Things To Hate About The Philippines: Filipino Dog Eaters

Despite the advancement of modern day living in this country (Philippines), I still could not understand why there are still Filipinos that indulge themselves in killing dogs just for the sake of cooking the flesh while savoring it as if it was a delicacy. As far as it is very embarrassing to admit, this takes the letter “P” in the word “Pilipino” to a whole new perspective such as “P” for “primitive”. There are a lot of things that you can easily hate about the Philippines without even trying, as some of the most obvious scenarios can be seen once you step out into the streets. But nothing really multiplies my hatred for this backward thinking society as their love for dog meat!

Filipinos have been doing this for God knows how long and it seems that they have never changed a bit. Especially the Ilocanos, who with their so called “Ilocano Pride”, who are the most avid practitioners of killing dogs and eating it despite the efforts of the Philippine government that has already outlawed this primitive and mindless act of animal cruelty. But, as the saying goes, “law makers are also the law breakers” as the effort to stop this very stupid cultural practice that spans the entire Philippine archipelago from north to south. There is really something wrong about the Filipinos, that I can say hands down.

Especially in the provinces in where people gather like the primitives that they are, to kill helpless dogs to cook for their own enjoyment, in which they partake as “hors de'ouvre”. What's more spine chilling is that they even teach their children to eat the cooked dog meat...talk about utter ignorance. No wonder this country is so messed up. I am not really surprised why Filipinos get into trouble in other countries because of their primal mentality in which is a really funny scenario since karma works in mysterious ways...what goes around, comes around. Dog eaters! Bah humbug!

In a province called Pampanga, there is a small community there that eats cats! Seriously? Cats?! Unfortunately, this is quite true as there are a lot of documented reports concerning this. Why do Filipinos like to do this? That. I can not know as it goes beyond the rationality of the status quo of the life in the Philippines. I would understand if it was a means of survival, but not like this! People in this country kill cats and dogs as casually as they do with other livestock. You should see their dumb faces as they savor the cooked dog meat in their mouth as they drink to their hearts content while singing awful karaoke songs.

People who are genuine pet owners here sometimes discover their dogs missing and would search for them. Unfortunately, to their horror, they would soon discover that their pets were victimized by deadbeats who have eventually killed their pets, to be used as food for a drinking spree on the street corner. Despite humane efforts to reduce this situation, the practice of killing cats and dogs in the Philippines, still continues up to this day, to the dismay of international animalrights activists. It seems that Filipinos will remain what they are for as long as they will not accept changes in the way that they think.

I am a Filipino as well, but I hate this practice of killing dogs for the lamest reason of enjoying feasting on the flesh of dogs and cats. I hope that the natural course of nature will do something about this in the coming future so the practice of killing domesticated pets stop once and for all. And if you come across a Filipino along the way, do the right thing and give them a piece of your mind with regard to this blatant and dreadful practice of eating cats and dogs. Pets are our friends, not our food regardless of any situation.

Marriage Blues

One thing that always comes to mind when we are confronted with a seemingly simple question that demands a more or less complicated answer is if "Love" is a tangible human emotion or if it is just a primal instinct? Due to the fact that this feeling that we so fondly called "Love" is the sole principle of our human existence and should be considered a viable reason in thinking that it is so. Another side of opinion suggests that "Love" is nothing more than just a primal instinct that has been embedded in our genealogy for the sole purpose of self preservation and propagation.

Our social evolution might have a little or great influence in putting a stereotypical description to what "Love" is or should be and has been the basis of our understanding and acknowledgement. Greatly influenced by our emotional and psychological yearning as it became a part of our basic needs as a specie. In regards to the story about falling in love, it can be so noted that the perception of most individuals was more on the ironies and regret after a seemingly short time that they enjoyed each others company of their marriage which only lasted a measly 6 months. At the start of a relationship, it was quite astounding to hear other people's personal thoughts on how they perceived feelings for their spouses and how most of us who understand the emotional ongoing of the heart as it defies the logic of the mind when it comes to this sort of thing.

