Book Review: Desire Has No Mercy

Desire Has No Mercy by Violet Winspear

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has an outdated theme. Seriously, most women these days no longer have to worry about carrying a man’s child, or of what a man thinks of her when she has gambling debts.

However, I am giving this book three starts because it was written in a way where you can understand where the heroine is coming from. The hero was also portrayed successfully as a complicated man who has learned his life lessons and was dealt a hard hand when he was young.

I don’t always agree with their arguments, but I get what the author wants to relay. The small tokens of wisdom as well from a secondary character is nice and subtle but is not lost in the love story.

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Book Review: Irish Thoroughbred

Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As Nora Roberts’ first published work, this fares well.

I may be partial to this book because Ms. Roberts is one of my favorite authors, and tops my list in the romance genre.

This book has a simple plot. There wasn’t much of a conflict. There’s the common theme on Silhouette novels about the hero being too macho to the point of being unreasonably dominant and the heroine to be such a “nice” and feminine girl, which, of course, may reflect the trends of the 80’s, when the book was published.

Still, I like this book. The characters may leave a lot to be desired, but the storytelling was great. Just enough drama, romance, and action to keep you reading until you finish it. This book is best for when you want to read something that you can finish in just a few hours. I even read this book more than once, and I still enjoy it every time.

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On Overrated TV Shows

So I watched the finale episode of Walang Hanggan earlier.

 

I am bit disappointed, although it was expected because the story was based on the movie, Hihintayin Kita sa Langit. That’s why when Katerina died, it wasn’t s surprise when Daniel followed shortly after.

 

I wasn’t disappointed with the story and the ending, really. I was more disappointed with the dialog and some of the actors’ acting. The dialog leaves so much to be desired for. The narration at the end part was unnecessary. Some conversations were unnecessary. Unfortunately, that’s how TV works. The network and producers have fans to satisfy, so even if a lot of things could have been polished, there was no action done because, that’s what the fans prefer. If it was a movie, there’d be a lot of polishing and perfecting. If that approach happened in a movie, critics would probably fill the world-wide web bashing the production.

 

All in all, I think it’s just another typical and predictable Filipino teleserye finale where someone always dies, someone always goes to prison, the villain always dies at the end, and someone who used to be so evil changes ways. There has already been a lot of that on Philippine TV. The problem with Philippine TV is that they give everything away. The put too much stress on the love between Katerina and Daniel, instead of letting the people see that for themselves. They make sure Daniel’s every sentence has “Katerina” on it. They make sure he talks about her and how much he loves her every time he opens his mouth. Please! It’s just annoying and stubborn sometimes. They portray Katerina as this damsel who always needs to be rescued and taken care of. Really, what’s to love in a girl like that? Isn’t it so much believable to love someone who knows exactly where they fit in this world? Someone who knows what they want, get what they want, work and fight for what they want?

 

As much as I love Coco Martin, I have never been happier now that Walang Hanggan is finally over. I personally think the show is overrated and that there are so many other shows better than this. Actually, if this show had different actors, if this show did not have Dawn Zulueta, Richard Gomez, Coco Martin, JoEm Bascon, Noni Buencamino, and the others, this show would be a total train wreck. At long last, I no longer have to see the exaggeration and inconsistent characters that the writers have created. I no longer have to see their extended dialog that was corny and cheesy.

 

I can only hope that the next show the network has scheduled will be much better in characterization, plot, and acting than the one that just ended.

Saying it Out Loud

When you love someone, you should tell them. Not because you want them to love you back. Not because you want to make a fool of yourself. Not because you have a right to say so. Not because you know you can stand by your word.

Love, in itself, should be said as often as you can. Whether it’s fleeting and momentary or whether its the kind that scars you for life, it should always be said. Whether it’s romantic, platonic, to any kind of love, we should always say it out loud.

It does not matter if the love goes away the next day. What’s important is that when it was there, you were able to let the other person know how you felt. If you think the love is never going away, you have all the more reasons to say it.

Let’s try that with our family. Let’s tell them we love them. Let’s build our circle of love, and maybe in time, we can make a bigger circle and include as many people as we can in our loving hearts.

On Procreation

When GOD said “Go forth, and multiply,” there were only two people, Adam and Eve, and they had everything in the world they could ask for.

That is not the world we live in today. Now, our world is full of different kinds of people. While there is goodness in every man, there is also evil that lurks in every corner. There is poverty, sickness, and suffering. We don’t have the garden of Eden anymore, so yes, while we still obey the very first command to multiply, that does not mean we can multiply anytime we want to.

A parent’s responsibility does not end in child bearing. The biggest responsibility is in raising a child and making sure that that child grow up well and becomes a good man/woman who makes significant contribution for the good of the community, however small that community may be. That is why I support the RH Bill.

I don’t have children. Yet. However, that does not mean I never thought of having one or that I never wanted one. I did, and I still do. The only thing that stops me is the fact that I know I am not ready. I am not ready to take care of a child emotionally, psychologically and financially. While I can afford to be pregnant and have the baby at the best hospital in the city, it is the “after” that I cannot afford yet. The sleepless nights, the expenses for baby care, the dramatic change in lifestyle… and it does not end there. When the infant becomes a toddler, I cannot afford the education, the maturity to guide my child into making the right decisions, the stability… Having a child costs so much, and I don’t want to have a child just because I feel like it. When I start my own family, I want to be able to give my child the best out of everything, which is what a every parent should have the capacity to do.

