Punzi's Corner Blog

(Got the from my mailbox. Don't even think about citing me for copyright infringement...)

1: Under no circumstances may two men share an umbrella.

2: When riding a cab, under no circumstances should 2 men share the backseat, unless they are hatching an evil plan. Or if they are biologically related.

3: It is OK for a man to cry ONLY under the following circumstances:

(a) When a heroic dog dies to save its master.
(b) The moment Angelina Jolie starts unbuttoning her blouse.
(c) After wrecking your boss' car.
(d) One hour, 12 minutes, 37 seconds into "The Crying Game".
(e) When she is using her teeth.

4: Any Man who brings a camera to a bachelor party may be legally killed and eaten by his buddies.

5: Unless he murdered someone in your family, you must bail a friend out of jail within 12 hours.

6: If you've known a guy for more than 24 hours, his sister is off limits forever unless you actually marry her.

7: Moaning about the brand of free beer in a buddy's fridge is forbidden. However complain at will if the temperature is unsuitable.

8: No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for another man. In fact, even remembering your buddy's birthday is strictly optional. At that point, you must celebrate at a strip bar of the birthday boy's choice.

9. Intimately running your hands through another man's hair, unless he's your ill-stricken father, dying grandfather, or beloved son or nephew, is just wrong. Don't even start.

10: On a road trip, the strongest bladder determines pit stops, not the weakest.

11: When stumbling upon other guys watching a sporting event, you may ask the score of the game in progress, but you may never ask who's playing.

12: You may flatulate in front of a woman only after you have brought her to climax. If you trap her head under the covers for the purpose of flatulent entertainment, she's officially your girlfriend.

13: It is permissible to drink a fruity alcohol drink only when you're sunning on a tropical beach... and it's delivered by a topless model and only when it's free.

14: Only in situations of moral and/or physical peril are you allowed to kick another guy in the nuts.

15: Unless you're in prison, never fight naked.

16: Friends don't let friends wear Speedos. Ever. Issue closed.

17: If a man's fly is down, that's his problem, you didn't see anything.

18: Women who claim they "love to watch sports" must be treated as spies until they demonstrate knowledge of the game and the ability to drink as much as the other sports watchers.

19: A man in the company of a hot, suggestively dressed woman must remain sober enough to fight.

20: Never hesitate to reach for the last beer or the last slice of pizza, but not both, that's just greedy.

21: If you compliment a guy on his six-pack, you'd better be talking about his choice of beer.

22: Never join your girlfriend or wife in discussing a friend of yours, except if she's withholding sex pending your response.

23: Phrases that may NOT be uttered to another man while lifting
weights:

a) Yeah, Baby, Push it!
b) C'mon, give me one more! Harder!
c) Another set and we can hit the showers!

24: Never talk to a man in a bathroom unless you are on equal footing: i.e., both urinating, both waiting in line, etc. For all other situations, an almost imperceptible nod is all the conversation you need.

25: Never allow a telephone conversation with a woman to go on longer than you are able to have sex with her. Keep a stopwatch by the phone. Hang up if necessary.

26: The morning after you and a girl who was formerly "just a friend" have carnal, drunken monkey sex, the fact that you're feeling weird and guilty is no reason for you not to nail each other again before the discussion about what a big mistake it was occurs.

27: It is acceptable for you to drive her car. It is not acceptable for her to drive yours.

28: Thou shalt not buy a car in the colors of brown, pink, lime green, orange or sky blue.

29: The girl who replies to the question "What do you want for Christmas?" with "If you loved me, you'd know what I want!" gets an Xbox. End of story.

30: There is no reason for guys to watch Ice Skating or Men's Gymnastics. Ever.

Arrived yesterday night from Tugegarao after a 10-hour drive , but I just helped my cousin out by driving half of the way (from Cabanatuan to Manila). Went straight to bed as I was pretty much drained. And so was he.

Still recovering right now so I'll catch you later.

Next time, I'm taking the bus.

Yes, I've heard the arguments against suspending DLSU from the UAAP this year.

You can't suspend DLSU because:

1. The two Ateneo-La Salle games in the regular season generate enough ticket sales to pay for the expenses of the entire league

2. You'll never know who's the best if DLSU is not there.

I'll never buy into these arguments, suffice it to say that:

1. For God's sake, theses are AMATEUR leagues! Money should never be the prime consideration here, unless it is for the UAAP. Then, we're all screwed...

2. Following this argument, we'll also never know who was the best in 2004 had DLSU not fielded those ineligible players there...

Lord Jesus Christ, Who commanded us to love our enemies, and those who defame and injure us, and to pray for them and forgive them;

Who Himself prayed for His enemies, who crucified him: grant us, we pray, the spirit of Christian reconciliation and meekness, that we may heartily forgive every injury and be reconciled with our enemies.

Grant us to overcome the malevolence and offences of people with Christian meekness and true love of our neighbor.

We further beseech You, O Lord, to grant to our enemies true peace and forgiveness of sins; and do not allow them to leave this life without true faith and sincere conversion.