"Falling Out of Love Story"

Some people will be very quick in implying that love is not enough to assure that a marriage would indeed stay in its pristine existence. In a sense of truthfulness to the matter at hand, it may be quite true depending on the acceptance of the general truth. However, on such an opinionated matter, it is all a matter of accepting how the truth would serve favorably to those who seek solace to its validity. To the some people's point of view, love "was" not enough as personal differences between a husband and his wife  soon emerged after being together for just roughly six months. The vivid description of how the most marriage counselors described men's "longing and yearning" for women was a typical romantic passage from a novel but unfortunately most novels that deal with such romantic fervour are just plain idealistic gratification for the authors own zestful gratification, unfortunately, the ironic truth to life's delusional precepts emerge.

"Many Different People's Perspective of Being in Love"

Regardless of cultural boundaries and beliefs, the concept of "Love and Affection "is a commonality among different cultural enclaves and social demographics. As the author describes, people have very varied opinions when it comes to defining a clear path towards a successful married relationship with their spouses. Sociologists and marriage counselors quick to state that the average time that a marriage would start to loose its glitter and appeal was about six months to two years and that these couples would soon find themselves seeking counselling. Unfortunately, most people never mentioned acceptance and understanding as a motivational factor to attempt to amend a fizzling marital relationship. It seems like the easiest way out of a relationship is divorce, and to think that the author is also a premarital counselor. The convenience of divorce might be one of the factors that motivate couples to consider this sort of method as an easy way out and they tend to overlook possibilities of trying to resolve critical situations such as this.

"A Young Man's Delusion of Being Ready for Marriage"

Young people always have the pretentious tendencies to be so idealistic when it comes to marriage that they inevitably believe that they can control the varying odds to their favour in making their marriage work. Blind idealism's always tend to do more damage in the long run for people that get married all for the wrong idealistic reasons. Even the best planned marriages fail at a point despite careful planning and thorough premarital counselling. Sometimes, it is best not to plan at all, as it seems to work out fine for most couples that did not even thought that they would end with their life long partners and had managed to do absolutely fine.

"Analogy of Falling in Love"

To freely be given a choice on how I would define Love in a comparative meaning, that will be... "Falling in love is like jumping a thousand feet off an aeroplane, over the ocean, without a parachute, and not being sure if you would survive the impact in the water". Quiet true as the relationship between a man and a woman at the earliest part of their relationship is quite a "euphoric" sensation that it blinds the mind from any form of logical reasoning concerning their ability to foresee impending possibilities that might end in an inevitable parting of ways. Though most of the times relationships sometimes come around the bend of a certain problem evidently created by either one.

"Reality of Marriage After Falling in Love Fades"

No one wants their marriage to end as if it was not even worth saving, but regretfully, some relationships do fall apart. The inevitable decision to part ways seems like the final option as to save ones sanity to the beleaguering thought of living each day with the company of the person that you once thought of as the most ideal individual that you could spend the entirety of your life, to have and to hold. Divorce is the final severity that many consider, would give them a sense of continuing life, an extra baggage less the burdening weight that they had to carry for the whole duration of their failed marriage. Though it is a sad though that a relationship should end this way, it is admissibly humane as to go on their separate ways in order to find a brand new lease on their lives and to ultimately find their individual happiness. It is more agonizing to keep on trying to patch things up, but this only aggravates the situation.

Returning to Nature

Today's modern way of existence is usually meant to provide us with the most comfort and convenience for us to easily accomplish our day to day endeavours. To most people who had gotten used to the fast pace of life in our society, things can never be more comforting and easy in all aspects of living out their ideals based upon social necessity. But for some, the complexities of having to struggle with this kind of living seems to be a little as some have even given up on the simplest way of relying on modern day technology and just simply gave it all up. As a result, they even decided to leave everything behind to start life anew, moving out from the comforting and chaotic civilized life that they once indulged in and settled on the fringes of the back country, where nature is the closest thing to living out a natural way of life.

Is it that easy to just stand up and walk away from everything that modern day technology has to offer with regard to the convenience that it has given us? Can we really survive without the comforts and convenience that society offers in exchange to just living out our life how nature intended us to be? Our social existence dictates that we should improve our way of life as modern day technology is the key to making sure that our civilization will prevail just as long as we use our common collective knowledge in finding ways to hurdle every obstacle that we face regarding our struggles as a specie. To some people these struggles were the reasons why they gave up on all the modern day conveniences that once gave them the comforts that they yearned in life, but since every form of convenience in this society has a compromised price, they seem to have grown tired of having to cope up with paying that price.

