of wonder and accomplishment when you dwell on each word found in the many pages of your books. From this moment on when you feel depressed, you can always go back to reading the pages of your books that have been waiting for you for some time because you had been busy in other activities in your daily life. 

Practically every topic in life has been written in books. And a lot of these books have been gone forever (remember the famed Library in Alexandria that survived for hundreds of years until it was burned mainly because some groups of people believed books were dangerous things to possess, and so, they have to eliminated them once and for all). So many writers have been around before us and they have had the courage and took the hard time required to write books. Just do a research first so you'll discover that these statements are more truthful than falsely claimed here. And in case you don't agree with this, you can start writing your own books. Just make sure you share them with the rest of the world. In today's life, writers can most conveniently write books and get them published without spending as much money as before. They just have to actually find time to write, rewrite, rewrite, and publish --- tough activities that can intimidate a lot (hence, they're not writing at all). 

I don't understand it but I've met a number of people who have been intimidated by me just because they've seen me reading books, and even in having so many books in places where I've lived. Among other activities I'm into, I actually make a living from marketing and selling books, the core of my inventory has come from my books (400+) that I have gathered, bought, read, collected through the years. At least, I know who are the people I should keep some distance from, unless they go out of their way to reach out to me from time to time (which is just fine with me). 

And indirectly related to my efforts in book reading, I've met so many people who would give me their books, mainly because they wanted to help me out in my business. I'm not sure if they're into bookreading themselves. But I'm assured that I have known so many wonderful people who have recognized the value of books in our collective daily lives. In spite of most skeptics' belief in craziness of the idea of reading as a must-do daily activity as well as in marketing and selling books, you can be assured that the market has been expanded so long. These days, you don't really need to read the bestsellers; you just have to search online and you'll get all the chances to buy any book you may have in mind. Make sure you read those books you've ordered (or else, start your online bookselling venture, too).

Bookreading, chances are, will help so much in opening your eyes to many perspectives about life, people, places and events all over the world. In fact, you don't even have to travel physically to places unknown to you but you can do that easily by just reading books about these places. You'll meet and talk with people who have lived so many ages ago by reading books about them (or even those books they wrote themselves). You'll understand the nuances and differences of each individual by poring over the best rated books about people. You'll appreciate yourself better as you continue reading books that help clarify who you are in relation to others in your community and those living different lifestyles from yours.

And why do I say books are the second most useful set of helpers in taking lead in my life? We still have to go out of our way to connect, relate, communicate, experience loving and supportive links with other people. The wise among us have learned it early on that by merely connecting with others, they gain so much useful knowledge in life.

My take on why certain politicians get voted to their positions

This posting is about my take on why certain politicians handily get elected to positions despite the disbelief of certain individuals that they don't deserve to be voted at all by the general population. Well, first of all, that's how the political structure has been set up, so you can't do so much about it, except if you  work to destroy and replace with something the very political structure (which is easier said than done, of course!) that is in place. Second, you have to ask why the general populace is even allowed to vote at all during national elections (I think they should only be allowed to vote in local elections, i.e, that is limited to where they actually live and work because the effects of politics in people's lives can only be felt in the local level---everything else is mere noise and distraction).  I don't even understand why the general population is even allowed to vote (probably, because the state is still a functioning democracy, for all intents and purposes, and despite its inherent defects) their favored politicians into positions from time to time.

As to the other reasons, check and read again the first. You can't do much unless you revise the very structure. But I'm being cheeky about it, and so allow me to make some suggestions if the structure can't be changed soon.

And this over-all set up will continue working and bringing similar results as they are now, unless other factors that affect the collective mindset of the population will be put in place. This means ensuring certain developments to take place:
1) providing for honest-to-goodness quality free education from pre-school to college. Free means free meals while in school, free books, free supplies, free fare to and fro schools, free healthcare. Yes, literally free.
2) providing for well-compensated teachers and education administrators, plus awesome package of benefits so they'd continue to be inspired to run the education mill where (practically) everyone born in the country goes thru to be formally educated and hopefully become a functioning and responsible citizens of the state. Obviously, you can't expect much of their best from most of your workers, in case you're the owner, i.e., those who are in power and politically vested, if you're paying these people so little for so much work to do. It simply does not make sense.
3) providing free, quality health care from birth to death to all citizens of the state. Yes, make these services free and easily accessible so people will have less concerns with their already-complicated, geneally poverty-stricken lives and so that they will be able to spend pursuing their other interests and other energy draining activities without the hassles of being concerned on these issues. Give most of the population much needed break, and you'll be rewarded amply.

Actually, those three suggested steps boil down mainly to cascading thru the many levels of society the accumulated wealth and powers of the state. It means sharing and distributing more equitably the wealth of the state, i.e., the nation.

