Corn Without The Cob

2012-01-25T16:19:00.002+08:00

SURUT PULUT MANGGIS By: Iris P. Concepcion My title is a Bahasan Malaysian food stall that I found myself writing in my piece of paper merely because it sounds exotic. I found myself being gifted with an insignia bearing this statement: "Limkokwing Academy of Creativity and Innovation Kelantan" with an arrow pointing above that could hit directly on the person who is wearing it. Here is how

2012-01-11T13:41:00.001+08:00

A DELECTABLE WAY TO EXPONENTIAL GROCERY SHOPPING By: Iris P. Concepcion On my recent trip to Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia, I have met a lot of people who, curiously, all hailed from Europe. They came from diverse places such as Belgium, Poland, Italy and France. A simple eureka in World Cup acquiantances. I have likewise befriended Filpinos, students on tour, who came from Quezon City. A

2012-01-09T14:01:00.002+08:00

FINE ARTS AND CREATIVE WORKS INSIDE A KINGDOM By: Iris P. Concepcion I, a writer with subpar telepathy, visited Malaysia once again and was educated, instead, on Thailand's history with the caption: The Creative King. King, here, of course refers to His Majesty Bhumibul Adulyadej, born on the 5th day of December, 1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. One of his strongest credentials,

2012-01-03T14:41:00.005+08:00

CREATING LEGENDS By: Iris P. Concepcion God, in his wicked moment, had fathomed a world where all his human creations try to usurp His all-knowing creativity. Already sensing the follies of his subjects out of this rather spurious endeavor, He had allowed them to fall, stumble and believe in their fleeting omnipotence as He had engaged them in their pious foolishness. This, I think, is the

2012-01-02T14:46:00.002+08:00

A HEIGHTENED NEW YEAR OF CREATIVITY By: Iris P. Concepcion "Happy New Year To All My Facebook Network Friends. I am starting the year by honoring my ascendants. I have thus conceptualized an idea in honor of my father that I hereby baptize as GUTS CONCEPTS, an independent and flying advertising arm of the universe without having been listed in the stock market. The vision revolves around this

2011-12-26T14:27:00.003+08:00

A DROWNING CHRISTMAS IN SATUN, THAILAND By: Maria Charisma P. Concepcion (Christined by Fr. Tabada, labored by Dr. Magpantay and Perla Apostol, Wombed by Mr. and Mrs. Gauttier and Delia Concepcion. All from the rustic boondocks of a town called Magpet, Cotabato). I never expected that the spirit of Christmas should be the absence of gifts and frills. I had nonetheless developed sensory

2011-12-20T16:32:00.002+08:00

Unnamed Novel By: Iris P. Concepcion No one did notice the visual calumny except my skulled brain nestled between my two orbs: the elephant is the train. I am __________, lone voyager to a world never been blitzkrieged by technology. My best armory is my brain, my best skill my nervy fists, my best sight my pair of ears. He has massive hearing anatomy: my craggy, wrinkly friend. With two eyes

2011-12-12T16:49:00.003+08:00

HOW FASHION AND MAGAZINE PRINTING HAD SURVIVED IN YALA, THAILAND By: Iris P. Concepcion Exactly four days ago from scribbling down this aberrant note with an oblique title, I had craved for Twinkie Pops, the little quartered ice-cream fried in piping oil outside an internet-fax machine shop. It only costs a surprising 15 baht. My clinking spare coins can certainly afford this rare tummy

2011-11-24T15:26:00.004+08:00

The Blurry View Of My Notebook From The Philippines WRITING FROM ANOTHER LAND By: Iris P. Concepcion "The forces of globalization have brought rapid social transformations in many parts of the world. Inter-faith dialogues and multiculturalism have become an integral part of promoting harmonious inter-community relations----especially for minority

2011-11-10T16:38:00.014+08:00

Picture Shared In Facebook. Artist Unknown. ON KELANTAN ORIENTATION By: Iris P. Concepcion I am Sirigenan Khunmikal in the Circus of Dreams, lone voyager, keeper of the train wheels. I finally learned the meaning of nama penuh (full name), a Bahasa Malaysian term for stating your full name. This is my third visit to the southern part of

2011-11-04T09:39:00.002+08:00

From Nick Gonzaga's Facebook Account As Shared, A Townmate. Photographer And Graphic Artist Unknown. ON THAI WRITING By: Iris P. Concepcion "I did not wake up to the cuckoos of chicken/ Nor was rattled by the chirps of birds/ No, I woke up/ With a brush on hand/ Where after taking a cozy dump From it, the bathroom, speckled." ---Iris P.