Modern day society is filled with obligations and the chaos of having to conform to these aspects can be so overwhelming at times that you sometimes feel the burden of the whole world resting on your shoulders. Giving up on this life that we had grown accustomed to would bring on many changes on our part, primarily the use of modern day technology such as cellphones and computers. Some have adapted to these changes that they decidedly would live it for the rest of their remaining days and enjoy the comforts of nature without the burden of any social obligations such as taxes, queuing in line in a bank, making a frantic trip to the groceries for supplies and all the other social conformities that will tie you down to a system of life that only gives you a temporary sense of security and comfort. 

For people who had decided to live the rest of their life in the fringes of mother nature, adjusting to this type of living with nature was not that easy at first as they had to do away with the comforts of everything that they were used to. For people who had chosen this lifestyle, making a trip to the nearest grocery is no longer necessary as all they need to do is pick up their bow and arrow and hunt for their next meal. Come to think of it, isn't this the way how the early settlers lived out their lives during the olden days? Was it not how our modern day society came to be? If it was how our society evolved from then it is probably only natural for us to go back to that kind of social existence where in to only natural way to fend for ourselves is to find our rightful place in nature itself. 

Unfortunately, this kind of life is not made for everybody since not everyone is willing to just simply give up on all the convenience that this society has to offer along with all the hard work that they had put in just to conform with all the social obligations that has given them the comforts of life as they know it. But it is a very good thought to ponder upon as we do need something to fall back into just in case our society starts to breakdown from all the turmoils that it is presently facing with regard to trying to keep everything under control. If things should turn out the other way around, Mother Nature will always be there to help us start life anew.

Self Sustainable Backyard Gardening

Back in the early days, most people used to plant fruits and vegetables in their backyards as an added source of food for personal consumption. This became much more as a general practice during the late 1920's when the Great Depression was taking over the United States as prices of basic food commodities skyrocketed to a point that people were obligated to plant food crops in their backyard. Today, there are some people that find planting fruits and vegetables as both a source of recreation and as a worthwhile endeavor that they can literally eat the fruits of their endeavour. Backyard fruit and vegetable gardening is a very worthwhile hobby during weekends or after coming home early from work as it can ease out all the stress that you have accumulated the whole day through and nothing is more relaxing than tending your small garden plot on your lawn or backyard for that matter.

The basic history of gardening dates back to thousands of years during the early existence of human societies. It is no wonder that there is the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon that all throughout history are mentioned for being the most beautifully made garden in human history. Some consider gardening as a part of human nature and a need for us to keep in touch with our natural perspective in life. Whatever we may want to consider what gardening should be, it is without a doubt a very worthwhile way of spending time and be rewarded by your own efforts in bringing your plants to life with their natural beauty. Backyard gardening is very easy to do as the only requirements that you need to start out is that you have to have a genuine interest in plants and in propagating them. 

You do not even have to an expert horticulturist to know the basic needs of raising your plants properly as you only need the basics such as water, soil and sun. As for the needed space to grow your plants, you need not worry too much on that aspect as you can conveniently start growing them from a simple plant box, plastic pots or even grow them using advanced methods such as hydroponics. For most people, ornamental shrubs with colorful flowery blooms seem to be the most preferred type of plants that they usually propagate for aesthetic reasons. For others, hedges seem to be appropriate as they also serve as perimeter boundaries that replaces fences. Others prefer to raise small fruit bearing plants in pots which can be very ornamental, especially when they start to produce flowers. 

Over the years, the methods of advanced gardening techniques have greatly improved not only in the propagational methods of properly raising plants but also the subsequent optimization of space in which to raise your plants. In big crowded cities that have little or no space at all to possibly raise plants, people have devised ingenious methods of raising plants using only very small proportional space as less than a meter wide by using modern methods such as hydroponics and stacking. Hydroponics was first developed about 20 years ago as a method of cultivating and raising plants in space stations during the early years of the space shuttle missions. It involved raising flora in a soil free environment using synthetic foam materials as a growing medium. Eventually this method led to practical applications that enables people to raise such plants as food crops as well as other species of plants that would not be possible to grow given natural conditions.

Eventually, this method now allows people that live in small spaces such as apartment buildings to be able to raise plants without the need for any ample space more than they can provide. As for giving the plants their daily dose of sunlight, specially made LED (light emitting diode) that simulate the sun's natural rays which can be used in places where there is virtually no access to direct sunlight which is needed by plants. Thanks to modern methods of plant propagation with the help of modern day technology, people can now enjoy growing their own garden without having to carve out their backyards or apartments just to gain the needed space to raise their plant and enjoy their little piece of nature in the comforts of their own private space.

