Monday, March 21, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
PEPE GALLAGA: Another literary work
,,Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time.
Writers have long been fascinated with the centuries of effort required to devise reliable clocks, and the attendant imposition of notions like "standard" time and the time-regulated workday. The recent intellectual fashion has been to depict the development of accurate timepieces not as a convenience, but as part of the plot to divest people of their mystic connection to the pretechnological rhythms of nature by substituting a regimented clock-consciousness that served the interests of the lords of commerce. Probably the best expression of this view is Ronald Wright's beguiling 1991 book Time Among the Maya, which implausibly, if captivatingly, depicts ancient Mayan culture as more human than Ours because the Mayans believed time was not linear (tick...tick...tick) but in some vague fashion "circular" (tick ... retick ... tick). In postmodern theory, the progression from timekeeping based on sundials to giant pendulums to water engines with thousands of pieces to cheap digital devices with no moving parts is one long horror story. [Not that any intellectual would want to be late to a symposium to enounce this view.]
Yet as science writer Dava Sobel points out in her engaging and delightful new book Longitude, the big breakthroughs in clock construction came in pursuit of seafaring, not social regulation. In the 15th century, when nations began to sail the world's oceans seriously, the greatest obstacle to navigation was the inability to determine longitude (position east-west) at sea. Latitude (position north-south) could be read by observing the apparent motion of the sun. But this technique did not apply to longitude, and as a result the fleets of Europe spent inordinate time and incurred constant loss of life essentially wandering the high seas, trying to figure out where they were.
Minds as famed as Galileo, Newton, and Halley applied themselves to the problem and believed its solution lay in observation of the moon or the satellites of Jupiter. Sobel's tale concerns John Harrison, an obscure English watchmaker from a merchant-class background who believed clocks held the answer. Harrison had to battle the budding English science establishment, which wanted the solution to be based on the glamorous, aristocratic pursuit of astronomy, not the tinkerings of a mere craftsman. Sobel's story is rich with fascinating details both of scientific investigation and the bureaucratic politics of 18th-century England. Longitude is well-timed too, as the new Umberto Eco novel The Island of the Day Before features a protagonist marooned on an 18th-century vessel stocked with bizarre longitude instruments.
Writers have long been fascinated with the centuries of effort required to devise reliable clocks, and the attendant imposition of notions like "standard" time and the time-regulated workday. The recent intellectual fashion has been to depict the development of accurate timepieces not as a convenience, but as part of the plot to divest people of their mystic connection to the pretechnological rhythms of nature by substituting a regimented clock-consciousness that served the interests of the lords of commerce. Probably the best expression of this view is Ronald Wright's beguiling 1991 book Time Among the Maya, which implausibly, if captivatingly, depicts ancient Mayan culture as more human than Ours because the Mayans believed time was not linear (tick...tick...tick) but in some vague fashion "circular" (tick ... retick ... tick). In postmodern theory, the progression from timekeeping based on sundials to giant pendulums to water engines with thousands of pieces to cheap digital devices with no moving parts is one long horror story. [Not that any intellectual would want to be late to a symposium to enounce this view.]
Yet as science writer Dava Sobel points out in her engaging and delightful new book Longitude, the big breakthroughs in clock construction came in pursuit of seafaring, not social regulation. In the 15th century, when nations began to sail the world's oceans seriously, the greatest obstacle to navigation was the inability to determine longitude (position east-west) at sea. Latitude (position north-south) could be read by observing the apparent motion of the sun. But this technique did not apply to longitude, and as a result the fleets of Europe spent inordinate time and incurred constant loss of life essentially wandering the high seas, trying to figure out where they were.
Minds as famed as Galileo, Newton, and Halley applied themselves to the problem and believed its solution lay in observation of the moon or the satellites of Jupiter. Sobel's tale concerns John Harrison, an obscure English watchmaker from a merchant-class background who believed clocks held the answer. Harrison had to battle the budding English science establishment, which wanted the solution to be based on the glamorous, aristocratic pursuit of astronomy, not the tinkerings of a mere craftsman. Sobel's story is rich with fascinating details both of scientific investigation and the bureaucratic politics of 18th-century England. Longitude is well-timed too, as the new Umberto Eco novel The Island of the Day Before features a protagonist marooned on an 18th-century vessel stocked with bizarre longitude instruments.
