10 essays of the recent past

Since I’m on a self-imposed detention and can’t roll around for more than two months, I’ve decided to keep this blog updated by posting my old essays.

I submitted them for the Youngblood section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, but they were rejected. And I’m glad they suffered that fate. They made me wince in shame while re-reading them. They were either awfully childish or simply incoherent.

I edited them without a heart and here they are now, ranked from what I consider the best down:

1. Death of a boxer
   April 2007
   Many young Filipinos pin their hopes in the dangerous sport of boxing. One of them—a son of Koronadal—came home inside a coffin



2. Stop the violence
   March 21, 2006
   When a bomb explodes, old, painful memories of Mindanaoans are awakened



3. Judge them by what’s IN their heads—and what’s ON their heads
   September 14, 2006
   Young Mindanaoans are up-to-date with pop culture



4. The cry
   March 15, 2006
   Muslims and Christians can live in one village without killing each other



5. Going green
   June 2, 2006
   Long before Al Gore won the Nobel, I’ve been facing the inconvenient truth in my own weird way



6. No love lost
   September 28, 2008
   Reflections on 1950s Cuba, democracy and PGMA



7. A mugful of coffee
   February 2006
   Simple worries have a simple solution



8. Keep on rockin’
   December 2006
   A letter to a band and for myself



9. A god named Manny
   November 2006
   The man who put General Santos City in the world boxing map



10. Don’t get sick
    March 21, 2006
    Mother, mother, I am sick! Call the Congress very quick!