With all sincerity, I do hope this is not asking for too much. Don't really bother about providing for those who are wealthy or those who consider themselves wealthy by affiliation (they can take care of themselves and their interests). Let's bother (yes, always bother) to help and extend our support to provide logistics in our own little, unique ways to make those suggestions enumerated earlier to happen now. We can continue sending to school our relatives as well as those people who are not even related to us (including those whom we can't even imagine meeting personally immediately). Let's share our own individual wealth and riches to others as part of our over-all strategy to create, build and distribute wealth. Yes, wiser people who came ahead of us have realized that it only makes sense to be wealthy and rich if we can share these gifts and blessings (we simply can't bring them to where ever we are going when we die). Look at those richly decorated tombs and monuments of the Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, etc. now found in many parts of the world. The last time I checked they're still very dead up to now, even if they tried so hard to ensure their wealth and lofty positions would be displayed for us who are fortunately still alive. Such useless ways of spending wealth!

I doubt, honestly, if the situation will improve in the future elections. Those suggestions would require spending a lot of public money. I think members of the elites would like to keep most of the members of the masses ignorant, misinformed and malleable to serve their own very feudalistic interests. Who would be doing most of the dirty work if these people would  become enlightened? That's simply unimaginable a set-up to happen. If such a situation happens, it's even too mind boggling to imagine how to sustain it. But as change is always the only constant things in life, change will happen. These aggregated changes by each one of us will affect and make the very structure crumble in its very foundations.

In the meantime, we can't really expect much from the electorate, even if we work that extra hard and do one-by-one reaching out to them. They simply won't get it. Everyday life conditions are too tough for them so they won't simply listen to your pleadings and other arguments to vote for change (no matter how valid your points are).

Weekend: Another Must-See Movie

This write-up should have been due, following a personal deadline, more than a year ago, but I only managed to prepare this after a lot of events happened in my life lately, and which led and strongly prompted me to share my thoughts about this film made in 2011. I know some people have been raving over this film, which I believe is a must-see movie if you're wanting to understand, other than to merely enjoy being in the company of, what goes on in the private lives of the members of the LGBTQ communities all over the world (or in your own little world). Or you may just want to see a very ordinary love story told with a twist, this time, after having exposed yourself to the usual crappy stuff shown in most media outlets. Of course, each one of us is different, as may have been represented in this film, and which is fact that is needless to say but most of us would conveniently forget. But with the way the film narrated its story, I'll recommend that you watch this one. 

This film shows a searing portrait on how male gay people, in this instance, lead their lives when enough acceptance is felt, experienced by them coming from and shared most lovingly without judgment their relatives and friends. In so many words, it's not typical, not clique. And you'll be comforted yourself about your own uniqueness, which trait you have to recognize and share with everyone else around you.

Also, I was prompted by seeing how similar in looks one of the film's protagonists with the looks of a roommate who's a straight Puerto Rican guy (I should tell him about this and wait how he would react). I was wondering if I should ask him to watch it and make him uncomfortable with his issues; he can be homophobic at times when he relates with me. And I have read somewhere that the actors who played the interesting characters in this film were straight in real life. I've seen and met a lot of straight-acting types in my life, and I can tell you, these actors have done a great job.

Just like straight people, gay people are just so varied in terms of their values that they hold dear to their hearts, their levels of education, respective social backgrounds, every day life directions, hopes, and other aspects of lifestyle."Weekend" will give you an honest introduction to some interesting characters who are trying to fall in love with each other, sustain these feelings, and build a significant relationship even amidst built-in distracting and off-putting elements in the surrounding environment where the two individuals happened to meet each other. The plot runs almost very similar with any other love story you'll find in any movie or book you've pored your time on. Except that one character was a slut, in normal straight terms.

Despite your reservations and biases, watch this film because you'll see how most young people don't really bother much about issues related to their friends being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender these days. It has been like that for the past few years, probably a decade or so. Most of these young people simply don't, at least from what I've seen and have heard about. They don't even bother to intellectualize these issues as they're basically no-brainer ones because they're very much part of the list of emotional experiences available to someone who would like to open up to possibilities of loving and living with other individuals of the same gender as yourself. And loving is actually something you're capable of doing, as long as you open your mind and heart to it without expecting much in return. Also young people don't anymore carry the baggage that the more elderly try to continue to carry the burden and cover themselves up with and which make their relationships more complicated when it comes to facing LGBTQ issues. An example of this can be gleamed from how surveys in the USA consistently show that younger people are more accepting of marriage equality issues. What matters to most young people is that they like to deal with authentic friends who are true to themselves and would want to be better when shown opportunities. 

What the film endeavors to present to its targeted viewers maybe deemed amusing to some. But as a curious viewer, you'll probably end up wondering where the world has gone if you consider what the film's attempting to share. It's saying "mind your own business" in so many words. As many accomplished and notable artists have been saying all along, it does not matter whatever sexuality you have---what matters is that you have a heart and an open mind ready and wiling to love another person who is also taking a great risk of loving you, given the presence of so much hatred in the world now. As to what kind of love you've got  does not matter much anymore----what suffices is that you've had the experience and you're a better person because of it.