2011-11-03T15:32:00.001+08:00

From Katrina Basnett Kerry's Shared Facebook Account. Artist Unknown. SuperheroesBy: Iris P. Concepcion And through that doorThe Justice LeagueSkipped the gadgetsAnd relied on supernatural hindsight. The world tumbledSpun in oblique catastropheOf vultures and birdsOf betrayal and rekindlementOf fortune reversalsAnd boomed hypocrisies. Paramount to this is written:Salvation and glory. Whereupon I

2011-11-01T14:55:00.004+08:00

From Taj Travels Site On Facebook As Shared. The New Noah's Ark. ON DEATHS AND FOOD By: Iris P. Concepcion I was once fed on fables about flying carpets and chocolate houses. Brothers' Grimm's Fairy Tales stood tall among these books as they are lined up in a mini-bookshelf obscurely adorning a part of the old house of my childhood with its darker stories. Hans Christian's tales are more on the

2011-10-25T11:17:00.006+08:00

Inside Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia's Coliseum Market. Photo Taken By A Malaysian Website On Kota Bharu. ON TRAVELLING By: Iris P. Concepcion I had, again, experienced a wonderful train ride two days ago, with youngsters in tudongs and kids of plain but lucid faces sitting in benches. Kelantan, Khota Bharu, Malaysia has been improved since the last time I had visited it. The

2011-10-18T12:02:00.007+08:00

Photo Shared In Facebook Via Earthschool Harmony. Photographer Unknown. THE VARIOUS FACES OF SPIRITUALITY By: Iris P. Concepcion At the corner of Arkonsongkhroh Road in Yala, Thailand where wedding thrift shops and old Binondo-style restaurants are crossed like kidnapped lovers, an eatery is spotted where several faces of spiritual gurus are hanged. There

2011-10-13T10:14:00.006+08:00

A Baby Picture Shared In Facebook That Has Nothing To Do With This Entry. It Looks Cute And Needs Sharing. Photographer Remains Unknown. CRITIQUE ON THE PERSONAL VOODOO CONTEXT OF ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE By Iris P. Concepcion Gabriel Garcia Marquez' book One Hundred Years Of Solitude had as fictional landscape the early Argentinian political history of authoritarianism and

2011-10-05T14:23:00.006+08:00

Photo Shared On Facebook. Photographer/Painter Unknown. Extremely Good Visual Of A Little Einstein BREAKING STEREOTYPES By: Iris P. Concepcion Staccato is a very disciplined musical form, the arrangement of which not all individuals could master. It is not for your average musician. A few people may discern its split second beats. Everyone may claim to have complete

2011-10-03T10:00:00.013+08:00

Photo Taken By This Writer Going To Phang-nga, Thailand Inside A BusWith Its Cross Culture And Interfaith Beliefs. WHERE ART THOU MY EYEBROWS OR HOW I REDISCOVERED GOD THROUGH POMELO By: Iris P. Concepcion Once upon a time, I had seen pythons and a dead person upclose but it did not jar me to take up knives and become an angry woman. In fact, these sights made me closer to spirituality and my

2011-09-27T10:49:00.012+08:00

Photo By: Patricia Scarlett Clubbs Shared Via Facebook. I Hope The Artist Would Not Sue Me For Copyright Infringement. HODGEPODGE JOURNALISM: WELCOME TO THE REAL POSTMODERNIST TAKE ON LOOKING AT THE WORLD By: Iris P. Concepcion I had been both meddling and middling on affairs transgressing my usual calls of unwritten duties. First, I need to propagate the plentiful pictures

2011-09-21T11:23:00.011+08:00

My Life As A Sailor In Yala, Thailand's Lake. Photo Taken By My Sister-in-Law; No Need To Fret About Copyright Infringement. TALE WORTH THE THREAD By: Iris P. Concepcion Unbeknownst to many people who had known me through my writings, I was never tutored by my parents. Burning the midnight oil to me was exposing my nostrils to the gasoline-fueled light (lampara), made

2011-09-17T12:52:00.003+08:00

One of Yala, Thailand's City/Municipality Main Thoroughfares. Picture Taken By This Writer Without Fear Of Copyright Infringement YALA'S BACKSIDE By: Iris P. Concepcion I was looking for fresh vegetables yesterday on foot but ended up discovering new fleets of vehicles for the future. There is a van with a pink ATM machine and mini-office inside in full

