Friday, April 20, 2012
Lin-Tik
LIN-TIK
Victorino P. Mapa
He’s an overnight hero in Asia, spawning gosh- awful puns of his name, unabashed admiration, unceasing tweets and cover stories all over the world. Lin-sanity spawned countless cover stories and features reached such a fever pitch that NBA ran out of NYC his Number 17 Tee shirts. We’re, of course, referring to Jeremy Lin. If the name is still unfamiliar to you then you must be living in some other planet..
Lin entered the NBA through the back door. The Golden State Warriors took him on presumably to improve attendance,, that is, having an Asian American on a home team with a predominant Asian American population.The gate receipts did’nt improve. . The Warriors gave him for free to the Sacramento Kings, another cellar dweller. He was the best bench warmer for both teams. With some glee the Kings released him to the New York Knicks. The knicks were losing key players to injuries. The water boy was unavailable. So was the peanut vendor. In desperation the coach gave the ball to that Chinese guy sitting at the far end of the bench.His entry causes the knicks to win six games continuously. Lin fever was born. .
The hooray and hoopla isn’t because Lin suddenly learned how to play overnight.. His dad, Gie Ming a compurer engineer was the basketball freak who showed his son films of Larry Bird , Kameel Abdul Jabbar and other NBA stars and taught young Jeremy the basics at the local YMCA. In High School he led his team to a State championship; in college he racked 30 points against the perennial NCAA contender, the University of Connecticut. But no one came knocking because he played for Harvard. Whartda…???? Harvard? You choose senators, justices and presidents from Harvard but not, nay never, ball players Like it or not he wa also a victim of racial stereotyping: To main street America you mine ball players from African Americans. Ever so often you can also get white guys like Larry Bird, Steve Nash. . But Asian? They may be computer geeks, did laundry or ran gourmet restaurants but play ball? No way Jose! The conventional wisdom is Asians can’t jump! Even Pinoys had their own perceived images.
Hollywood during WWII was rife with war movies where Fiipino soldiers spoke pig-din English. Thanks to those John Wayne flicks . When I was fresh off the boat in San Francisco I always got left-handed praises , “Why, you speak English!!!” . If a Pinoy lives in Southern California he’s invariably asked the question, “were you Navy?” Even today old gezzers continue to ask the same question. The categorization continues to exist, albeit, slowly dying. For instance, Manny Pacquiao’s TV interviews and his mellifluous command of the english language is erasing that image. Many even opine that he sounds just like James Mason, but I’m digressing.
Jeremy Lin is a great ballplaye. but he’s no Kobe Bryant. His star-status in American eyes stems from his being Asian., the novelty of having a 6 ft 3 Asian playing in the major league. Of late the hype has abated somewhat due to Lin temporarily sidelined by an injury and by the fact that the NY Knicks have been losing games oftener than the prosecution panel struggling to impeach Chief Justice Corona. If and when Jeremy Lin resumes dribbling fans will hopefully re-evalutate him whether or not he’s a good hoopster by his ability. Not because of his looks and/or race.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
one Liners
ONE LINERS FROM THE FAMOUS AND NOT SO:
Victorino P. Mapa
I used to have a job in the Kotex factory. I thought I was making mattresses for mice.
Ray Scott
---0---
Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake it you got it made.
George Burns
---0---
You have a cough? Go home, eat a box of Ex-lax and tomorrow you’lll be afraid to cough.
Pearl Williams
---0---
People who say money can’t buy happiness just don’t know where to shop.
Tom Shivers
---0---
My wife calls our waterbed the Dead Sea.
Milton Berle
---0---
There are three ages of man: youth, middle age and “Gee you look great!”
Red Skelton
---0---
I once wanted to be an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays.
Henny Youngman
---0---
I don’t have anything against facelifts, but I think it’s time to stop when you look permanently frightened.
Susan Forfleet
---0---
Have you noticed? Anyone driving faster than you is an idiot, and anyone driving slower than you is a moron.
George Carlin
---0---
Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?
Robin Williams
---0---
You can’t take it with you. You never see a U-Haul following a hearse.
Ellen Glasgow
---0---
Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone may be looking.
