Eternal sunshine of the spotted mind II

I have written before about the optimism of this cute administration. Why not, when you hit rock bottom there is no way but up. But the way we see things cloud our resolve to make them better. When things go bad, this administration turns delusional and say they are just perceptions and not reality. Shades of  "she's the one talking but she's not the one speaking" - plain doublespeak.

Take the case of dwindling foreign direct investment. It is unfortunate that there is a global crisis in addition to the local crisis we are having since this cute administration took over. But the government downplays the lower FDI and celebrates its projected zero growth. We extol the resilience of the economy when the FDI has stooped to 1/4 of its level a year ago. How low can you go before it breaks?

The recorded FDI in Jan-Feb 2009 amounts to US$16 million. Manny Pacquiao earned more than that with his purse and PPV shares in the Hatton fight. Pacman's gross pay is more than the FDI that the entire Philippines attracted in February. And the government is happy?

Of course, the government can always tweak its statistics. The SWS unemployment survey says that adult unemployement is now at record high; which is consistent with the global trend. The government includes the 15-year olds in its own labor force survey. Moreover, the government survey used another definition starting 2005 resulting in the lowest unemployment rates in years. Clever, huh?

The graph below shows the unemployment curve dropping starting 2005. Is this a result of GMA's 1 million jobs a year program? No! This is caused by the adoption of the new definition. The blue line indicates what could have been the jobless rate had they not redefined terms. Clearly the job creation program failed. Not so clever, after all! The other graph is from the SWS website. It shows the increasing adult jobless rate.

Reconciling the SWS survey with the government's can lead to a disturbing conclusion - that there are relatively more entrants to the labor force from the 15-18 year olds than any other age group annually. These kids should be in school. Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan! What happens to their future and this nation's future?

PacMan is on the 2009 Time 100

Manny Pacquaio made it to the 2009 Time 100 list of influential people. He deserves it. He influences all Filipinos, from the cute one in the palace down to the lowly homeless ones, all 90 million of us. Though he deserves it, how he made it to the list where people can vote online says a lot about the Internet habits of Filipinos.

Pacquiao also topped the ESPN Champion of Champions poll in December 2008 in another online voting poll. He was pitted against a cricket god from a country with a billion people. How do PacMan fans react? With national pride and sporting pride on the line (or online), we voted for PacMan over and over again, till he gets a 9:1 margin over the Indian hero.

In Time magazine's turn to generate traffic to its website, fans are asked to vote (using a slider) for their bet, while they can also negatively vote (by sliding to the left) for others. Even if Pinoy fans voted for PacMan all the way up and unvoted for others all the way down, his recent successes and the way he carries the spirit of this wretched land merit him a spot in Time's list.

Here is the complete article on Time:

Manny Pacquiao
By Lennox Lewis

Pound for pound, Manny Pacquiao is the best boxer in the world. But even more important than holding that distinction, Manny has connected with the people of his home country, the Philippines, to the point where he's almost like a god. The people have rallied behind him and feel like they're a part of him, because they can see his talent, his dedication, his grace and his class. The grip he holds over the Philippines is similar to Nelson Mandela's influence in South Africa. I can surely see Manny becoming the Philippine President one day.

In fact, he already ran for Congress in the Philippines but lost, in part because voters thought he could do more for the country as an inspirational champion boxer. I agree with the Filipino people. Manny, 30, already has a true global reach, and his influence will only expand as he gets better. Manny is from the Muhammad Ali school. He's a boxer, a puncher and a mover — a champion in four weight divisions. He doesn't stand there and take shots. He throws that wicked jab and is so quick to dodge trouble.

Boxing needs a guy like Manny. Too often, when something positive develops, the sport takes two steps backward; you never know where the black eye is going to come from. With Manny, you don't have to worry about that. He just loves the sport and knows he's carrying the hopes of his country in the ring.

Lewis, the former world heavyweight champion, is a boxing commentator for HBO Sports

Fast Fact: Pacquiao is the first athlete the Philippine Postal Corp. has honored with his own stamp.

Amazing happens

Where amazing happens. An Orlando Magic fan is demanding an apology from Glen Davis after the Celtics' thrilling win in Game 4 yesterday, where Big Baby hit the winning shot with no time left. No this is not a joke, it is true. The fan sent an email to the NBA complaining that Davis crossed the line, literally, and embarrassed his son. In the e-mail, the fan said Davis conducted himself like a "raging animal with no regard for fans' personal safety." According to him Big Bay shoved his 12-year-old son with such force, that the boy's baseball cap catapulted into the air and the boy went tumbling into his courtside seat. Apparently the fan and his son sits at VIP row A seats 5&6. Here's a video of Big Baby's heroics and the funny (not to the father) incident. Check 0:59.