And help us repay evil with goodness, and to remain safe from the temptations of the devil and from all the perils which threaten us, in the form of visible and invisible enemies.

+Amen.

More than participating and helping fellow bloggers deal with legalities in blogging, iBlog2 was a chance to meet old friends, meet in person old blog friends for the first time and meet new friends. Indeed, a day of days... pardon my Chronicles of Riddick hangover...

Some pictures:

That's Rebecca MacKinnon from Global Voices Online delivering the keynote. Scouring through her profile, she did not mention her civil status... Tough luck! But I hope she's not married. Even if she is, I'm not the jealous type (heheheheheh...) This is probably the closest I will ever get to my dream Harvard Master's Degree in Law... sigh...

That's Manolo Quezon III delivering his usual brilliant piece on political blogging. A possible future Executive Secretary...


That's Jove Francisco, on leave from his Palace beat in attendance... with Dr. Ronald Meinardus in the foreground...


That's the great Dean Jorge Bocobo in the audience... I was privileged enough to exchange views with "the man"... his deep insight into Philippine current events and his love for Rizal... Sorry, sir. This is the only picture I got of you there... but Ajay got a good picture of us together.


Fellow Pinoy Tech Bloggers Clair Ching and "Supremo" Abe Olandres... million dollar smiles... literally...


Salivating over Von's brand-spanking-new iBook as he liveblogged the event here, here and here... drool...



Here's Attorneys Marvin Aceron and Bong Sison delivering the necessary lessons on libel and linking, the track I moderated...


And that's us getting our plaques for contributing to the event.

Finally met my twin Ron Allan...

Nice to have met all of you there. See you @ iBlog3!

No, I am not packing my bags for Nepal.

Just reading a few instructions given to us moderators for the 2nd Philippine Blogging Summit to be held today.

I'll be the moderator for the legal blogging panel in the afternoon breakout session there. The only problem there is, I really want to attend all the sessions, because I do not blog for any particular reason. I may be hopping from one session to another during the morning. Also, there is a slim chance that no one will attend (or only a few people will attend) our session because Dean Alfar is on the other session...

Anyway, I hope you all attend this whole-day event. I also hope to meet some of you there.

This is one of the favorite and most abused topics in English (or any other language) composition.

So how did you spend yours?

For us, as I have mentioned before, I had choir duties that went acceptably well. But I had a chance to do some night swimming at the community pool. That's the only break I got last
week.

Oh, and I tried, in vain, to finish Holy Blood Holy Grail but it bored the nuts off me... and I blogged about Maintenance 3.4 for the Mac OSX over at Pinoy Tech Blog yesterday...

And as you may have noticed, Bea even played an angel in yesterday's Easter ceremonies held at dawn. She looked wonderful. My dad did the wings because I'm terrible at arts and crafts.

Anyway, it's back to the rat race today. But tomorrow, there will be this iBlog2 Blogging Summit over at UP College of Law. It's a whole day event but I hope to see some of you there.

Have a good week ahead...

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.

Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.

Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.

They were saying to one another, "Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?"

When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large.
On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed.

He said to them, "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.

But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.'"

Then they went out and fled from the tomb, seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

When he had said this, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.

Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.

Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, "Whom are you looking for?"

They answered him, "Jesus the Nazorean." He said to them, "I AM." Judas his betrayer was also with them.

When he said to them, "I AM," they turned away and fell to the ground.

So he again asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They said, "Jesus the Nazorean."

Jesus answered, "I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." This was to fulfill what he had said, "I have not lost any of those you gave me."

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus.

Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?"

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him,
and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.

It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.

But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in. Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, "You are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not."

Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine.

Jesus answered him, "I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing.

Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said."
When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, "Is this the way you answer the high priest?"

Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?"

Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not."

One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"

Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.

So Pilate came out to them and said, "What charge do you bring (against) this man?"
They answered and said to him, "If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you."

At this, Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law." The Jews answered him, "We do not have the right to execute anyone,"
in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.

So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?"

Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?"

Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants (would) be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here."

So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in him."

But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

They cried out again, "Not this one but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.

And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak,and they came to him and said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him."

So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, "Behold, the man!"

When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him."

The Jews answered, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."

Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" Jesus did not answer him.

So Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?"

Jesus answered (him), "You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin."

Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, "If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar."

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge's bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your king!"

They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,
and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha.

There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.

Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews."

Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.

So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that he said, 'I am the King of the Jews.'"

Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.

So they said to one another, "Let's not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be," in order that the passage of scripture might be fulfilled (that says): "They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots." This is what the soldiers did.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."

Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst."

There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.

When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.

But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may (come to) believe.

For this happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: "Not a bone of it will be broken."

And again another passage says: "They will look upon him whom they have pierced."
After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds.

They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.

So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist.

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?"

Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later."

Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet."

Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me."

Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well."

Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean."

So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."

Have a few more things to do before the Holy Week stretch.

There are some loose ends over at my government consultancy that could be handled today, some bills to pay and a client that needs tending to...

