Inmates Dance to Thriller

If you can't put Michael Jackson in jail, you might as well have his music performed in it.

Clips of prisoners doing coordinated dance routines have been popular for some time now on YouTube. Here is a BBC article about the inmates at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller.

It's really fun to watch and, I have to admit, this is one of the few videos (the other one is the algorithm march) on YouTube that made my stomach hurt from laughing.

I can't help but nit-pick the article, though. Let's start from the moderately serious and move on to downright silly.

FTA: He said it had helped "drastically" improve inmate behaviour.

I wonder how improvements in inmate behaviour was measured. Decrease in shivvings? Fewer prison rule violations? More warm fuzzy feelings and tingling sensations? Give me numbers, otherwise it doesn't hold up.

FTA: Inmates say to me: 'You have put my mind off ... thinking how to escape from jail...'

Seriously now, if you were an inmate, would you tell a prison official you were thinking of escaping?

FTA: "The inmates are very happy at the interest, they are always talking about it, and they ask how many people have watched it on YouTube"

They can see for themselves how many people have seen the video. It's right there on YouTube. What? They don't have broadband internet in prison? WTF??!!

And my personal favorite...

FTA: Other early choices included In the Navy and YMCA by the Village People, which were chosen so that macho inmates "wouldn't be offended by being asked to dance".

Yes, because there is absolutely nothing gay at all about the Village People...

The Emperor's New Blog Entry

No Drinking Straw Day

Today is No Drinking Straw Day at McDonald's. It's on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month. While I laud their attempts at being environmentally friendly (by reducing non-biodegradable waste), it does, however, leave some interesting questions.

Do they actually reduce the quantity of drinking straws that they order? The whole idea is not just to reduce demand, but ultimately, supply. It's not just about reducing the drinking straws that we use, it's also reducing the harmful by-products of plastic manufacturing.

When they took the straws out of the dispensers last night, did they throw them in the trash? It would surprise me if they didn't. Remember, this is Hong Kong where the letter of the law is followed, ummm, to the letter.

And finally, what happens if you order a milkshake?

Kaputol

galera
Originally uploaded by rgucci

Here is a quick lesson in Filipino slang.

Tol - as difficult to explain as dude, buddy, man, pal or mate. Can be used to address someone you are very close to, or when talking to a complete stranger, as in "Tol, pasindi naman." (Hey mate, you got a light?). A contraction of utol.

Utol - refers to a sibling or someone as close as a blood brother or sister. In itself is a contraction of kaputol, which is what this post is about.

Kaputol - literally means cut from the same branch. I'm willing to bet it stems (yes, it is an intended pun) from horticulture, where new plants grow from cuttings from the same vine.

I like that idea, but it suffers from an inherent lack of choice-- we are connected because of where we come from and not because of what we do or the choices we make.

So I am going to create a new meaning for the word.

Kaputol - someone with whom you cut/break/partake of/share something with.

Now that's more to my liking. More in tune with breaking bread, for example. Now I have a word for a special group of friends that have shared themselves with each other-- dinners, countless DVDs, public transportation, nearly being washed away by the tide, hangovers, sleazy shoes, hot dogs, soft-shell crabs, more drama, broken skulls, A&E, unpacking parties, exploding tonics, what-have-you.

At the risk of betraying my ever increasing age, I will have to say that the final scene of The Breakfast Club comes to mind; each of us is

• a Captain
• an Oongi Boongi
• an Aunty
• a Show Poney
• a Rimmer, O.D.

Thanks, guys. Salamat, mga 'tol.

It's alive. It's alive...

After a long hiatus, the Flip is back in the blogosphere!

It's been a couple of years since my last post. Periods of intense work, deadlines, life and all around laziness are to blame, maybe even carbon emissions, but I haven't completely thought that out yet.

One thing I've learned-- writing is an intrinsic expression for me, maybe even a need, and I can't go without for very long without suffering some sort of withdrawal symptoms.

So expect more (and much).

See you in the next post!