2011-09-15T15:29:00.005+08:00

Photo shared in Facebook via Smart Expat Moms Club. Photographer Unknown. My Thanks to Him In Advance. Do Not Sue Me For Copyright Infringement. FRIENDS IN THE APPLIANCES, KITCHENS, PARKS, SCHOOLS, OFFICE AND ROOFTOPS By: Iris P. Concepcion I am a sticking glue when it comes to attaching myself to people. I keep the names of my kindergarten chums who were one with me when our nappies were

2011-09-13T14:41:00.005+08:00

Photo By: Anton Pablo, A Classmate Of This Writer From The University Of Santo Tomas, Liberal Arts, Freshman. ON BEAUTY PAGEANTS By: Iris P. Concepcion I had been following the Miss Universe pageants to view women who seem to be out of this world. Sculpted perfectly, they are built as if from the gods of Mt. Olympus who had descended upon Earth in designer gowns. I found the recently

2011-09-12T11:54:00.005+08:00

Photo shared in Facebook via Smart Expat Moms Club. Photographer Unknown. My Thanks to Him In Advance. Do Not Sue Me For Copyright Infringement. A DIFFERENT THAI CULTURE By: Iris P. Concepcion I had really sworn even before my rite to full womanhood that I was the most creative, superior-minded writer within other people's radius of about 180. I never did equate brilliance with

2011-09-11T14:44:00.003+08:00

Photo By: Dolly Z. Arroyo as shared in Facebook, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines September 11 Ode By: Iris P.Concepcion (9/11/2011) Twin peaks/ Had burned/ From Underground/ To arise/ Again into/ A monumental/ And emblazoned glory/ Skeletized for greed/ Mocked for upscale retainers/ The emission of tact/ Highly beseiged./ Arise, arise/ To the Fight!/ The hours to / Inclusive

2011-09-08T14:26:00.009+08:00

Photo By: Dolly Z. Arroyo, Shared In Facebook "Talk about our country on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Multiply because our country deserves a visit from the world."----Philippine Department Of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez. I Am Talking, Rather, Writing, About My Country In Blogger By: Iris P. Concepcion Philippines before a one year old's impressionable eyes is a pebble on a dirt-mud

2011-09-04T15:10:00.000+08:00

ELEPHANT, SURPRISEDBy: Iris P. Concepcion Proclaim!Thuds of the wildsLugging on topMy favoriteChair in green Look at my eyesA pinch to your globedIrisesA friend coming outWith tusk behaved. Iris P. Concepcion, Phang-nga ExperienceThailand 9/4/2011

2011-09-01T08:37:00.005+08:00

RECLINING BUDDHAS IN TIME OF TRANSFORMATION By: Iris P. Concepcion August 31/mid-afternoon, thunderstorms declaiming Bolts of lightning had struck as I am scribbling down sentences right now. Nature is nagging in screaming, booming natural speakers. It creates an intuitive havoc to people underneath longing for earthly redemption. I can never possess a spunk to converse with Nature when it is

2011-08-30T21:44:00.001+08:00

NIGHT WRITING By: Iris P. Concepcion We are supposed to be grovelling by now, frozen and cold and wintry under a summer heat. Never mind the clash of this weather forecasting. Instead, I am facing the computer monitor to experiment with blogging at night which I have not done as a matter of habit. For me, the perfect moment to write is not quantified by a time frame. The best time to grab

2011-08-25T21:47:00.165+08:00

THE ROAD NOW MORE TRAVELLED By: Iris P. Concepcion If it is any indication, I have thought that Alex Garland had migrated to Nepal to befriend his coterie of manicurists, just to improve his take on the book Tesseract that is loosely based in the Philippines. He is not a tourist; he is a traveller. Imagine if a scriptwriter would find himself a subject of any of his novels. I do picture

2011-08-22T10:32:00.003+08:00

And thriveEmergence of glowing rainbowCast as bridgeIn front of Coliseum lightsYalaWhere lakesSkip slotted machinesWith noxious acousticsTo befriendGod's minionsUnderneath the quiet and solemnPleasures of One'sHigherBelonging.BY: IRIS P. CONCEPCION8/22/2011, Yala, Thailand MICHAEL J. SANDELHarvard professor and the author of “Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?”I would lead a campaign