H. L. Mencken
---0---
My husband says I treat him like a God; every meal is a burnt offering.
Rhonda Hansom
---0---
There are two ways to handle a woman, and nobody knows either of them.
Ken Hubbard
---0---
I went to a meeting for premature ejaculations. I left early.
Red Buttons
---0---
Whoever called it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.
Groucho Marx
---0---
It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I Just don’t want to
Woody Allen
---0---
I know a guy who saved all his life to buy a cemetery plot. Then he took a cruise and was lost at sea.
Norm Crosby
---0---
Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, when’s it going to end?
Tom Stoppard
---0---
Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.
Erma Bombeck
---0---
A woman drove me to drink. I never even had the courtesy to thank her.
W. C. Fields.
---0---
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
Mark Twain
---0---
I bring out the worst in my enemies. That’s how I get them to defeat themselves.
Roy Cohn
---0---
If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all the evidence that you tried.
Newt Heilscher
---0---
You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety seven today and we don’t know where the hell she is.
Ellen de Generes
---o---
A friend of mine willed her body to science, but science is contesting the will.
Joey Adams
---0---
If blind people wear sunglasses why don’t deaf people wear earmuffs?
Steve Mcfarlin
---o---
Who invented the brush they put next to the toilet? That thing hurts !
Andy Andrews
---0---
I don’t make jokes; I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will Rogers
---0---
I’m desperately trying to figure out why Kamikaze pilots wore helmets.
Dave Edison
---0---
The hold-up guy walks into a Chinese reastaurant and says, “Give me all your money!”
The man behind the counter says, “To take out?”
Henny Youngman
---0---
I like two kinds of men: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN.
Mae West
---0---
I have a new philosophy. I’m only going to dread one day at a time.
Charles M. Schulz
---0---
Love is what happens to a man and woman who don’t know each other.
W. Somerset Maugham
---o---
Why is it when we talk to God we’re said to be praying, but when God talks to us, we’re schizophrenic?
Lily Tomlin
---0---
Life is a sexually transmitted disease.
Guy Bellamy
---o---
If I look confused it’s because I’m thinking.
Samuel Goldwyn
Victorino P. Mapa
I used to have a job in the Kotex factory. I thought I was making mattresses for mice.
Ray Scott
---0---
Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake it you got it made.
George Burns
---0---
You have a cough? Go home, eat a box of Ex-lax and tomorrow you’lll be afraid to cough.
Pearl Williams
---0---
People who say money can’t buy happiness just don’t know where to shop.
Tom Shivers
---0---
My wife calls our waterbed the Dead Sea.
Milton Berle
---0---
There are three ages of man: youth, middle age and “Gee you look great!”
Red Skelton
---0---
I once wanted to be an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays.
Henny Youngman
---0---
I don’t have anything against facelifts, but I think it’s time to stop when you look permanently frightened.
Susan Forfleet
---0---
Have you noticed? Anyone driving faster than you is an idiot, and anyone driving slower than you is a moron.
George Carlin
---0---
Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?
Robin Williams
---0---
You can’t take it with you. You never see a U-Haul following a hearse.
Ellen Glasgow
---0---
Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone may be looking.
H. L. Mencken
---0---
My husband says I treat him like a God; every meal is a burnt offering.
Rhonda Hansom
---0---
There are two ways to handle a woman, and nobody knows either of them.
Ken Hubbard
---0---
I went to a meeting for premature ejaculations. I left early.
Red Buttons
---0---
Whoever called it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.
Groucho Marx
---0---
It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I Just don’t want to
Woody Allen
---0---
I know a guy who saved all his life to buy a cemetery plot. Then he took a cruise and was lost at sea.
Norm Crosby
---0---
Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, when’s it going to end?
Tom Stoppard
---0---
Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.
Erma Bombeck
---0---
A woman drove me to drink. I never even had the courtesy to thank her.
W. C. Fields.
---0---
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
Mark Twain
---0---
I bring out the worst in my enemies. That’s how I get them to defeat themselves.
Roy Cohn
---0---
If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all the evidence that you tried.
Newt Heilscher
---0---
You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety seven today and we don’t know where the hell she is.
