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Sunday, November 22, 2009

the composer


Picture above by Portugal's Jaime Reis, a student of major 20th c. German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen who composed the award-winning Helicopter String Quartet. Jaime (his name is pronounced "zshaym") explains that, in the composition, four members of a string quartet perform in four helicopters taking independent flight paths in the countryside: their sounds are mixed together with those of the helicopters and transmitted with their videos to the concert hall!



Sunday, November 15, 2009

principles and politics


President Vaclav Havel of Czechozlovakia:

Please try to imagine the following, somewhat absurd situation:

A literary critic known for his merciless judgment and piercing look, capable of discovering any false tone in a novel or story, is suddenly confronted with the task of writing a novel. Everyone is waiting with curiosity, and even a certain amount of malicious joy, to see how he succeeds in meeting the high targets he himself had set before, not knowing that one day he would have to make the effort to satisfy them.

For years I used to criticize practical politics as a mere technology of vying for power and as a purely pragmatic activity whose objective is not to perform selfless service to citizens in accordance with one's conscience, but only to win their favor with a view to staying in power or gaining more of it.As an independent intellectual, I was continuously developing my concepts of politics as a selfless service to fellow human beings and as morality in practice, a high-principled politics which I tentatively termed "nonpolitical politics."

Fate has indeed played a strange joke on me, as if it were telling me that after having been so smart, I should now show all those whom I have criticized the right way to do it. No wonder my present position is hardly enviable: All my political activities, and maybe all the policies pursued by Czechoslovakia, are being examined under the microscope which I once built myself.

After a year and a half of the presidency in a country ridden with problems which presidents in stable democracies never dream of, I have not been compelled to retract anything. Not only have I not had to change my views, but I have even been confirmed in them.

Despite all the political misery I am confronted with every day, it still is my profound conviction that the very essence of politics is not dirty; dirt is brought in only by wicked people. I admit that this is an area of human activity where the temptation to advance through unfair actions may be stronger than elsewhere, and which thus makes higher demands on human integrity. But it is not true at all that a politician cannot do without lying or intriguing. That is sheer nonsense, often spread by those who want to discourage people from taking an interest in public affairs.

Of course, in politics, just as anywhere else in life, it is impossible, and it would not be sensible, always to say everything bluntly. Yet that does not mean one has to lie. What is needed here are tact, instinct and good taste. That, in fact, has been one of the things that surprised me most in the realm of high politics, where good taste is more important than all the education in political science.

All this is a matter of form: knowing how long I should speak, when to begin and when to finish; how to say something politely that the other party does not like to hear; how to pick out what is essential at the given moment and to refrain from talking about nonessential things that nobody is interested in listening to; how to remain steadfast in one's position without offending the other party; how to create a friendly atmosphere in order to facilitate demanding negotiations; how to keep the conversation going without imposing oneself on one's partner or creating in him the impression that he is being ignored; how to maintain a balance between the serious political subjects and the lighter, relaxing ones; knowing when and where to appear, and when and where to remain absent, and what measure of candor or restraint to choose.

It is also a matter of having a kind of instinct for the period, for the atmosphere that marks it, for the sentiments of the people, the nature of their troubles, and their mental disposition. That, too, is perhaps more important than various sociological surveys.

While education in political science, law, economics, history and culture is certainly invaluable for every politician, it is not, as I can see time and again, the most important thing. Much more important are establishing contact and maintaining a sense of measure; the ability to imagine oneself in one's partner's position and to address him, and the capability of perception and the quick assessment of problems and the condition of human souls.

I certainly do not mean to imply that I possess all these qualities. But when a man has his heart in the right place and good taste, he can not only do well in politics but is even predetermined for it. If someone is modest and does not yearn for power, he is certainly not ill-equipped to engage in politics; on the contrary, he belongs there. What is needed in politics is not the ability to lie but rather the sensibility to know when, where, how and to whom to say things.

It is not true that people of high principle are ill-suited for politics. The high principles have only to be accompanied by patience, consideration, a sense of measure and understanding for others. It is not true that only coldhearted, cynical, arrogant, haughty or brawling persons can succeed in politics. Such people are naturally attracted by politics. In the end, however, politeness and good manners weigh more.




Requiem - Lacrymosa - Mozart

Monday, November 2, 2009

fifth dimension

The soul of beings is their scent. -Patrick Süskind


Perfume - Movie Trailer - Click here for this week’s top video clips


One of my most memorable readings in high school Psychology class was about pheromones, the chemicals we exude that attracts people to us. I remembered the lesson recently when I saw the VCD of "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" (bought from SM), adapted from the book with the same title by German writer
Patrick Süskind.

The story, set in 18th century France, is about an orphan Jean-Baptiste Grenouille who has no odor, making him invisible to those around him. Yet he is gifted with a sense of smell so acute that it is his primary way of perceiving the world.

By covering either our ears or our eyes, we are able to imagine how it is to use sight without hearing, or hearing without sight. But to experience the world only through our nose, what would that be like?

Perhaps because of a spartan upbringing- Tatay admonished me and my brothers while growing up to take no longer than five minutes in taking a bath and to comb our hair without using a mirror, "just like in the military"- I don't think much of perfumes. Except that in my teens, I was given a bottle of musk cologne which I used on dates and special occasions.

The fourth or fifth dimension of scent that I have today was composed mainly by two people- a woman and a man- and of course me.

Tricia, my BFF in high school, was like a female Grenouille (though less deadly): she could differentiate the odor of her different suitors. She also had a brother Gari- a veritable metrosexual before the word was invented- who had a collection of men's perfumes in their room. One time, Trish decided to experiment and try the different scents on me- around a dozen kinds- to see which one would blend best with the chemicals on my skin and complement my personality. I was of course a willing subject. (Gari, I'm sorry- yes we did this!)

The one scent which made Trish exclaim, "This is it! This is it!" was one of the first purchases I made after graduation when I was already working. Here is Trish smelling our food during a memorable lunch in Pebble Beach, California.


In law school, I was also gifted with a scent one Christmas by my classmate Deo- this was for our gift exchange (or Secret Santa). I never thought a man could use it, but it has become my "no-scent scent"- while wearing it, a fellow writer thought I smelled "clean, like soap." The bouquet is transformed and becomes more complex when I'm in love. I discovered from my parfumeur that this is also the favorite scent of actor Richard Gomez.

Here is Deo with the fraternity he headed and their frat sweetheart Maida (now Deo's wife).

Recently, while hiking in the northern forests of Solvalla, I found something fragrant that I took back with me to Manila- I've added this extra note to my scent-dimension, to share a bit of my love of adventure and make the experience even more personal for those interacting with me.