flashback december 2009

yes...very soon, it's december once more...

5 memories lingered from last year's december...

(this is aside from the fun-time with my family in gensan of course)

here they are:

i proved that TGIF is really a must-try-resto...

i saw classmate tamrat wore their national costume

i was surprised when my classmate luella gave me ticket to this ballet show

i realized wrapping gifts in brown paper and ribonning it with straw is easier and practical...

i was showered with tokens...and gifts from friends

suddenly, i thought about respect and promotion :)

What is “respect”? What is “promotion’?... Affirmation fulfills the humanity of individuals and to affirm another means to respect and promote his subjectivity and individuality (his potentiality) and social capacities. "Respect and promotion may also involve active involvement in the prevention or demolition of conditions that prevent or hamper the unfolding of human capacities which are essential to the fullness of human development. "

Respect recognizes the existence of human qualities and capacities. This is something that the market economy can not just offer for a price. It comes as individuals relate with other individuals, as he strives to understand his being a human person, and as he tries to create a world with, and within the world of others.

Man’s needs in the beginning used to be so simple – flood, clothes and a shelter just enough to protect him from heat and cold. As time passed however, these needs have grown and have extended to items tagged as wants. Men began looking at other things. He also then began realizing that there is more to the basic economic needs. Whatever needs and wants men might have, whatever it may cost, one can not deny that without the feeling of being human in its fullest sense, the individual is only ‘potentially human’. The need to for affirmation of his humanity by others will fully actualize his humanity despite the scarcity of resources, goods and services that he is facing.

A child learns to appreciate affirmation from his parents and from the individuals that surround him every day of his life. He learns to acknowledge his being by hearing what others think or say of him, and whatever makes others think or say positive, he does over and over. This is a manifestation of man’s need for affirmation at an early age. This need continues to be there as he grows old. The feeling of affirmation coupled with provisions of basic necessities will somehow provide the child the main ingredient to full life. A life that teaches him to affirm others of their existence, and, humanity too.

Respect as felt, (and not to overemphasize- earned) includes respect for intelligence. It also implies that intelligence must be developed to the fullest. Promotion is the commitment to create conditions for development and growth so potentials (including one of intelligence) are realized ---a movement from potentiality to actuality. Respect and promotion are essential demands of man from childhood to adulthood. Circumstances that may hamper both must be prevented or demolished.

It is human nature to be affirmed and accepted as human persons and anyone refused of such is de-humanized. (hmmm...thoughts...)

cancel my subscription

cancel my subscription

---

i don't need your issues.

this is the print of one of my favorite shirts.

i wish i had them on now.

sometimes irritating people are just

too much to deal with.

a pain in the neck!
---

but then again,
i have to remember that no one (nothing)
can make me feel bad/mad/sad without
my permission.
so. to hell with them (that)!

lines from DEAR JOHN (that i can't seem to forget)

"Our story has three parts: 

a beginning, a middle, and an end. 

And although this is the way all stories unfold, 

I still can't believe that ours didn't go on forever."

"When you're struggling with something, 

look at all the people around you and realize that 

every single person you see is struggling with something, and to them, 

it's just as hard as what you're going through."

"I finally understood what true love meant...

love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, 

no matter how painful the choices you face might be."

"And when her lips met mine, 

I knew that I could live to be a hundred and visit every country in the world,

 but nothing would ever compare to that single moment 

when I first kissed the girl of my dreams and 

knew that my love would last forever."

 

[dear john (for those who aren't familiar-but i doubt there's one) 

is a novel written by nicholas sparks]

throwback: lessons from zombieland

THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOVIES 

I WOULD WANT TO WATCH

WITH MY BOYMAN AND MANBOY 

FEW MONTHS AGO...

BUT SINCE I AM MILES AWAY THEN... 

THEY DECIDED TO WATCH THE MOVIE 

ugh--WITHOUT ME.

WHEN I CAME HOME FOR THE SEMBREAK, 

I SAW THE VCD(ZOMBIELAND movie) 

BEING RENTED...SO I DID (RENT) IT.

WE WATCHED THE MOVIE TOGETHER

-- FINALLY!