Ellen de Generes
---o---
A friend of mine willed her body to science, but science is contesting the will.
Joey Adams
---0---
If blind people wear sunglasses why don’t deaf people wear earmuffs?
Steve Mcfarlin
---o---
Who invented the brush they put next to the toilet? That thing hurts !
Andy Andrews
---0---
I don’t make jokes; I just watch the government and report the facts.
Will Rogers
---0---
I’m desperately trying to figure out why Kamikaze pilots wore helmets.
Dave Edison
---0---
The hold-up guy walks into a Chinese reastaurant and says, “Give me all your money!”
The man behind the counter says, “To take out?”
Henny Youngman
---0---
I like two kinds of men: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN.
Mae West
---0---
I have a new philosophy. I’m only going to dread one day at a time.
Charles M. Schulz
---0---
Love is what happens to a man and woman who don’t know each other.
W. Somerset Maugham
---o---
Why is it when we talk to God we’re said to be praying, but when God talks to us, we’re schizophrenic?
Lily Tomlin
---0---
Life is a sexually transmitted disease.
Guy Bellamy
---o---
If I look confused it’s because I’m thinking.
Samuel Goldwyn
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The doomede Bastion
THE DOOMED BASTION:
Victorino P. Mapa
In the early 1920s American military leaders predicted that the Philippine archipelago’s thousands of islands could not be successfully defended. The planners therefore drew War Plan Orange 3 which called that in the event of war with Japan American and Filipino troops would retreat to the Bataan Peninsula and hold off for as long as they can until help would come.
Pearl Harbor was attacked . A few hours later Japanese planes from their bases in Formosa (Taiwan) swooped down on Clark Field and destroyed the US Air force. They landed the next day at Damortis.. General McArthur underestimated the Japanese and over-estimated his Filipino troops. Instead of immediately implementing War Plan Orange he attempted to stop the Japanese. Gen Wainwright called on the 26th Cavalry, a tough well trained regiment of Philippine Scouts to stem the Japanese advance. Two other Philippine Army divisions offered some resistance. But outside of these two contingents the rest of the troops were ill equipped and poorly trained. At the sight of the Japanese they dropped their guns and ran. The 26th Cavalry reduced to 450 men tried to block the Japanese advance . They even made a glorious cavalry charge against a modern armored column. The rush to Bataan was made at the last minute. As a result much needed provisons to sustain them were left behind. By December 24 the American-Filipino troops along with thousands of civilians funneled into Bataan. Of the 75,000 soldiers three fourths were Filipinos. Most were untrained, American soldiers fared no better. Their numbers included airmen and sailors who lost their planes and ships and were totally unprepared for infantry duties. Most of their weapons and munitions were obsolete, many dating from World War I. If this was not bad enough provisions were in short supply from the start. Many were left behind in the pell-mell rush to Bataan. Bataan was 75% impenetrable jungle, cut by streams and deep ravines and a breeding ground for malaria, dysentery, typhoid, dengue fever and other diseases that did not discriminate either armies. The stage was set for the four month siege.
The Japanese wrongly assumed that US forces would defend Manila. They therefore rushed to Manila instead of thwarting the Bataan retreat. Japanese intelligence indicated that only a ragged army of 25,000 defended Bataan. So Homma released 15,000 of his finest troops to the East Indies and replaced them with 6,000 untested, poorly trained reserves from the 65th Brigade.
MacArthur commanded the troops from Corregidor and made only a 10 hour stay on Bataan.(American GIs derisively referred to him as “Dugout Doug.”)J The initial battle line was divided in two by the steep Mount Natib whose jungle was so dense and impassable that it was left undefended. The line was held by three Philippine Army divisions, a regiment of the Philippine Scouts and American troops. Japanese troops attacked on January 2. From then on the battle was constant highlighted by stubborn defense ,hand-to-hand fighting and incredible couinter-attacks that pushed the enemy back.
