Drifting Thoughts 05

First up is the news: observe that my side bar is still counting up the days after the election, and we still have no complete senatorial line-up. But I'm not here for another heavy-handed commentary. Instead, I'd just like to share something I found in the June 28, 2007 homepage of the Philstar.com. Shown then and there was a photo of Rep. Migz Zubiri propping up his legs while watching the favorable (for him) news about the Maguindanao polls. I find it surprising that no blog jester has picked on the picture's potential for hilarity, so I shall do the honors then:

-oOo-

If there is one thing in the news that I'd like to comment on it would be the issue concerning the first Filipino conquerors of Mt. Everest. Well, it's not exactly news anymore, but remember how Dale Abenojar's sherpas has earlier been quoted by the physician of First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition as indicating that Abenojar, whom they have accompanied, has not really reached the summit? Well recently, the Philippine Star has contacted the sherpas of Abenojar, and the guides deny ever having issued that contrary statement and maintained that their Filipino companion has reached the summit.

I personally would want to believe that Dale Abenojar, on his own physical and financial capacity, devoid of the media hype and corporate sponsorship, is the first Filipino to have climbed world's tallest peak. It's a shame that the quest for the first Filipino up on Everest became a rat race, fuelled and escalated by corporate rivalries most notably ABS-CBN and GMA7. What's the glory in fellow countrymen racing against each other to the top, especially if the race is greatly seen not as a noble contest (like the X-Prize that promotes scientific breakthroughs) but as a mere extension of the Network Wars? Competition, one may say, has forced out excellence, but this quest for Everest is better achieved through cooperation (as the team of first Filipina climbers have demonstrated the following year--why is it that in the Philippines, the women are more reasonable?). But if there is no cooperation, the one with the strong sense of purpose must plod through, and that is where the independent climber Dale Abenojar has redeemed the Filipino and trumped the corporate wannabes who have not achieved the restoration of Philippine pride but rather have shown the negative attitudes that burden this nation.

It would be easier and more gratifying to believe if things are just so simple, but they're not. I've read some blogs that tell of Dale's penchant for tall tales and acting like a wuss. Could he have improved and fulfilled his dream, but was tragically viewed like the boy who cried wolf by those in the local mountaineering community that he have pissed off? Whatever it is, in the absence of solid evidence to prove one claim or the other, I stand by my personal preference, because the message of this version of events is in line with what I want to impart.

-oOo-

I finally figured out the existence of some searches that lead to my blog, and discovered an unintended meaning of my blog title. I got to know of something called "Drifting" (picture from the same Wikipedia link), which is, more than a motorsport, a new paradigm in driving. It is popularized by the manga and anime Initial D and the movie The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift. Unfortunately for Drifting enthusiasts, Highway Drift is not about the practice of the driving technique in the highway but rather about this writer's current drifting in life while having residential and business addresses located near highways.

-oOo-

To cap a somewhat sports-themed entry, a few words about the just-started UAAP season 70 are in order. I'm actually one of the apathetic students then and now, the one who would be contented with reading about my school's game in the papers the next day and who would watch the live telecast only during important games. Heck, I haven't watched one game live at the gladiators' pit that is the Araneta Coliseum! But now that I have the means, allow me a little bit of ra-ra-rah...

Oh yeah.

Oh yeah!

Now perhaps you might be wondering how I have created this picture as well as manipulated that of Migz Zubiri in this post. No need for Photoshop, and no need to shell out some few thousands of bucks. Behold the open source GNU Image Manipulation Program--the GIMP, in short. Special thanks to Jose for showing me the light.

The image sources for this banner, specifically, is taken from the Broderbund ClickArt collection for Windows 95(!), whose CDs contain the Photodex CompuPic image browser legacy program I have featured (with screenshots!) before. It was a pleasant surprise that these companies are still alive and selling the latest versions of their software. The ancient ClickArt jpeg collection I have with me, for instance, had this awful resolution that the cameraphones of today can rival. Now they have this DVD ClickArt collection, haha. On the other hand, the latest version of CompuPic amazingly features an upgraded version of The Eye! I wonder if it still follows the mouse, though. Come to think of it, with help from the latest software like the GIMP, these really old relics can still fulfill their purpose.

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