After that, you think I'm going into vacation/holiday mood afterwards, right?

Holy Week for me is not really a vacation. Surely, I understand those people who take advantage of this time to catch up on the zzzzs and unwind. For some of them, this is the only leisure time they have so I think they can be forgiven if the shun the churches in favor of the beaches.

But please, please do some reflection for this week because that is what Holy Week is all about (if you're Catholic, of course).

For me, you remember I have choir. I will be equally busy in church for this week as I am in my professional life. My choir is assigned to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday services. We practiced for those last Saturday night and that lasted until midnight.

Have a great and fruitful Holy Week.

I declared last Friday a non-working holiday because of my daughter's 8th birthday.

We had the usual swimming party at the community pool with some friends. And we finally availed ourselves of the night swimming almost twenty years since moving here.

She had a blast:

And so did he:

And I got her a second pair of Havaianas "Joy" Flipflops today over at the Gateway Mall. She seemed understatedly pleased... NOT!

My dearest Bea,

My how time flies! One minute, I'm just cradling you in my arms. In another, you've fast becoming a young lady.

We've been through a lot together. But unlike your little brother, you have stood as mute witness to what we have been through. For that, I am truly sorry and I ask for your forgiveness and understanding.

And through that we have survived, by sheer grace of God.

Remember always to have faith in Him and to thank Him constantly for what He has done for us. Be thankful for the many blessings He has showered and shall continue to shower upon you. In return, He only asks that you keep straight your path and true.

Always maintain your light and bubbly disposition despite all trials and challenges that you will face. And may you learn to forgive and let go, despite of it all.

Always remember that Nico and I will always be there for you whenever you need us. As do your grandfather, grandmother, your aunt and uncle and your cousins.

And we love you with all our hearts.

May you have a healthy body, a healthy heart and a healthy soul. And may all your dreams come true despite of it all.

Semper fidelis. Always faithful. That's is my one promise to you.

Love,
Daddy

From Sun.Star Davao:

"WHEN you have a dream it's never too late," said North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol to the graduates of the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan Tuesday.

The governor was one of the 921 graduates earning a bachelor's degree in developmental communication through the university's expanded tertiary education equivalency and accreditation program.

Asked of his sentiment on his graduation day, Piñol said, he feels fulfilled because he finally realized his dream of graduating in college 36 years after his high school graduation.

This is the first time in the history of the university that an incumbent governor graduated from college.

Having hurdled that, Piñol now intends to pursue a masteral on rural development and later a law degree.

"We would like to give the people of Cotabato the opportunity to go to school. My return to college is my way of telling the people of Cotabato that education is a treasure that can never be taken away from you. It is something that you should strive for and work hard for," Piñol said.

The governor dropped out of college in 1975 when he started working for a newspaper in Davao City.

Piñol said he had long wanted to go back to school for some time now but his work and duties prevented him from doing so.

Luckily, he said, the education program had given him that opportunity.

Piñol encouraged all other undergraduate politicians to finish their college degree through the same program.

This some fine news. Instead of people destroying each other politically, here's one still trying to better himself.

This is a more productive attitude than what is prevalent now.

Governor Piñol, I salute you! May your tribe increase.

Ten years into law practice, I open my mouth for a living. Be it in court or in a meeting, we do have to be talkative, really and dispense advise (and wit) at a drop of a hat. Of course, I also have to get my fingers busy in churning out pleadings and documents. It's part of the package. But let's not talk about that now.

To tell you the truth, I was more impressed with the counsel of the opposing party. He was more articulate and more eloquent-- a seasoned veteran and a former constitutional convention member. Our side was tense and tentative (although we were actually represented by the son of a famous Supreme Court Chief Justice, his partner then was less than lackluster).

I hope I do come prepared. They say those things go on for hours without a meal or bathroom break.

But honestly, though, I'll be more interested when Proclamation No. 1017 goes up for oral arguments.

There's peace in the house for a change.

A little break from the pressures. All the computers in the house humming along nicely. Bea and Milka, my niece, playing the Sims 2 on Lindsay. Merphi (Milka's big sister and my first godchild) chatting away (YM) on Mandy. And me blogging and chatting away on Jessica... while Nico is just going around and fooling around with all of us...

Ahhhh peace.... hope it lasts... But I have some work to do later on... Anyway, I'm enjoying it while I can.

Only bad thing though is Bea and Milka are playing with my work computer and my files are there. Thank God for wireless networking...

I used to love to play this April Fool's Day joke on girls.

I used to walk up to them as say "You know, we've know each other for such a long time and I've been meaning to tell you this. But I just got the courage to tell this to you now... You know, I've loved you since the first time I saw you..... APRIL FOOL!"

I've been meaning to blog sooner but I have been busy since Friday. And when I tried to blog this morning, I could not access all the Google-related websites. There may be a denial of service attack today (given it's still April 1 in the States...)

But I think all is well now.

Here's to another busy week.

And enjoy the rest of your weekend, y'all!