Will The Last Song

Fox Family Movies had a heartwarming feature, "The Last Song." Like "The Last Leaf," it was about a dying man's last opus, which he had his daughter to finish.

What a refreshing change of focus from a dying man's last will!

Top Dog

Jim Henson productions had a follow-up movie after Kermit, Miss Piggy and the gang of Muppets.  An ET dog literally crashed into a neighborhood, and a boy's family home.  Hubble could talk and lead a pack of well-loved neighborhood dogs in yoga and a spin in his spaceship. The only successful dog to run the show!

There have been cases of pet owners leaving their wealth to these four-legged friends It would be interesting to mediate between their owner's relatives and these pets, who could be represented by their vet?

Love Ur Money Scam

Scammers have gone to a lower level in Dante's Inferno.  Love U Honey is their site for lonelyhearts out for a mate.  For a fee, of course, disguised as freight or other expense for supposed gifts. Instead, they should have fright for the Trojan pony.

There's one every mediation session. The fooled, oppressed, or otherwise treated unfairly.

Close Open

This is the seemingly infantile game being played seriously by the Alabangers over one of their village gates. Of course, those living near this gate are against opening it to the public.

Mediation always deals with conflicting interests and needs.

Koreanas

They are a spunky breed. There was a documentary on their grandmothers still diving for seafood. Now, Associated Press' Hyung-jin Kim reports that some nanas are forced to enter the flesh trade, too. Is it Korean feminism or what?

Mediation deals with issues on the elderly, too, swinging from dominance to dependence.

Our Mean Yeah

For a minute there, the Kardashians looked like they were in an episode of "Who do you think you are." The Dash girls went to Armenia to trace their paternal roots. Of course, the locals went crazy, as they greeted their "queen" Kim. In her defense, she caused attention to the genocide of Armenians in the past.

Reminds one of the Desiderata, that everyone has a message to tell. So in mediation. They may surprise you.

Destroyer

2 & 1/2 Men is a witty if not irreverent sitcom. At one point, the frustrated men asked themselves what destroys relationships. Their unanimous answer, women! Of course, they have to admit that they are also the reason for relationships!

Mediation more often than not sees these blame games at play.

His Appointment

Our Daily Bread says that is another way of looking at disappointment.

Mediation takes after the Greatest Mediator, too. No matter how we try, resolution only happens in His time.

Everybody's Fine

That is the title of a poignant Robert de Niro film. It is about a family's habit of sweeping issues under the rug, pretending to be better than they actually are, and otherwise keeping the father out of the loop, as always. His illness brought them and the truth together.

Such is a usual family situation in mediation. Nothing that open communication cannot solve.

Spoilers Alert

The movie about Me and Dupree was an informal course on the pitfalls during the early stage of marriage. Specifically, it dealt with the external causes of such. First, husband's boss is his wife's domineering father, who wanted him to usr his wife's last name, or otherwise get a vasectomy!? Add a bum of a bestman who became their house guest as well as the wife's ally. Aray!!!

Could mar a marriage, depending on the couple's resolve. Otherwise, they can go to mediation for resolution.

Kanye Kanye

T'is the season to be meridiculous. Kanye West announced he was running for the US Presidency in the future, like 2020?! Is his vision thus? Or was he just following the Donald's bad example?

Mediators have to likewise separate the chaff from the grain in assertions during the sessions.

Homo Naledi

That is the name of the prehistoric man whose remains were found in South Africa of late. It could also refer to transgenders. LOL

Mediation, too is in constant development. Ways are being found to lessen the time needed to arrive at a conclusion.

S-Mash-ing

Discovered Putlocker with its oldie shows. Mash, for instance, was like Grey's Anatomy during the Korean War. In one episode, they decided to have boxing matches per camp. Cheating, included. Instead of horseshoe in gloves, they dipped
them in ether. The chaplain did overtime by becoming the referee.

Mediation needs to adjust to situations, likewise.

Me grant

Now come the refugees from Syria like the Hebrews from ancient Egypt. Countries reveal their respective attitude toward them by their statements and actions. Some have set limits to the number they could accommodate. Others had citizens rallying their welcome. Hungary put up barbed wires against the hungry.

In these cases, the United Nations mediates among countries.

Doggone Friends

The Big Bang Theory took another look at friendship, too. One character described a friend as loyal, fun to be with when together, etc. Sheldon smart-alecky again retorted, "That could also be a dog!"

Mediation also strives to reinforce commonality between disputants. Couples, family, friends, neighbors, officemates, co-members- these close associates are also the usual ones in conflict.

See Man Ticks

I like the wit of the Big Bang Theory show. Once, someone stated, "I thought I was supposed to speak before a class." "No," said Sheldon, "I told you to teach someone a lesson."