THE BOYMAN WAS A SPOILER AND 

I SO LOVE HIM FOR BEING

JUST THAT... HE KNEW EXACTLY 

WHAT SCENE WILL THE

RULES COME OUT...

(AND SOMEHOW MEMORIZED THEM)-

--HERE THEY ARE!

1. cardio 

(you have to be fit to be able to run away...)

2. double-tap 

(you have to be sure that its really dead...)

3. beware of bathrooms 

(they attack when/where you are most vulnerable...)

4. fasten seatbelt 

(oh well, you know those sudden brakes...)

7. travel light 

(coz you have to run and hide and run...)

16. limber-up 

(didnt work for the main character though...)

17. (don't) be a hero 

(depends on the circumstance...)

22. when in doubt, know your way out 

(almost always needed...)

31. check the backseat 

(to not to have the shock of all shocks...)

and--- 

32. ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS 

(awww, this one i heart...)

ouch! the market failed?

a former student asked me... what's market failure? i say, it's just around...i may have laughed answering it but it's true...market failure is a concept (within economic theory) describing that situation when the allocation of goods and services by a free market is not efficient. by 'not efficient', i meant, there exists another possible or conceivable outcome where a market participant may be made better-off without making someone else worse-off... it may be viewed as scenarios where an individuals' pursuit of self-interest leads to results that are not efficient – that can be improved upon from the societal point-of-view...

then he asked, what are the sources of market failure?... i say there are many but to name some we can start with (1)  public goods --- a public good is one, which if provided to one consumer, is freely available to all consumers like the street lights, parks and roads. this means no private firm is able to make a profit from providing such goods.  hence, government should ensure that such goods are provided at the socially desired level. another is (2) income distribution --- the market does not ensure equitable distribution of incomes. this may motivate government to put in place some policies to redistribute wealth through measures like income taxes.

then there's (3) monopoly --- the operations of monopoly (or natural monopoly) more often than not result in misuse of market power (inefficient allocation of resources too which reduce community welfare). here, at times, governments regulate monopoly and enforce laws preventing cartels. then the most famous (for those with background in economics) (4) externalities --- an externality arises when an activity confers a benefit (like the benefit of research or vaccine) or imposes a cost (pollution) on a third party, without the cost or benefit being included in the market price of that activity...

and saving for last is the most common (5) information asymmetries ---supposedly, buyers and sellers in a competitive market have complete knowledge about a product or service characteristics and quality but this is not always true in the real world... information asymmetries between producers and consumers can lead to market failure and reduce community welfare.. this is the part when WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WON'T HURT YOU doesn't work... 'coz believe me, it does!

econ 101: externalities

externalities is an economic concept for "side-effect" or "spill-over". it occurs if a person’s activity affects the well-being of an uninvolved person. this term comes from the fact that someone external to the action or transaction is affected by the activity (or production of consumption of the good). this may be positive (externality) or negative (externality). A positive externality occurs if an activity creates benefits for uninvolved people. A negative externality occurs if an activity creates costs (harm or discomfort) for uninvolved people.

lately i have been thinking of this concept in a 'not-so-economist-way'. i have reason to believe that i have been experiencing negative externality. one person's activity have been affecting my well-being (as an uninvolved person in the activity) for about a month now.

have you ever been disturbed by 'noises' of a neighboring space while you are doing your 'writing jobs' ? (remedy: tell the 'whoever causes the noise' to tone it down or if to no avail, let them feel that you are disturbed in any manner you know how) ...have you ever inhaled second- hand smoke that lead you to bouts of irritating cough? (remedy: cough your lung out and drink lots of water or find out next time where/whom the smoke came from and politely ask him/her to just swallow it)...

have you ever been distracted knowing something illegal (or immoral) is going on nearby and you just can't (or so far, won't) do anything about it 'coz you might be branded as naive or self-righteous- so distracted that it costs you your peace during your established work-hours? (remedy: read your bible and ask for inner peace or sing your prayers out loud so your mind won't have space to think of other things or talk to the people involved as if they'd listen to you and feel ashamed that they'd stop doing it or find a new place and wonder what externalities will be in store in the new place)...i could go on and on about it but i guess somehow you get the picture. what are you to do? what am i to do? - still, das ist die Frage!