2011-08-16T14:25:00.006+08:00

ON BEING TOM SAWYER WITHOUT CATCHING A FISH By: Iris P. Concepcion I have never imagined bump cars gliding onto water like the colorful fleet I had posted above. As patient readers of this blog can attest now, I am a toad when it comes to adventurous social forays. Back in the Philippines, I had climbed stairs made out of bamboo, out there in the sea, trekking in a tiny island to attend a

2011-08-13T14:15:00.004+08:00

LAKE PLACID By: Iris P. Concepcion It was mid-afternoon and I had wagered beforehand with Nature that the rains will not fall. The newly washed bed spread had been hanging from the clothesline for a long time now after meeting the Laundry Gadget Of The Hour, Haier, that needed to be folded. Briskly, the world succumbed to the forces of Nature. Hence, I jumped like an awakened kangaroo upon a

2011-08-11T12:46:00.001+08:00

ON EXCHANGING VIEWS By: Iris P. Concepcion My hosts, my brother and sister-in-law, had introduced me to an environment of academic books in this abode. I wake up sometimes to requests that had sharpened my sense of reasoning and memory. Recently, my brother requested me to help him devise some points in winning a debate. I readily assented since I might be prolonging my love affair with the

2011-08-07T11:32:00.000+08:00

COMEDY HOUR By: Iris P. Concepcion Of course, the carpet had been laid long way before Dave Guerrero, who I am name dropping here to project that I am familiar with the Red Hot Chili Pepper rock group, had set the pace for the Pamela Anderson face-off. It started centuries ago, in front of abundant coyotes and wildlife. A picture was taken out from a print newspaper and this is calumny at its

2011-08-05T16:13:00.004+08:00

BUILDING A SCHOOL FOR A VIABLE CURRICULUM By: Iris P. Concepcion A good friend of mine had advised me to write about the efforts of our high school batchmates in building a school in Mindanao. It started with an idea which culminated into fruition sans the elaborate trimmings of corporate plannings. What they possessed are good intention and a sense of community to build a concrete project that

2011-08-01T14:15:00.006+08:00

IN LOVE WITH THE HAIER WASHING MACHINE AND DRYER By: Iris P. Concepcion I sought thee, bubbles and water/ Caressing in lilacs and jasmines/ Twigging in thy clothesline.--Myself The insolubility of detergents, much as Thailand offers selections that are catchy, eye-popping and artful, has caught my attention since I planed in this country. Washing detergents here are treated like pricey make-up

2011-07-31T09:43:00.013+08:00

THE FESTIVAL REINVENTED By: Iris P. Concepcion I took a leisure time yesterday for less than an hour walking to Yala's fruit festival. I am simply assuming that it is a fruit festival as I am not familiar with Thai alphabets announcing the event. I do recognize its splashes of colorful fruits and pageantry though. This is an approach adopted by Philippine fiestas too, only with finer twists.

2011-07-29T16:14:00.010+08:00

WHY MERCEDES BENZ IS A FIRST CLASS B**CH By: Iris P. Concepcion Thailand, just as pictured in Alex Garland's "Beach" book, has several gateways to nomads out to discover the world through their sensible eyes which are already tired of metaphorical advertisements for trite text messaging. I have tried its train rail, an ode to a naturalist's eye. I have seen landscapes and their secret realities

2011-07-28T13:05:00.010+08:00

ON GETTING MY FACTS STRAIGHT By: Iris P. Concepcion I am back in Yala, a beautiful ode to structural mixes. I had visited upon my return its spacious and serene park, a Central Park-themed oasis for university students who exchange blabbers under shades of eloquently-built trees. The youths are taking their afternoon snack with food-in-stick palate appeasers and I had exchanged a word or two

2011-07-25T13:13:00.007+08:00

DITCHING THE BEAUTY OF PHUKET FOR NA FA i.e., WATCH MY PRESIDENT'S SONA By: Iris P. Concepcion I should not be comparing the two. After all, the former is a worldclass beach icon while the latter is a cute, plump, high school kid with a swift reply for my time queries. Takuapa is just a two hour ride to Phuket. I could have frolicked in the sandy beach with my fats enlarged by faraway camera

2011-07-22T11:30:00.026+08:00

BEING A STUDENT FOR ONLY ONE DAY By: Iris P. Concepcion Takuapa School in Bang-Rai Si, Phang nga, Thailand immediately made me compare it with the University of the Philippines campus. I am here upon the invitation of my sister-in-law's sister who is teaching Mathematics in high school. I have almost forgotten that the triangle, no matter how you expand or shrink it, would still result to the