Friday, March 4, 2011
MAYNILA, PAGKAGAT NG DILIM
Ang May Akda
Bakit itinuturing na isa sa mga pinagpipitagang pelikula ni Direktor Ishmael Bernal ang Manila By Night (Regal Films, Inc.)? Ating balikan ang pelikulang umani ng papuri mula sa mga kritiko noong taong 1980. Kilala si Bernal sa paggawa ng mga pelikulang puno ng iba't-ibang pangunahing tauhan. Tahasang isinaad sa pelikula ang suliraning pang lipunan sa kalakhang Maynila. Mula sa isang simpleng tinedyer (William Martinez) na anak ng dating iba na nagbagong buhay (Charito Solis) hanggang sa isang tomboy na drug pusher (Cherie Gil), may bulag na masahista (Rio Locsin), nariyan din ang taxi driver (Orestes Ojeda), ang kabit niyang nagkukunwaring nars (Alma Moreno), mayroon ring probinsyanang waitress (Lorna Tolentino) at ang baklang couturier (Bernardo Bernardo) na bumubuhay sa kanyang pamilya. Iba't-ibang buhay ng mga taong pinagbuklod ng isang malaking siyudad. Tinalakay ng pelikula ang problema sa droga, prostitusyon, relihiyon at kahirapan na magpasahanggang ngayon ay mga suliraning hinahanapan pa rin natin ng solusyon. Maraming nagkumpara ng Manila By Night sa obra ni Direktor Lino Brocka ang Maynila Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag. Kung saan nagkulang ang pelikula ni Brocka ito naman ang landas na tinahak ng obra ni Bernal. Hindi lamang nito ipinakita ang lumalalang situwasyon ng kahirapan sa Maynila sa halip ay hinarap nito ang ibang mga isyung hindi tinalakay sa pelikula ni Brocka. Sa aspetong ito mababanaag ang malaking pagkakaiba ng dalawang pelikula. Kung panonoorin sa ngayon ang Manila By Night masasabing may kalumaan na ang tema nito, di tulad ng unang ipinalabas ang pelikula sa mga sinehan.
Makaraan ang dalawampu't anim na taon mula ng ipalabas ang Manila By Night ay masasabing halos walang binago ang panahon kung susuriin natin ang mga suliraning pang lipunan ng Pilipinas. Nariyan pa rin ang problema sa mga ipinagbabawal na gamot, ang prostitusyon at kahirapan. Sino ba talaga ang dapat sisishin sa lahat ng mga ito? Ang pamahalaan ba? Tayong mga mamayan? Hanggang ngayon wala pang sagot sa mga tanong na ito. Nararapat nating pasalamatan ang mga direktor na tulad ni Ishmael Bernal na sa pamamagitan ng paggawa ng mga obrang tulad ng Manila By Night, isang pelikulang nagmulat sa ating kaisipan sa suliranin ng bansang Pilipinas.
Dulang Pampelikula At Direksyon: Ishmael Bernal
Sinematograpiya: Sergio Lobo
Musika: The Vanishing Tribe
Editing: Augusto Salvador
Disenyong Pamproduksyon: Peque Gallaga
Prodyuser: Regal Films, Inc.
Dulang Pampelikula At Direksyon: Ishmael Bernal
Sinematograpiya: Sergio Lobo
Musika: The Vanishing Tribe
Editing: Augusto Salvador
Disenyong Pamproduksyon: Peque Gallaga
Prodyuser: Regal Films, Inc.
KRIS, ANG SANDATA NG MGA LUTAO
Kris, Ang Sandata Ng Mga Lutao “Historia de las Islas de Mindanao, Jolo y sus Adjacentes” ni Francisco Combes, SJ Si Socsocan ng Basilan ay isa sa pinaka-sikat sa mga pinuno ni Corralat. Nakaibigan niya ang mga Español na tinulungan niya bilang pinuno ng mga Lutao sa hukbong Español. Sinabing ang pangalan niya ay katumbas ng “ang sumasaksak sa kuta o pangkat ng mga kalaban”... Si capitan Gaspar de Morales ay nahirang na admiral ng hukbong dagat ng Español sa Jolo, matapos siyang sumikat sa digmaan sa La Sabanilla at sa Jolo, kung saan siya nasugatan nang malubha. Ginawa siyang commandante, tapos governador ng kuta sa Jolo. Sikat sa giting bilang sundalo, sira siya at sukdulang makasalanan bilang governador. Sa kanyang pangahas at libog, dinukot niya ang anak na babae ni Dato Salibansa. Naghimagsik ang mga tagapulo at ito ang simula ng 200 taon ng pagka-hiwalay ng Jolo mula sa ibang kapuluan ng Pilipinas ... --Wenceslao E. Retana, 1897 | |
 Ang karaniwang sandata ng mga katutubo ay ang pilipit na patalim na tinawag nilang “kris.” Ang talim nito ay may mga palamuti at maganda. Ang hawakan (puño, hilt) ay karaniwang inukit na buto (marfil, ivory) subalit para sa mga mayaman at mga pinuno, ito ay gawa sa ginto, nilalagyan pa minsan ng mga alahas at mga mamahaling bato (piedra, gems). Lubhang hinahangaan ang mga ito. May nakita ako minsan, sukbit-sukbit ni Socsocan na panginuon (lord) ng Samboangan (ang Zamboanga ngayon) nuong salakayin at sakupin ng ating hukbong Español. Sinabing ang halaga ng kris na iyon ay katumbas ng 10 alipin (esclavos, slaves). |
GAGAMBA by: Sionil Jose
GAGAMBA, the cripple, sells sweepstakes tickets the whole day at the entrance to Camarin, the Ermita restaurant. He sees them all—the big men, politicians, journalists, generals, landlords, and the handsome call-girls who have made Camarin famous. In mid-July 1990, a killer earthquake struck and entombed all the beautiful people dining at the Camarin. Gagamba could have easily gotten killed—but he survived the earthquake, as do two other lucky people who were buried in the rubble.
As told by the Philippines’ most widely translated author, this novel raises a fundamental question about life’s meaning and suggests at the same time the only rational answer.
As told by the Philippines’ most widely translated author, this novel raises a fundamental question about life’s meaning and suggests at the same time the only rational answer.
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