Straight From Pastor Ey

Now the blame game begins. Due to our dismal performance in the Olympics (for the nth time), people are clamoring for sporting officials’ heads to roll. Lawmakers have filed resolutions in both Houses of Congress for an investigation to be conducted on why we performed poorly in the Games. (Read: Expect more grandstanding in the next few weeks.) Yes, we won some medals in Wushu. But it is just a demonstration event, which did not even dent our medal standing. Was it the lack of funding? Could it be the want of a comprehensive sports program? Or, politicians, instead of sportspeople, running whatever sports program we have, if ever there is really a program at all? Genetics, perhaps? (Some may even claim that the referees cheated in favor of our opponents.) We are grasping and gasping for answers. In heaven, if ever we fail to get a crown or a reward from the Lord, we have no one else to blame but ourselves. God gave us everything we need to win the race He had set before us. (Again, l...

The You Tube video clip is both gut wrenching and heart breaking. (Warning: That video and this article are not for the weak.) Late at night, Mang Boy would scrounge the trash looking for recyclables. Ignoring the stench, he would move from one pile to another. The next day, his wife would sort out the junk. Other than paper, styro cups and plastic utensils, she also sets aside the leftover food her husband collected from the garbage bin of restaurants. A half eaten chicken breast here. A piece of pork ribs there. She would then shake or clean off the dirt. That’s why it is called “pagpag” (In English, “shake off” ). But she is not going to feed it to pigs or dogs. A box of leftover would fetch a measly fifty pesos. A nearby “ karinderia ” or food stall buys them. The cook would separate the meat from the bones. Then she washes the meat twice in hot water. After that, she cooks it. A dish of “pagpag” would usually cost ten pesos. But fried “pagpag” would cost fifteen pesos. Maybe be...

To say that the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was spectacular is really an understatement. Someone even commented that it is an extravaganza that has never happened in Olympics history and, probably, will never happen again. However, word got around that some of the dazzling fireworks the world saw at the opening ceremony were actually digitally enhanced, prerecorded images. The organizers admitted that they actually recreated “the hazy effects of Beijing’s smog at night, and inserted a slight camera shake effect to simulate the idea that it was filmed from a helicopter.” (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) They claimed it was technically impossible and dangerous to film it live. Now, we learn that Lim Miaoke, the cute 9-year-old girl who sang the “Ode to the Motherland” while soaring on wires over the Bird’s Nest Stadium, just lip-synched the song. It appears that supposedly Yang Peiyi, a 7-year-old singer, would do the part. But, because of her chubby looks and crooked teeth, t...

That’s the day the Beijing Olympics will kick off, touted to be the best ever in Olympic history. About 10,500 athletes from 205 countries will be competing in 302 events in 28 sports. Desperately wanting the Olympics to showcase its 21st century superpower status, China invested so much in its preparation. The gargantuan Beijing National Stadium alone costs US$423 million. The opening ceremony itself will highlight 15,000 performers, making it the most spectacular event to be seen worldwide. Here in the Philippines, the reward for the athlete who would bag the first Olympic gold medal is expected to go even beyond P15 million. Also, a brand-new Toyota Vios will be given to every athlete who would win a silver or gold medal. Those incentives are said to be the biggest ever offered in history! (Though some athletes confessed it only added to the pressure. They would rather focus on winning the gold medal first.) The highest we got so far was a silver medal. When he won a silver medal in...

That’s the day the Beijing Olympics will kick off, touted to be the best ever in Olympic history. About 10,500 athletes from 205 countries will be competing in 302 events in 28 sports. Desperately wanting the Olympics to showcase its 21st century superpower status, China invested so much in its preparation. The gargantuan Beijing National Stadium alone costs US$423 million. The opening ceremony itself will highlight 15,000 performers, making it the most spectacular event to be seen worldwide. Here in the Philippines, the reward for the athlete who would bag the first Olympic gold medal is expected to go even beyond P15 million. Also, a brand-new Toyota Vios will be given to every athlete who would win a silver or gold medal. Those incentives are said to be the biggest ever offered in history! (Though some athletes confessed it only added to the pressure. They would rather focus on winning the gold medal first.) The highest we got so far was a silver medal. When he won a silver medal in...