The Risks of Smoking and Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy

Despite of the proven medical implications involved with the risk of imperiling both the mother and the fetus, there are still some women that indulge themselves with smoking and drinking even during their trimester of pregnancy. Even though it is a highly publicized fact that these detrimental activities should be avoided during pregnancy and ignoring such health warnings could lead to unwanted consequences.

In general, most doctors advise pregnant women to totally avoid in partaking alcohol and smoking during pregnancy and in the event that they can not avoid it, they should minimize it to having only one to two units (one unit is a full jigger or a shot glass or about 8 grams liquid weight) of alcohol which is most at twice a week. Anything more than that amount or frequency can eventually result to some irreversible consequences to your baby's health and well being.

This is also important for women that are trying to conceive since excessive drinking and alcohol intake can greatly reduce their fertility which greatly decreases their chance to be able to conceive. In the event that they do become successful in becoming pregnant, excessive alcohol intake can weaken the uterus ability to maintain a firm hold on the developing fetus which could lead to a miscarriage, especially during the earliest stages of their pregnancy. The best preventive measure to avoid any of this to possibly happen is to completely withhold from drinking, or if unavoidable, reduce the amount of alcohol intake in every way possible. 

How does alcohol affect the fetus during pregnancy and what are the possible consequences that could arise if a woman continues to neglect such warnings? Induced alcohol levels in the blood stream during pregnancy affects the fetus as the nutrients and the needed rich oxygen that helps develop the baby's brain is depleted by the alcohol in the mother's blood stream.

The alcohol then passes through the placenta and to the fetus, and we know what that can lead to regarding the baby's development in the womb. The high levels of alcohol can greatly reduce the way the baby's brain is growing which can lead to such results as mental retardation and other mental deformities as a result of the mother's excessive alcohol intake.

What is more alarming is the way on how the alcohol continues to linger on internally all throughout the pregnancy period and not just the early stages of the pregnancy itself. Other possible effects that frequent alcohol and smoking can do to the fetus during pregnancy can involve premature birth, a low birth weight and the most common result such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome that affects the physical and mental development of the baby as a result of the mother's excessive smoking and drinking. 

As early as the first three months of pregnancy, women are prohibited to drink any amount of alcohol since it is proven to cause miscarriage during this precarious period in which the fetus is not yet that fully embedded to the uterine wall. The detrimental effect of alcohol tends to thin down the walls of the uterus and as a consequence, looses its firm hold on the developing fetus resulting in a miscarriage. 

Even though a woman has already given birth, regular intake of alcohol and habitual smoking should still be avoided for reasons of breast feeding. Even at this point, a mother can still do her baby harm through breastfeeding if she maintains in partaking alcohol on a regular basis. If it could not be avoided, just remember not to drink any substantial amount of alcoholic beverages prior to breast feeding your baby since the alcohol can be ingested through breast milk which will give the same effect as if the baby itself was the one drinking the alcohol, which can affect their growth development at this early point of their life. As a reminder, always think about your baby's welfare before yours and if you truly love them, you will do the right thing not to harm their wellbeing.

Exploiting Poverty Porn

Poverty porn is not the kind of porn that most people think it is, or are expecting about it. Poverty porn is really about any type of media, whether that it be written, filmed or otherwise, to draw the perspective of its readers and audiences the plight of those who are currently experiencing the undeniable fact that poverty is an inescapable social condition. Charities and humanitarian foundations use this method of attaining the sympathy of the public, to whom they draw support to their causes, earning from the need to dwell on the social aspect of interceding to provide some sort of help to alleviate the living condition of the needy.

It all seems to be a logical reason to willingly give to a cause that helps in improving the quality of life within a community, or is it what they actually say it is? Most charitable institutions, whether it be religious, governmental or privately run, earn substantially large amounts of money from various proceedings that they run, but do they really give it all to the cause that they declare? Which leads to the question if it really helps those that are in dire need? If so, then why are there many people in society today that are still in the clutches of an indigent way of life that have hardly anything to eat despite the existence of these so called “charitable” institutions?