But the line soon cracked and an orderly retreat was made to the towns of Bagac and Orion, the second line of defense. The fighting was without respite and soon the men “had a blank stare in their eyes and their faces covered with beards lacked any semblance of expression.” The reinforced Japanese launched a number of amphibious assaults against the southwest tip of the peninsula. They were met by heterogenous troops of ex-airmen and sailors who had no infantry training and the Philippine Constabulary who incredibly wiped out the invaders.The untrained sailors impressed the Japanese as “a new type of suicide squad who would attempt to draw Jap fire by sitting down, talking loudly and lighting cigarettes and contain the Japanese long enough for a regiment of scouts of push them back.”
By February both sides were exhausted. The incessant fighting, malaria, dysentery and beri-beri took its toll. The Japanese were greatly weakened. The defenders could have counter-attacked but they were just as physically sapped. Battle forces moved slowly forward and back – not unlike the trench warfare of World War I. In one instance Philippine scouts fought for four days to gain 40 yards. It was hard even to tell the armies apart. In Donald Young’s book, the Battle of Bataan, the Japanese 141st Infantry was attacked by soldirs of the Japanaese 9th Infantry who, after seven days in the Natib forest, like a blind, hungry rattlesnake, were striking at anything that moved.” Incredibly, the unprepared, outgunned and starving “battling bastards of Bataan” were winning.
But the end was preordained. Food, equipment and ammunition ran out. 80% of the troops had malaria. 75% had dysentery. The defenders were resisting far beyond human endurance. On April 3 a heavily reinforced and rested Japanese army supported by endless artillery barrage and overwhelming air support began to break through. On the evening of April 8 an earthquake shook the peninsula. The next day Bataan surrendered.
Bataan today is a mere blip in American history. Hardly anyone remembers it today. The recollection is made every April 9 only by a few aging and rapidly dwindling Filipino veterans. They gather at the slope of Mt Natib where a monument commemorates their gallant yet futile stand and re-live the myths that Bataan upset the Japanese timetable, that they stopped the Japanese advance so that the Allies could re-group and liberate them. Without question they resisted with valor, suffered and endured hardships far beyond human endurance and shed more blood than their American comrades. The reality however is that Bataan was a tragedy and disaster. It was a doomed garrison from the start, a pawn that the greatest industrial power was prepared to sacrifice. As a result it became the greatest military disgrace of the US Armed Forces.
The soldiers died for something and died for nothing
“ If you are able, save them a place inside of you
and save one backward glance
when you are leaving
for the places they can no longer go.
Be not ashamed to say You loved them,
though you may or may not have always.
Take what they have left
and what they have taught you
with their dying
and keep it with your own.
And in that time
when men decide and feel safe
to call the war insane,
Take one moment to embrace
Those gentle heroes
You left behind.”
MAJOR MICHAEL DAVIS O’DONNELL
1 Jan 1970, Dak To, Vietnam
Victorino P. Mapa
In the early 1920s American military leaders predicted that the Philippine archipelago’s thousands of islands could not be successfully defended. The planners therefore drew War Plan Orange 3 which called that in the event of war with Japan American and Filipino troops would retreat to the Bataan Peninsula and hold off for as long as they can until help would come.
Pearl Harbor was attacked . A few hours later Japanese planes from their bases in Formosa (Taiwan) swooped down on Clark Field and destroyed the US Air force. They landed the next day at Damortis.. General McArthur underestimated the Japanese and over-estimated his Filipino troops. Instead of immediately implementing War Plan Orange he attempted to stop the Japanese. Gen Wainwright called on the 26th Cavalry, a tough well trained regiment of Philippine Scouts to stem the Japanese advance. Two other Philippine Army divisions offered some resistance. But outside of these two contingents the rest of the troops were ill equipped and poorly trained. At the sight of the Japanese they dropped their guns and ran. The 26th Cavalry reduced to 450 men tried to block the Japanese advance . They even made a glorious cavalry charge against a modern armored column. The rush to Bataan was made at the last minute. As a result much needed provisons to sustain them were left behind. By December 24 the American-Filipino troops along with thousands of civilians funneled into Bataan. Of the 75,000 soldiers three fourths were Filipinos. Most were untrained, American soldiers fared no better. Their numbers included airmen and sailors who lost their planes and ships and were totally unprepared for infantry duties. Most of their weapons and munitions were obsolete, many dating from World War I. If this was not bad enough provisions were in short supply from the start. Many were left behind in the pell-mell rush to Bataan. Bataan was 75% impenetrable jungle, cut by streams and deep ravines and a breeding ground for malaria, dysentery, typhoid, dengue fever and other diseases that did not discriminate either armies. The stage was set for the four month siege.
The Japanese wrongly assumed that US forces would defend Manila. They therefore rushed to Manila instead of thwarting the Bataan retreat. Japanese intelligence indicated that only a ragged army of 25,000 defended Bataan. So Homma released 15,000 of his finest troops to the East Indies and replaced them with 6,000 untested, poorly trained reserves from the 65th Brigade.
MacArthur commanded the troops from Corregidor and made only a 10 hour stay on Bataan.(American GIs derisively referred to him as “Dugout Doug.”)J The initial battle line was divided in two by the steep Mount Natib whose jungle was so dense and impassable that it was left undefended. The line was held by three Philippine Army divisions, a regiment of the Philippine Scouts and American troops. Japanese troops attacked on January 2. From then on the battle was constant highlighted by stubborn defense ,hand-to-hand fighting and incredible couinter-attacks that pushed the enemy back.
But the line soon cracked and an orderly retreat was made to the towns of Bagac and Orion, the second line of defense. The fighting was without respite and soon the men “had a blank stare in their eyes and their faces covered with beards lacked any semblance of expression.” The reinforced Japanese launched a number of amphibious assaults against the southwest tip of the peninsula. They were met by heterogenous troops of ex-airmen and sailors who had no infantry training and the Philippine Constabulary who incredibly wiped out the invaders.The untrained sailors impressed the Japanese as “a new type of suicide squad who would attempt to draw Jap fire by sitting down, talking loudly and lighting cigarettes and contain the Japanese long enough for a regiment of scouts of push them back.”
By February both sides were exhausted. The incessant fighting, malaria, dysentery and beri-beri took its toll. The Japanese were greatly weakened. The defenders could have counter-attacked but they were just as physically sapped. Battle forces moved slowly forward and back – not unlike the trench warfare of World War I. In one instance Philippine scouts fought for four days to gain 40 yards. It was hard even to tell the armies apart. In Donald Young’s book, the Battle of Bataan, the Japanese 141st Infantry was attacked by soldirs of the Japanaese 9th Infantry who, after seven days in the Natib forest, like a blind, hungry rattlesnake, were striking at anything that moved.” Incredibly, the unprepared, outgunned and starving “battling bastards of Bataan” were winning.
But the end was preordained. Food, equipment and ammunition ran out. 80% of the troops had malaria. 75% had dysentery. The defenders were resisting far beyond human endurance. On April 3 a heavily reinforced and rested Japanese army supported by endless artillery barrage and overwhelming air support began to break through. On the evening of April 8 an earthquake shook the peninsula. The next day Bataan surrendered.
Bataan today is a mere blip in American history. Hardly anyone remembers it today. The recollection is made every April 9 only by a few aging and rapidly dwindling Filipino veterans. They gather at the slope of Mt Natib where a monument commemorates their gallant yet futile stand and re-live the myths that Bataan upset the Japanese timetable, that they stopped the Japanese advance so that the Allies could re-group and liberate them. Without question they resisted with valor, suffered and endured hardships far beyond human endurance and shed more blood than their American comrades. The reality however is that Bataan was a tragedy and disaster. It was a doomed garrison from the start, a pawn that the greatest industrial power was prepared to sacrifice. As a result it became the greatest military disgrace of the US Armed Forces.
The soldiers died for something and died for nothing
“ If you are able, save them a place inside of you
and save one backward glance
when you are leaving
for the places they can no longer go.
Be not ashamed to say You loved them,
though you may or may not have always.
Take what they have left
and what they have taught you
with their dying
and keep it with your own.
And in that time
when men decide and feel safe
to call the war insane,
Take one moment to embrace
Those gentle heroes
You left behind.”
MAJOR MICHAEL DAVIS O’DONNELL
1 Jan 1970, Dak To, Vietnam
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