Hill Roberts: My own quotable (?) quotes

[renzphotography]

Hi Hill,

Actually, the tap water quality (and even the water pressure) in Metro Manila has greatly improved after the water utility (NAWASA/MWSS) was privatized back in the 90's.

The old leaking iron pipes were replaced by PVC plastic pipes and the overall water quality has improved along with it. As the cost of cooking gas kept increasing and consumers became more health conscious bottled water became a necessity.

And yet, to cut the costs further water filtering stations proliferated. The filtration is done in the store and consumers could see the large filtration devices. These stations also have large stainless tanks that hold filtered water. This way consumers could bring their water containers for a refill at a substantially low price.

When you say the Brits are in the habit of over spending to show off, would you say that this is true for all generations or only the younger ones? Maybe there has been some consumer attitude shift over generations, what do you think?

[hill roberts]

Hi Renz. It's good to know that drinking/potable water in Manila has since improved over the years. It's about time, too. :)I've noticed that even my own nieces are bottled water fanatics. Here, women seem to lug their bottled water with them especially in the summer as scorching heat reaches 40 degrees especially in August. It is a fact that the new generation of British people have become very open/tacky and showy. While we don't hear of wealthy Scandinavians flaunting their wealth here, the Brits, on the other hand, make sure they get noticed. Marbella , although bankrupt these last five years because of rampant graft and corruption, still hosts a huge number of different nationalities from Europe. The first thing you'd notice would be the bad behaviour of the British young adults. This is not to demean them in any way, but to enlighten others that, indeed, they are the most misbehaved nationality in the EU: drunk and disorderly, sex on the streets in the summer, street brawls, hooliganism, foul language even in posh restaurants, throwing verbal abuse at others on the streets, showing their most private parts--drunk or not--when they are challenged--or not--just doing it for the sake of it...a sad reflection of materialistic Britain. ???In the case of the British woman protesting about not being served tap water, I'm quite sure she was yearning for attention--which she got as she landed in the pages of all British papers.

[hill roberts]

Mental Illness: It's like listening to our gut explaining the rudiments of  how the vital organs sound and work.

[hill roberts]

Here's a poem, "Revolutionary Changes", which I wrote in the late 80's. The National Elections begin in earnest on 10th May 2010. I suppose, this poem would, in some way, be related to what's going on in the Philippines:

Banners and flags waving, expressing messages,
Loudhailers deafening the sound of changes,
Those unknown reasons, peaceful and unpredictable,
What makes it awesome can be added to scruples.

Leaders plead for people to be patient,
reforms and changes are difficult to achieve,
no first timers can ever conceive
ideas of old tricks, changes unfit.

Cries of dismay and cries of anger,
a bloody revolution can provoke too much danger,
but people brave and people determined
others secrets exposed, conclusions begin.

Dictators and dictatorships fall over silently,
from disgrace to oblivion they're handed quietly
to authorities and soldiers, policemen and judges
a shade of their links to them may or may not matter.

Authoritarians and autocrats enjoy a lifestyle,
where many can only smirk and smile,
what they really know to be deceit and lies
ordinary folks could only cling to unwanted spies.

What an extraordinary thought it is, when
powerful people get together in tens,
no matter what the political ambience may bring,
justifying the dialogue will never be a sting.

The passage of time would soon be realised,
as day-to-day changes are routinely scrutinised,
People from the top and people from the bottom
war and suppression could, once again, drop like an atom.

You're there to watch as time take its toll.
Environment and pollution, to hell with it all,
high-tech and computers immensely diverse,
yuppies and the phoney will share the universe.

Business, as usual, they begin changing tactics,
ideals and dogma flaunting their antics,
roundtable conferences signifying a vacuum,
of earth-bound cronyism, formalising the dictum.

"Revolt!" they shout, they take to the streets,
"People Power" it is, stamped on the sheets,
of newspapers and magazines, TV screens and films,
joyous faces crowding, chanting in the realm.

Revolution can be sweet as well as romantic,
flowers and prayers and burning candlesticks,
dissidents and church-goers are dragged and ruthlessly kicked,
as believers of truth they gather on the streets.

Bloodless it may be, bloody it can be,
peaceful the revolt, or fleeing on to the sea,
of dead mangled bodies being carried away,
what must be the end, revolutions can still sway.

Revolution, revolution, let it be said,
believers of this are reminded in bed,
before getting up, or looking in the mirror,
leaders of true revolts shouldn't blur people's vision.

Vision for the future after revolutions,
could hurt the population as well as institutions,
casual changes, believing them to be harmless,
the real crunch lies, when they start to hamper.

Reforms there will be, changes and scrutiny,
a piece of paper promises no bounty,
of fate and freedom,liberty and honour,
the willof the people overtakes all horrors.

[hill roberts]

Democratic countries: All democratic countries have their own torture chambers.  Let's stop pretending they only run sweet shops.

[hill roberts]

Friendship and Trust:  I don't impose loyalty in friendship, only frankness and sincerity. Above all, acceptance of who I am, without the baggage.

[hill roberts]

Trust: Trust is relative. We can be trusting to the point of stupidity and trustworthy to the point of desperation.

[hill roberts]

Democracy: That's  another paper trail and an odd sip of brandy and Cuban cigars.

[hill roberts]

Writing History: Another waste of ungodly hours, embellished lies and wild imagination adorned with fancy semantics.

[hill roberts]

Vulgarity: It's not an open suggestion, rather an action that's easy to emote. 

[hill roberts]

Third World: A piece of this, and a piece of that, their lips hardly get dry.

[hill roberts]

Norms of Diplomacy: The country they serve aiming for higher gloss, refuge as duplicity encountering all its flaws. (From, a poem, "Norms of Diplomacy", 18 stanzas, written in 1989, Hill Roberts)

[hill roberts]

Emigrating: Cultural differences slam the distinction and done at random and where entry of the moneyed legals clearly pleases authorities' faces.

[hill roberts]

Thoughts of Dying: It's when you lie in bed imagining it as a rebuff.

[hill roberts]

Nobody: The feeling, really, is like a piece of remnant.