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Menagerie

GLIMPSE: Breaking time

Time is, itself, the longest distance between two possible places – or so famous author Tennessee Williams supposed. This distance between now (Point A) and our goal (Point B) looms ever so daunting and imposing before us, such that we fail to grasp the whole thing. The idea of covering it all in one fell…

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Menagerie

Struggles in the house of light

As the nights grow longer and the chilly wind blows by us now and then, one can immediately tell what is going on. The sparkling lights that go with the jolly tunes. The colorful garlands hanging around loosely, and the news program announcing the countdown of days – nobody can deny Christmas is coming, although…

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Menagerie

The perks of being holes in the walls

For this month, The Menagerie presents you holes. Not just holes, but those holes that hide a little something shiny and valuable in them. Holes in the walls are just that – taken for granted, passed by, skipped over, despite the hidden gems that lay in wait for the enterprising few who would appreciate them…

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Menagerie

Something new in the everyday: The common things’ Hall of Fame

Money may not buy us happiness, but that does not mean it grows on trees either. Nearly everything in life depends on how we opt to allocate our resources – which groceries to buy, where to go to college, how to afford a house, et cetera. Colored bills and copper coins must be doled out wisely…

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Menagerie

Independent films: Art for all

Perception The recent death of Dolphy, the King of Comedy, has left movie critics and filmmakers gunning after the restoration of Philippine cinema’s former glory.     All this comes on the back of renewed soul-searching in the film industry. Searching for memories of a long gone (or perhaps non-existent) golden age, we hark desperately back…

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Menagerie

A Not-So-Silent Shepherd

Along a stretch of road between a marketplace and the dumpsite is a two-storey concrete building. An unassuming red gate with a sign is all that spells the difference between a run-down apartment block and a house church straight out of the New Testament. Mang Erning pauses before entering. Its huge impact on the lives…

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Menagerie

The Garland Trade

It’s present at every major life event imaginable, from baptisms to funerals to school graduations to your regular Sunday mass. It’s a national symbol. It’s the cradle-to-grave Filipino flower. It’s also the stuff garlands are made of, strung together to create something of a cross between a pearl necklace, a rosary and the Hawaiian lei,…

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Menagerie

Peanuts, sunsets, and great big ahh’s

Step out of La Salle and you won’t miss the buses that come rushing past, headed straight to Alabang. In fact, so many of them carry catchy names that make you just want to ride them; each bus with its own trademark colors. For harried students late for school – myself included – buses are…

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Menagerie

Space to share

Imagine crossing the street walking backwards with your eyes shut. To your surprise, considerate drivers graciously give way as you hurtle, rear first, to what you take to be your death. Such compassion was unexpected: this is Taft after all, and you, my friend, are mere road kill. Or so you thought. Now imagine walking…

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Headlines Menagerie

Awesome moments in DLSU

“The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions – the little soon forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile, a kind look, or a heartfelt compliment.”  -Samuel Taylor Coleridge   In a world of soaring prices, crashing economies, war, poverty, famine, strife, and disappointing American Idol results, only the little joys remind…