Amazing shot. Amazing fan. Hahaha.

Happy nostalgia

We experience nostalgia more as we age. Invariably, we long for our childhood memories and those who relocated have strong feelings of homesickness. Sometimes nostalgia is triggered by discontent by present situation. Nostalgia provides a sense of comfort for stressed-out adults. That is why folks today fondly remember martial law as if life was easier then. It just shows how bad life has turned under GMA. 

Sometimes nostalgia can be painful. Psychologists say that painful nostalgia can often be addressed by planning a visit to a childhood hometown. The power of knowing you can revisit parts of your past can help to lessen the pain. Feelings of nostalgia are normal and healthy, but making a conscious effort to live in the past is not.

My elementary school batchmates are planning a reunion, some 35+ years after we last saw each other. I am sure all of us are nostalgically happy, gauging by the posts in our e-group. We will not be living in the past. We just want to see each other again. Whatever childish problems or petty rivalries or healthy competition we had before in our youth, and later in life, should not get in the way of the chance of being happy again with each other's company.

Newspaper editorials against Pacquiao are just overreactions. Pacquiao is not being irresponsible when he chose to come back despite the DOH secretary's publicity hugging plea for him to postpone his trip. The DOH chose to highlight the WHO local representative's suggestion for Pac to delay his trip. Actually the WHO local rep also said Pac can go home but he is asked to observe social distancing. When airport authorities allowed the likes of Lito Atienza and others to mob Pacquiao upon his return, this is not Pac's irresponsiblity. It is of the airport's and DOH's.

The WHO does not actually advise against travelling. It's website clearly states that: "If you are feeling unwell or have symptoms of influenza, you should not travel. If you have any doubts about your health, you should check with your health care provider." Pacman was not sick when he travelled. He could have gotten the virus if he stayed in the US longer because that's where the virus is. Imagine lots of Americans also come and see him there.

The WHO also has this to add in its website:

"The Although identifying signs and symptoms of influenza in travellers can help track the path of the outbreak, it will not reduce the spread of influenza, as the virus can be transmitted from person to person before the onset of symptoms.
      Scientific research based on mathematical modelling shows that restricting travel would be of limited or no benefit in stopping the spread of disease. Historical records of previous influenza pandemics, as well as experience with SARS, validate this.
Does WHO recommend screenings at country entry and exit points to detect if ill people are travelling?
     No. We do not believe entry and exit screenings would work to reduce the spread of this disease. However country-level measures to respond to a public health risk are the decision of national authorities, under the International Health Regulations 2005.
    Countries that adopt measures that significantly interfere with international traffic (e.g. delaying an airplane passenger for more than 24 hours, or refusing country entry or departure to a traveller) must provide WHO with the public health reasoning and evidence for their actions. WHO will follow up with all of its Member countries on such matters.
    Travellers should always be treated with dignity and respect for their human rights."

What Pac has been showing this past few days is that he does not need Malacanan. It is Malacanan that needs him. First, he creates his own party, which means he is not running under Lakas/Kampi. Then he did not thank the president profusely after his win unlike in the previous ones. Then he does not grant the request to delay his trip. What does Malacanan do? Cancel the lunch/reception on Friday. They maybe afraid of the flu and they show that they are really vengeful.

HBO man tells Manny to pray at the corner

Just moments after knocking out Ricky Hatton, the jubilant Manny Pacquiao was being mobbed by his own corner men, when an HBO crew pointed him the corner. Manny caught the eye of the crew man and he proceeded to kneel and pray at the designated corner. The man is seen at the bottom right of the screen caps. Imagine, HBO reminds Manny to pray. It makes good, intense, compact drama. The short clip below captures the scene.



Meanwhile, Martin Nievera is still facing negative criticism over his version of the national anthem. His version is not only bad, but his haughty demeanor over the criticisms leaves him no sympathizers. Even the lawyers who defend his artisitc and constitutional rights maintain that the singing was in bad taste. Now it turns out that his ear piece was not even appropriate, the read and blue sides were wrong. What can we expect? Martin is half-American, so his version is half-right.

My recent awards ;)

Meanwhile, below are screencaps of the news telecast of my other award. In case you didn't catch it on TV, click on the photo or click here for a replay.

Aling Banang Pansit Halo-halo Tapsilog Atbp.