Why would anyone not want to support a bill that will help the women and Philippine households become more aware of their choices and provide them with easy access to their reproductive health assistance? Is it because the Catholic church says it is against their religion? But it is not the only religion in the country. Is it because it promotes abortion? Well, abortion is still illegal and will remain illegal. Is it because it opens the risk of teenagers having premarital sex? Come on, this has been going on long before the bill was even thought of. Plus, if teenagers engage in premarital sex, it is the responsibility of the parent to make sure their children know what’s right and wrong and that these children make decisions that are for their own good. Is it because they keep saying it is just a front for other countries to gain control of the Philippines? Since when have we, as a country, become truly independent? Do we say we are independent because we have our own president and our privilege to organize “people power” rallies? Are we really that ignorant?

Contrary to what you may think, I strongly believe in God and life. I am “for” life. But what good is “life” when you end up in slums and become the problem of society? What good is life when all a child ends up being is a drug addict or a criminal or even just a poor little boy/girl who never becomes nourished with everything essential (and no, I’m not talking bout just food)? And for the parents, particularly for the woman, what good is bringing children into the world if it is at the expense of you being able to properly rear them?

Is it really just BRINGING A LIFE into this world that’s important? Aren’t we supposed to also think about what we can give to that life we bring? Aren’t we supposed to strive for something more, something deeper, something that’s not just meant to be enjoyed by you, but by your community as well?

Truth, Lies, and in Between

Lies. There's only black and white, right? You lie or you don't lie. There shouldn't be any middle ground. But that's impossible. It always has a huge gray area in between. Everybody always has an excuse why they tell lies.

Personally, I try to tell the truth. I always tell the truth, even if it's inconvenient. However, I am not a tactless person who will tell the whole truth without considering whether the person who hears it will love it or not.

They always say that the truth sets us free. I don't see that sometimes. There are instances wherein, we are better off not knowing certain things. We let our children go on believing in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy so as not to take away their innocence. We let them continue with the fantasy of prince charming and sleeping beauty. We do it because we don't want to ruin the fun from childhood. We want them to stay as blissfully innocent for as long as we can protect them.

That goes the same for lies. We don't always tell the truth not only because we want to protect ourselves but also because we want to protect the people we care about. If you intend to tell the truth only because we want to clear out our darkened conscience, then we need to think again. If we have committed mistakes and want to come clean just so we can live without the guilt that haunts us every sleepless night, I don't think we even deserve the freedom we get from telling the truth.

Yes. Honesty is the best policy. However, if your honesty is due to selfish reasons, then what good does it bring? Seriously. Do they really deserve the heartache? Should we tell them the truth, even if it hurts or destroys them, just so we can go back to pretending nothing happened and live our own little lives as if we never hurt anyone? I don't think so.

I would never tell the truth, but if I deserve to carry the guilt, I'd gladly do it. I'd gladly live with the guilt than live to see myself destroy the people I love only because I want to keep myself as clean as an unused white sheet. I don't think I would ever be happy anyway.

But that's all just me, you know. If you don't agree with me, you don't have to. We all have our own ways of seeing things. What would you actually do yourself? When do you think is the right time to tell a lie? Or is there never a right time for lies? I'd love to know.

Get Comfy

Black Pepper Milk Chocolate Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Cream

Comfort food? I don't think there's such a thing, at least for me. Personally, I think food is comfort. Yes, food is a basic necessity. However, isn't it comforting to know that you can just extend your arms and be able to grab whatever you like? We have a lot of unfortunate brothers and sisters out there who cannot even lay their hands on that necessity. Others have to beg for it. Others have to steal and kill for it.

I am very thankful that I am one of the very blessed ones who can pretty much afford to buy food. I don't need to spend too much. As long as there's always food at home, even if it's the very basic ones, I am content. I am comforted.

Food, in itself, is already my comfort. Of course, there are certain goodies I would prefer above the others. However, in general, I am just thankful that I can eat three times a day, and I don't have to starve myself at all.

Expired Marriage?

As liberated as I am, I still remain conservative and idealistic about some issues in society. I am not embarrassed to say that. One thing that I have conservative views on is marriage.

For me, marriage should be a priviledge. It should be a priviledge for people who have prepared themselves for a married life. In a perfect society, all marriages would always work out and couples would stay together and grow old together. But we are not in a perfect society, and our status now is the closest that we can get to being perfect.

Recently, a women’s party-list group proposed for a 10-year expiration on marriages. I am not going to mention the name of the group because this is, after all, a personal blog. Yes, I get their intentions, and I know that they mean well. I just don’t support it.

Personally, I think it defeats the purpose of marriage. When people get married, they vow to God and their families that they will stay together for the rest of their lives. What’s the purpose of those vows if you can just get away from it all after 10 years? What’s the point of trying to make a marriage work if, at the back of your minds, you know that you don’t have to be stuck with it for life?

Yes, there may be so many marriages these days that do not work out and end up in separation. But there are also people who really wait for the right time, who really prepare themselves for a lifetime of commitment, and who really stay together and remain happy. My problem  with the proposal is that it generalizes marriages as one big problematic scene that needs an expiration date to end the misery.

I have nothing about the party-list who initiated this proposal. I totally empathize and understand wherever it is that they’re coming from. But I will never support this cause. I apologize if I offend anyone, but this is just what I believe in. A marriage is not just a legal obligation. It is also a commitment that you make in front of God, and while earthly laws may treat marriage differently, its sanctity never changes with Him.