Mediation has all of these miscommunication. Thst is why communication is also the solution.

Freedom Writers

For once, a true story! HBO featured the effect of a dedicated teacher on public high school freshmen toughies. In the end, they published their daily journals of woes, named after the Freedom Riders of that era. It was narrated that their teacher taught them through high school up to college, upon their request.

The disputants may also choose the mediator they could work with. But hopefully, they learn from the experience to be able to deal with succeeding conflicts on their own.

Japanese Discards

Canadian garbage exporters to the Philippines could learn a lesson from their Japanese counterpart. During Erap's administration, the Japanese got back their waste products. Recently, the Japanese did it again. They are now "recycling" the Filipino nurses and caregivers who did not make it to the Japanese licensure examination or otherwise returned to the Philippines. They can be employed in Japanese companies and medical institutes here as company nurses, interpreters and office staff.

Mediation has often seen different responses to the same situation, some more amicable than others.

Donating Discards

One of this year's Ramon Magsaysay awardees from India, Mr. Gupta, founded the Goonj (Echo) project. Inspired by seeing a poor child hugging a dead body to keep warm, he and his wife started gathering old clothes from their closet, to give away to the needy. Without formal fund-raising, Goonj has grown into 12 offices in 12 Indian states. Another game-changer is their philosophy that donation of old items is mere discarding of stuff to make room for new ones. There is respect for recepients, too.

Mediation likewise respects disputants, as they are the ones who ultimately solve their own problem.

Along Comes Polly

This DIVA romcom with Stiller and Aniston had this message: It's not about the past nor the future, but the (present) ride. Mediation likewise focuses on what can be done to untangle the present knotted dispute.

Trans (Non) Fat

Transgender Caitlyn Jenner has added even more complication into the already mixed-up Kardashians through the scoop, in a one voice open (closet) door..

There is now the Xe pronoun for their gender. Mediation is getting more colorful.

Recipe for Love

This was another DIVA fairy tale on cable. A crabby chef turned out to be starved for the love of his father. After a writer of his recipes found material reassuring him, he was ok.

Mediators sometimes play part-time therapists, especially to couples and families.

Par Lack Provincial Hospital

Tarlac Provincial Hospital does not have a healthy relationship with its staff, most especially the doctors. It seems their professional fees from Philhealth are being withheld by management. That is like depriving these life-nurturers of their livelihood.

Buddy Language

The Baby Blues comic strip featured the kids asking for a dog, then downgraded to three hamsters. "Well," the sister followed-up her brother who asked permission from their mother. "Her mouth stated shut, but her face yelled 'No!'" was the brother's report.

Mediation deals with both the spoken and the unspoken, too.

Magkano-nano

The heirs of that lovable alien on tv, Robin Williams, are in a Cinderela-esque situation. It's the stepmother vs.the children over his estate.

Lawyers are getting into the fray and the funds. Time for mediation.

Maalampaya Mo Kaya

Trust a fruitful tree to have stones thrown its way. Such is like the Malampaya energy project off Palawan. Of course, that province wants a higher percentage of its share in the output. The Commission of Audit has likewise entered the picture with a P53 billion tax bill. Last heard, Department of Energy was talking of arbitration out of this conflict. Arbitration is a legal process of alternative dispute resolution wherein an arbiter settles the conflict with his decision. Hence, the term arbitrary.

Special Reasons

Today is my birthday. Special enough, but Our Daily Bread, the Gospel reflection book, finds other reasons to celebrate. Los Angeles, for one, was founded on this day in 1781.

Conflicts arise when personal interests clash with one another. Mediation to the rescue.

Clue to Makati

As Kato is the sidekick of one fictional hero, Mr. Cruto of the Action Center is to Makati OIC Mayor "Kid" Pena, who is truly Acting. In the Aughost month, thousands of disqualified or dead senior citizens were identified as still availing of benefits. Another punny remark that came up during the said Senate hearing was that the card BLU (Binay loves u?) should instead be spelled BRU!

Sometimes, change is good if it will redound to the common good, after uncovering dirt swept under the rug.

Grey Anatomy

Aside from McDreamy and Meredith, another doctor-couple in Grey's Anatomy are lesbians Arizona and Torres. One episode saw the latter couple undergoing therapy that led to their "no communication" cooling off period, even under one roof. They decided on the petiod of one month, which was broken earlier, to positive results.

Counselors for two are like mediators. They facilitate persons in conflict to  settle it amicably.

Little Black Book II

Another quotable quote from this HBO movie: "Fool me once, shame on you;  fool me twice, shame on me."

Precisely what mediation is proactively avoiding. After being fooled once, the victim is hopefully armed by the experience of mediation with enough insight and skills like negotiation to prevent recurrence of the unfortunate incident.