If you grew up in the heart of San Juan you must know Aling Banang's eatery. It started out as a carinderia in the old public market. They had a branch under the old mango tree beside Rizal's monument in what is now the parking lot/town plaza. Back in the '70's, before the fastfood chains, Aling Banang catered to the San Juan student population and the market goers. Its main menu consisted of noodles (all varieties - bihon, canton, palabok, mami, etc.) sprinkled with bits of crunchy lechon kawali; and the halo-halo. An interesting variation of their halo-halo is the halo-halo icecream, where instead of shaved ice, three scoops of homemade icecream are used. It is enough to give you sugar rush for a day. Of course, they also had regular and special halo-halo (halo-halo with icecream).

The core of its student base in the '70s and '80s have all now grown up but most still yearn for the crunchy lechon kawali bits. It is not actually the traditional lechon kawali since they use the pig's nape and not the belly. It is just as mouth watering and equally cholestrol laden, but what the heck. It is a gustatorial treat.

The original Aling Banang's has since moved out of the public market after the fire that gutted the whole of Agora. Many branches have sprouted all over San Juan. One was spotted in Quezon City in front of St. Luke's Hospital. Another one was reportedly seen in Cainta. Apparently Aling Banang's children/ grandchildren are operating the different branches. If you knew Aling Banang and her daughters, you will notice their chinny resemblance to those currently operating/manning the new stores.

The different branches still offer the same basic menu. They added tapsilogs and more to the list. The pricing seems to be uniform but the taste and food presentation varies. The best tasting fare still comes from the original store now located in a building just outside of the new public market.

Here are some photos of the Aling Banang stores within San Juan.

The difference between leader and manager

Abraham Zaleznik wrote in an article from the Harvard Business Review in 1977:
"The difference between managers and leaders, he wrote, lies in the conceptions they hold, deep in the psyches, of chaos and order. Managers embrace process, seek stability and control, and instinctively try to resolve problems quickly - sometimes before they fully understand a problem’s significance. Leaders, in contrast, tolerate chaos and lack of structure and are willing to delay closure in order to understand the issues more fully in this way, Zalenznik argued, business leaders have much more in common with artists, scientists and other creative thinkers than they do with managers. Organizations need both managers and leaders to succeed, but developing both requires a reduced focus on logic and strategic exercises in favour of an environment where creativity and imagination are permitted to flourish."

Warren Bennis, in his book "On Becoming a Leader", writes what he considers the differences between managers and leaders:

-The manager administers; the leader innovates.
-The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
-The manager maintains; the leader develops.
-The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
-The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
-The manager accepts reality; the leader investigates it.
-The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
-The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
-The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader has his or her eye on the horizon. The manager imitates; the leader originates.
-The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
-The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
-The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

I showed my friend an article on Bennis' book and we both agree that work involving developmental, creative processes need leaders; while work that go by set standard procedures require more management. My friend is now a bit enlightened though he still wonders how their management can steer their projects full steam ahead from their drifting position.

Management leadership

I have a friend who has resolved not to call the attention of his boss on anything because it always either meets inaction or worse he gets blamed for it. He thinks his bosses are too concerned with processes and control, (purposely or unwittingly) failing to provide project directions. That's why, my friend concludes, their projects never go far from the planning stages. To my mind, my friend's managers fail as a leader. Clearly there's a difference between leading and managing.

Gen. Colin Powell, in a leadership primer, said that "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership." Here's the primer.

Quotations from Chairman Powell: A Leadership Primer

1. Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.
2. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.
3. Don't be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.
4. Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.
5. Never neglect details. When everyone's mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.
6. You don't know what you can get away with until you try.
7. Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find.
8. Organization doesn't really accomplish anything. Plans don't accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don't much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.
9. Organization charts and hence titles count for next to nothing.
10. Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.
11. Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission.
12. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
13. Powell's Rules for Picking People" - Look for intelligence and judgment and, most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego and the drive to get things done.
14. Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.
15. Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired." Part II: "Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.
16. The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.
17. Have fun in your command. Don't always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you've earned it. Spend time with your families. Corollary: Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.
18. Command is lonely.

Past my prime, six more years until my next prime

I'm now officially past my prime. I do not mean past the time of maturity when power and vigor are greatest or past the age of ideal physical perfection and intellectual vigor. I believe I'm still on the top of my game. Though I peaked a long time ago, my peak is a long wide plateau.

I mean I just turned to an age that is not a prime number. Curiously, my wife and two sons will be at their primes this year. I will be again in my prime in six years. Since there are an infinite number of primes, we will always get back to our prime no matter how we age.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia: