Bum steers and fake news

WE USED to know it as the big lie, a propaganda technique which Adolf Hitler formulated in his opus Mein Kampf.

In it, the German dictator promoted the deliberate use of lies so “colossal” that no one would believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” But that was so last century.

This is the 21st century. The “big lie” has Cup played on week-ends in Quezon City. With the driver as their only fan, the girls just kept on winning with the barest of resources outside the field.

“At lemon time, we’d quench our thirst with tap water while the other teams were popping bottles of Lipovitan,” recalled skipper Monique Jacinto, standing at four feet and 11 inches with fellow striker Annaliza Umoc.

In-between classes, the girls would raise the round-trip jeepney fare in time for the next weekend games. One night before summer’s end, they quietly arrived home with their first-ever championship trophy, with Umoc establishing a record of 13 goals in a single tournament. The feat would have triggered community celebration were it in basketball or were they representing a city of any other country.

The Cinderellas then convinced then city prosecutor Erdolfo Balajadia to spearhead preparations for the 1992 First Baguio National Women’s been rebranded into “fake news.” Same dog, different collar. And the vector of the big lie – or fake news – is social media.

In biology, a vector is an organism, typically a biting insect or tick that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another. The intention of this fake news is to gather steam, incubate these lies

I just wished I had not come over. I was ordered to just show my face to Cocoy. That's it. So after all the formalities and moving from table to table, I finally reach the presidential table. I meet Cocoy. He was so happy I was there, he still asks for my Dad.

It is here when he asks for my return. I tell him it was very hard to get a ticket back to Manila as it was a Sunday. So I say I leave at night. He says good. He asks if I would like to join their Sunday Fun Run. I just say yes.

He informs me to have an early breakfast and check out. I comply, soon after he tells me to meet him in the parking area. I go. Cocoy comes in a red Ferrari and asks me to hop in. I am so excited. I am once more red faced as every Juan is looking at us in the car. It had no tint.

I was so happy to be joining. Riding shotgun with the president in a Ferrari. As we were driving he soon tells me he has to go home. I said sure I will also drop off my things and the raisin bread I have for him. The car had no space for my stuff anyway.

Upon reaching his gate I see a Mini Cooper and a Porsche SUV. I am excited even more. We were greeted by his many kids (dogs). I set down my bag and the raisin bread. He later tells me that I could bring it since I will drive my own car for the fun run.

An SUV or MINI? Mmm, hard decision. Any would be fine.

Cocoy instead tells me to wait outside. He arrives in a Porsche 911 Turbo. Ok here is yours he tells me. I am red faced again. He asks if I could handle it. A manual transmission at that. Of

Cup. They downed tough Polytechnic University, 1-0, in the final, then repeated on the same team, 4-2, with a nerve-wracking shoot-out the following year in the First National Ladies Cup at the Burnham Park.

For lack of airfare, the Cinderellas missed their 1994 title-retention bid. Host Davao won that one, the same team they would face in the final of the1995 Cup in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

By then, eight of the Cinderellas were in the national team, and only four of them were allowed to play at a time in Laguna. With only nine or 10 in the field due to the rule, they breezed through the preliminaries and semis in Sta. Cruz. For the final showdown against Davao, however, they needed to complete the 11-member line-up..

From the crowd, the girls yanked in Roberta Sandejas, a lanky 16-year old who was training for the La Salle high school squad. She came to watch and suddenly found herself wearing the Baguio colors.

Newsman and men’s coach Peppot Ilagan, whose ward Jimmy Eslao eventually played in

watchers should NOT monitor their weights daily, because they will only get disappointed. The normal healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week thus, if one is too excited to see a dramatic weight loss, will end up very sad, and in the depression, resort to binge eating

It also makes sense to remove the TV from the dining room. And for that matter, the father or the head of the family should not allow their children to bring their plates to the living room to watch their favorite cartoons, nor any member of the family watch their telenovelas.. Remember, overweight children become obese adults as afar

A few desperate souls have gone as far as

in social media until it goes viral. But the target of fake news is not media per se but the undiscriminating public.

Ask the British reporter David Barnett of the Independent, “Are we so keen to contribute to the fakeness by retweeting instead of questioning?” Or to quote RR Tolkien in his foreword to his spiritual novel the Lord of the Rings, “The tale grew in the telling.” SSBacolod

course, ako pa?

His only instruction was for me to follow him. I do. Every stop light is red, I like red. In front of me a red Ferrari. Both cars with no tint and every Juan looking at us, I am red faced. I will handle it. My smile though is from ear to ear. I am not used to driving without tint that's why. I will get used to it. All my cars have heavy tint wrapped around.

We meet in Marco Polo, there I see some familiar faces. I am not red faced this time. We soon head off to our fun run. Each with radios, the lead cars, the followers and me.

The weather was wet, we headed to the mountains. The roads narrowed and soon there was twists and turns. Then fog. Hey, this is my turf. Zigzag roads, wet roads and thick fog. Bring it on. I'm the only one red faced now. I just love it.

As I change gear the rev limiter will light up red. I'm loving it. Uphill at speeds we never do, downhill even more, until we reach the stretches I'm really red faced from all this. Heaven. This is a fun run.

I have not had so much fun like this in a long time. All my worries from the days before all taken cared for from taking the chance to see Cocoy. Rewarded I was and red faced from not wanting to go in the first place.

I get to the airport by taxi, the guy with no change, I round the fare to 300. I find a long line in the red counter of Air Asia. I ask for a window or aisle but there's none. The middle it will be for me. I later learn that just like in Manila I will be a couple of hours delayed... Red Face. the Australian national league, rushed to Sta. Cruz to chart the game plan against Davao.

With the Davao side marking strikers Anna Umoc, Richelle Ranchez and Cheng Mendoza, regulation play on Friday the 13th ended in a 0-0 draw.. On the 13th minute of extension, a scramble before the goal mouth sent the ball flying towards Roberta, whom the Davao side ignored for her awkward beginner’s stance.

The comely high school senior just tipped it in for the golden goal – her first in her first tournament. The Davao belles dropped to their knees, some in tears. The Baguio side rushed to Roberta, lifting their instant heroine as she raised her fist in jubilation.

Roberta went on to join La Salle’s college team. The Baguio squad went on collecting more championship trophies with unbreakable regularity, mostly seven-aside and beach football titles for lack of regular, 11-a-side tournaments in a country of midgets in love with basketball.

(to be continued; e-mail: mondaxbench@yahoo.com for comments).

painting their dining room walls with blues and greens , away from the earth colors like reds, browns, orange, yellows which some experts claim, whet the appetite. Others have gone to the extremes of installing a floor to ceiling mirror so that the sight of a bulging tummy, or a double chin might just prevent them from getting a second helping of the foodies and goodies. A family has donated their big plates to charity, replacing them with much smaller plates.

A medical classmate of mine swore for the next few months, never to look at mirrors ,she hid her weighing scale and promised not to look at her pictures of yesteryears. How about you, dear readers, any bright idea?