A version of 'The Lord's Prayer' from Aramaic into English

I don't remember where I copied this from (please let me know right away if your site is the one where this came from, originally), as I have kept it in draft form until I rediscovered it today. But be that as it may, it's reassuring experience to be able to read and know about this awesome prayer that will help take lead in whatever undertaking we now have. Among other blessings it brings, it helps set our minds and lead us back to the very purpose we got in our respective lives.

A beautiful rendition and translation directly from the Aramaic into English of "The Lord's Prayer"

Oh, Cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration!
Soften the ground of our being
and carve out a space within us
... where your Presence can abide.
Fill us with your creativity
So that we may be empowered
to bear the fruit of our mission.
Let each of our actions bear fruit
in accordance with our desire.
Endow us with the wisdom to produce
and share what each being needs
to grow and flourish.
Untie the tangled threads of destiny
that bind us, as we release others
from the entanglement of past mistakes.
Do not let us be seduced by that which
would divert us from our true purpose,
but illuminate the opportunities
of the present moment.
For you are the ground and the fruitful vision,
the birth power and the fulfillment,
as all is gathered and made whole once again.

Keeping a Proper Perspective When Doing Part-time Caregiving Gigs!

I would do caregiving gigs every now and then, and which is happening right now as I write this. My client (yes, we call them 'clients') lies on his bed now and trying to get a nap while the TV is blasting from its perch. And I was figuring what else to do as I keep my eyes open and ears clear so I'd be there with him the next time he calls.

Fortunately, he still has his marbles on. But he's basically retired from his lawyering work unless he decides again that he could be fit enough to fight against extreme pain the challenges of age and waning health. I won't discuss here his actual medical condition. But he's been complaining so much about pain whenever he's on his feet. Using a walker, he manages to walk somehow here in his 1-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. People advise him to walk, even if it would mean more pain for him.

I like to agree with those people who have been advising him. It's a pain in the ass just to keep on encouraging him to move around, do exercises and more. I guess he's never been fond of physical activities even when he was younger. But the truth of the matter is that he can only go back to his old physically healthy self if he ignores the pain as he goes about being physically active. "No pain, no gain" as some would say.

I take pains myself while I do my yoga almost daily. I suffer from humiliation everytime I dance with others and they would notice my sweaty hands. At home, I do household works and other errands almost daily and whenever I have the chance. And I make part of my money for my living needs from leveraging these activities to my bank account's advantage. Someone else's loss has been my gain.

As I continue doing these caregiving gigs, I ask myself: "Am I really helping these clients of mine?" I'm beginning to wonder if I'm being smart about these assignments. A lot of other Filipinos all over the USA are into these caregiving gigs, such that some people (who I assume would rather be dead than do these kinds of gigs) would be prejudiced against people who are making their money from doing caregiving gigs. I know so many Filipinos who are doing these jobs such that some of them ask me to cover for them when they want to go on vacation. Many realize that they have to enjoy their days-off to regain their sanity and health from doing these gigs. Some of these gigs are very demeaning, honestly. And many such gigs are perceived to be not the ideal honest way of making money, especially if you're overeducated, a professional back in the Philippines, or simply whiling around your time here in the USA waiting for something better to happen. And in hierarchical societies such as the Philippines, these jobs are not exactly among the most desired jobs that any young person would like to pursue.

In the meantime, I'll keep on encouraging my client. I can only wish he'd help himself, despite extreme pain, to engage more and more often in physical activities. I'm keeping my perspective that I could have been the client if I wasn't doing these part-time gigs. And it's too soon for me to have that now.

On Always Being Mistaken as a Mexican (or Another South American Country) Here in NYC

Once again, someone who's a stranger was chatting with me and she thought I was 'Mexican'. I had to correct her right away, and tell her 'I'm Filipino'. I would usually say 'Yo soy Filipino.' Now, I have experienced being with other Asians and some of them would not correct me right away if I would mistake them for coming from another Asian country other than their true Mother Country. For example, I've met several South Koreans who would not tell me right away if they're  South Koreans even if I guessed wrongly they're Japanese. I don't know exactly why would they do that.

My point in these mistaken identities is that they indicate something about those nations that stick to the mind of the one asking me. I could always assume they're prejudiced, biased of clinging to something relatively untrue. I sense some are actually malicious, especially because I feel they're using as bases their questions on outward looks. It's a perception thing for most people. And I have to learn that most of these questions are heart-felt and authentic, even if they can sound negative to me.

But then again, being thought of as Mexican (by some malicious persons) is not exactly a bad thing. Mexico is among the world's biggest, major economies. And I have a special fondness for Mexicans as they behave strangely very similar to folks I know back in the Philippines. It's not difficult to imagine that, as Mexico and the Philippines were linked culturally at least a 100 years before the Philippines got its own independence from Spain in 1898. Check history books and you'll be amazed at finding about details of these links. And more, a place called 'Mexico, Pampanga' is located in the Philippines. For hundreds of years, Mother Spain administered the Philippines thru Mexico. The word 'palengke', which is Mexican, is used most extensively and understood to refer to a local market. And with that main note here, I like to believe I'm taking lead by claiming these notions to my advantage.