The truth is, life is slowly decaying despite the claims of governments around the world that are allegedly supporting poverty reform programs to improve the life of their citizens. But despite of this, poverty rates are continuing to bloat exponentially, contrary to what most people who think that institutions are gradually making efforts to stave down the ill effects of a spiraling world economy. Considering that developed nations in Northern America and Europe also have problems of their own with regard to their need to reduce the level of poverty in their respective societies, there are still many that live in these parts of the world that have no adequate jobs or means of securing a tangible livelihood to even support their daily needs.

If you think things are bad enough for these developed nations, you should take a glimpse on the horrific way of life in the third world countries such as Africa and South East Asia, particularly in India and the Philippines. Movies like ”Slum Dog Millionaire” are a very good example of what poverty porn is all about. The destitute way of life in these countries make the poor people in the developed countries look like middle class citizens. Compared to people living in western countries, south east Asians are literally living like pigs. The condition of the kind of squalor that these people are living on a daily basis is much worse than being thrown into prison in a western country.

Prison life in the western hemisphere is far better than living in these countries, as most poor people in these countries survive by scavenging the streets, turning over piles of garbage just to forage food to eat. Most of the time, poor people in these countries, particularly in the Philippines, would go to the dumpster of their local fast food restaurant and wait for the waiters to bring out the table scraps and leftovers. They would take these leftovers and bring it home to their families and partake it for their diner, yummy. In recent years however, it has become a business as well, as most of these fast food establishments are now being contracted by middlemen, buying these table scarps and leftover foods and selling them to the poorest of the poor, in which the will clean it up and re-cook it, then sell it off as food.

These kinds of “foods” are a subcategory of the famous “PhilippineStreet Food” and has been given the term “Pag-Pag” (to pat it off as to render it clean) which is a very fitting term considering that you have to clean off anything left of what its former owner has left on it (yuck!). This is often referred to with regard to leftover fried chicken and hamburgers, as the method requires it to be washed down with water and re-cooked in oil. “Pag-Pag” has become a thriving business to the poorest communities in the city of Manila and other provinces where there are many fast food establishments that throw away their table scarps. Despite the huge probability of being inflicted with any type of contagious diseases through contaminated leftover foods, people who eat these “refurbished” foods have no choice as it is the cheapest means of sustaining their hunger.

The poorest of the poor in the Philippines sustain their livelihood by scavenging for refuse such as empty pet bottles, scrap iron, old paper materials such as newspapers and almost anything that they could sell to their local junk dealers. Most of these people live in tenements or even much worse, squatter communities that have evolved to be the breeding ground of the most unimaginable part of society that perpetuates the most unimaginable crimes from petty theft, drug dealing or even worse, hired killers that are willing to kill for amounts as low as $200. Prostitution is very rampant, as there are even families that sell their babies for as low as $300 and even encourage their children as young as 10 years old to commit pornography!

Young children literally loiter in the streets and the main thoroughfares, begging for alms, even bringing along their baby siblings along to draw pity from commuters and passersby. Eventually these children grow up and end up as drug dealers and petty thieves that worsen the already deteriorating state of Philippine society. So, what does poverty porn have to do with this? Simply stated that poverty porn is a looking glass to what society really is around the world and it is a perspective much appreciated not by those who are currently experiencing it, but those that are observing it from a distance.

The world needs poverty porn in a way to make one feel the comfort of what they presently have compared to that of what's happening to the less fortunate around the world. One can consider it like a terrarium in which they can comfortably watch every ugly aspect of how poor people live, without getting their hands dirty and without guilt. Poverty porn gives people the reason to be thankful that its them and not you who is going through that kind of hellish life, and it's a kind of thought that makes you want to cuddle on your warm sofa, while holding that hot cup of chocolate with marshmallows as you watch the ugliness of the reality of life which is a stark contrast to what you are complaining about.

Poverty is both ugly and pungent, as one can clearly imagine being thrown in the middle of all that squalor. Am I being too insensitive? I don't think so. As a final remark, I would just like to quote a stanza sung by Simon Le Bon during the Band Aide song “Do They Know Its Christmas” as it goes like this..."Well tonight thank God its them, instead of you". It just clearly states how caring most people are when it comes to the issue of helping the poor. The truth is, you need to realize that somewhere in the world right now, someone is presently being battered by a strong typhoon, a hurricane, a drought, famine and death...well, tonight thank God its them instead of you. This really makes you feel good, doesn't it?