2011-07-21T09:47:00.002+08:00

ON FRUITS AND WRINKLES By: Iris P. Concepcion I just had a farm moment with the most beautiful 50 and above woman yesterday. We picked mangosteens and rambutans from her farm. She never grew tired carrying her blue pails filled with fruits. She advised me to wear boots. She had likewise taught me fun Thai language that is Bangkok in accent. I said she could get a lawn mower for the grassy

2011-07-18T23:26:00.012+08:00

TSUNAMI, REDUX By: Iris P. Concepcion There he is with his massive tusk, carrying a green chair atop his flapping ears. Startled, I have seen his humongous brood inside the wild rubber trees, inhabiting the life of humans. Elephants. They rule this area. A son of my sister-in-law's sister was asked by this writer if there is a park in Takuapa. He replied that it is still being developed. He

2011-07-16T17:39:00.011+08:00

THE COLD THAI RANGE ACCORDING TO IRIS By: Iris P. Concepcion I embarked on another opened road, now toward the cold and rainy terrain of Thailand going to Phuket. I got off at Phanga, a city after Trang and Krabi. I took the bus this time and had noticed the most eclectic and multi-faceted structures of Thailand's outback life. I left Yala while it is still about to wake up with its rattling

2011-07-13T11:55:00.006+08:00

ACORN STUCK IN SQUIRREL'S MOUTH By: Iris P. Concepcion In this dusky weather of unobtuse forays into the wonders of still sleeping, I opened a book for synonynyms and loaded up mentally on the word "rendezvous". A ward back in Manila can spell this without a pause and without batting her dominant eyes, and she was in Grade One at that time. There used to be a restaurant in a town next to mine

2011-07-11T11:38:00.008+08:00

PESSIMISM MAKES ONE CRY By: Iris P. Concepcion I finally had a taste of the Hindi-Bollywood type of modern, wedding feast for a Muslim couple. My sister-in-law was given an invitation by one of her former students. She tagged me along with my unchewed chocolate squares after I had cleaned up the bloody mess around me in a fictional Eminem setting. The call was set hurriedly and I had managed

2011-07-09T12:52:00.008+08:00

CROSSOVER IN STRIPES By: Iris P. Concepcion "Khaw thoht! Chiay pnom dai mai?" is another way of getting around this Thai campus where signages had been gilded in characters whose only thrust to personal familiarity are the numbers 2540. Everything is in cahoots with the future. Old structures are refurbished, new ones are built in varying stages of design formatting. The amphitheatre is a

2011-07-08T15:07:00.005+08:00

HAPPY THOUGHTS IN A STRUCTURED FRAME OF MIND By: Iris P. Concepcion I am currently reading a book published by a Malaysian printer on mastering Pro English. It looks like a science journal with a picture of the Union Jack and a drawing of a star on the cover. It blares the bewitching pronouncement: NeXus, PRO ENGLISH. It is written by three authors with diverse backgrounds, judging from their

2011-07-07T13:17:00.005+08:00

THE PHILIPPINES AS SEEN IN THAILAND By: Iris P. Concepcion There are a lot of interesting stories coming out in Thailand, an obviously excitable and developing country. Leading its stream of stories is the election of its first woman Prime Minister,Yingluck Shinawatra Puea who is only 44 years old. I caught a television program honoring her in a song with enough entertainment chutzpah. As I

2011-07-06T15:54:00.006+08:00

THE TALKING TRAIN By: Iris P. Concepcion Chugged on my wheels, people line up like lilliputan fireflies, hurrying up, looking for my compartments. I am a train and I have a mouth for speaking. The catalyst of my mechanical self, a running machine that had swept vistas both excitable and horrid, all onto the glory of human tales. Nature has its own version of prettiness: its misshaped

2011-07-01T10:50:00.004+08:00

ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW AT YALABy: Iris P. ConcepcionWhile waiting for a teacher to explain the veritable words "awful" and "terrible" to kids who are taught English, I set my unshod feet inside this upscale coffee shop by the road. It looks like a Coffee Beanery outlet. Delectably cosmo, it offers iced mocha and other coffee varieties at 30 baht.Yala, at each turn, offers glimpses of the old and

2011-06-30T16:01:00.002+08:00