The Martian

No sequel to ET, this movie is about Matt Damon's character stranded on that planet. Not sci-fi anymore, with Branson brashly taking reservations for one-way tickets to the red planet.

Have we even perfected peaceful living on our home planet?

Olimping Games

Just heard that the differently-abled will be joining the Olympics in Rio.

When would the differently-believing rejoin the humane race?

Loot's loot

One of the PNP heads implicated by Duterte in drugs is now a mayor in Cebu. Mayor Loot's Statement of Assets and Liabilities reports a net worth of P 700 M from his wife's businesses.

Hmmm, what loot?!

Extremely loud and incredibly close

This movie on 911 was reshown on cable tv. A mother and son left by the man of the house had to contend with each other while dealing with their own grief. At one point, the mother admitted looking over her child's things. Snooping was the boy's term for it. No, according to his mom, just searching for you.

They self-mediated their conflict by being honest, sincere and earnest with each other.

Nice Terror Attack?

Is it ever? Well, if it happened in Nice, France. Good clarification of a TV breaking news.  Sure broke a lot of lives and limbs.

Do we need a UN with more teeth, cctvs, intelligence, and perhaps more so, prayers?

Lolopop

That is a lolo still peddling lollipop on foot in San Fernando, Pampanga. He was the "Good News" feature of GMA News TV. Interviewed, he said he liked the exercise, aside from the meager earnings for his family. He was rewarded with a little store.

If only a lot more of these positive family stories come up!

Mourning Recipe

Take it from the Land of the Rising Sun. As featured in RED, the Japanese have a set of rituals commemorating their dead.

As almost all nations do the same, shouldn't they have peaceful-living guidelines, too?

Beware the Gifts

Heard over the cab's radio, as translated-

Gift-giver: Will you use right away my gift to you?

Recipient: Of course. What is it anyway?

Gift-giver: A memorial plan (canned laughter)

Like compliments, gifts can be left-handed. Minded, right?

Wino Ryder

That was how Johnny Depp abbreviated his tattoo after breaking-up with Winona, or however she spelled her name.

Some individuals handle letting-go creatively well.

Beer Pong

This is the new game of shooting pingpong balls into those red plastic beer cups. It has gone international. What will they think of next?

If only they exert the same creative effort in resolving brawls there.

Jonisia

Jon Santos, the comic progeny of Willie Nepomuceno and Tessie Tomas, does a (not) mean Dionisia. Unlike sprouting comedy bar-tenders, Jon like his elders does not do hard- core putdown. Just good old realism with a dash of irony- library of bankbooks and k for kilo, plus honeymoon on the moon!

Laughter could be the best mediation!

Leading Women

This CNN PH series featured Bernadette Romulo- Puyat, who found new purpose in life after widowhood. As Undersecretary of Agriculture, she visited farmers all over the country. She also found out that only women are allowed to pick coffee beans. Just as to give birth!

Now, that's women leading! No contest.

Minister of Happiness-Giving

The United Arab Emirates has one! Believe this TV report, with all their oil, I guess this was coming.

Guess, too, they don't need mediation there?

Pancoran

That's the name of the statue commissioned by Sukarno, as told in HBO RED's Indonesian movie "Adriana."  Schoolchildren were asked where the figure seemed to be pointing. One replied, "where the treasure is!"

Not only in the Philippines. How have we moderated greed?

Carniture

That's no typo, just Kenneth Cobonpue's vehicle-inspired pieces of furniture.

Mediation needs such creativity in settling conflict by merging both sides' interests.

Serenity

Serena Williams must have lots of this, starting from her name. Despite all the fury of her game, one must have had equanimity to garner 22 Grand Slams!

Sometimes, exchanges between disputants seem like a furious tennis match. Oh, do we call the name of Serena!

Organic Bananas

Kourtney Kardashian offers this tip on how to spot them. Organic bananas are easy to peel on top.

Some disputants are not organic in that way. They have layers of pretension that are hard to uncover.

Gorgeous

That is how a Rockwell retail store defines its Mess. Indeed, Gorgeous Mess sells products like gold staplers! Must be difficult not to know where to spend an over-supply of money and at the same time, keep away from boredom doing it.

In like manner, mediation could be a gorgeous make-over of conflict, with a dash of creative ideas on its resolution.

Prayer for the Dying

This AMC movie was about a priest administering the Last Rites alright. But he also witnessed the deceased being shot. Worse, the killer confessed to him to be bound by its Seal of confidentiality. In yet another twist, the killer happened to be a good organist in church, and fell in love with the priest's blind niece- regular church organist.

Some mediation stories even beat this one.

Grave Mediation

More than meaning "important, threatening, dignified and somber " (as its synonyms in Merriam Webster), grave here refers to "from the dead." In 2nd Avenue's feature "Montana Sky," a rich playboy farmland-owner willed his three stepdaughters to live, co-exist and be productive for a year in the ranch, or else lose their inheritance.

Creative mediation, too!

Plain and Boring

That is how a girl in an ad describes not a date, but her hair! We know they have to sell their product and would go to great length or stretch of imagination, so have come to this.

Mediation sessions, thanks to the disputants, are neither of the two adjectives.

Man on a Ledge

This old movie was about a diamond thief who was being talked out of jumping off a building. What caught our attention was when he accepted to share the cigarette of a policewoman. When her boss asked when she started the habit, she replied by handing the cigarette to a detective for DNA analysis.

Just like in mediation, all means are exhausted toward conflict resolution.

Near Perfect Storm

That was the description of recent PH "buisitor," Buchoy given by hopeful Pag-asa. Indeed, its image equalled Van Gogh's "Starry Night." And many evacuees really wished to have seen it, instead of being jampacked in community gyms.

Perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of beholder or the victim.

Mediating Cultures

GMA NEWS TV's Howie Severino visited the B'laan tribe of Mindanao. An elderly woman told him that their culture was vanishing as the younger people refuse, or are ashamed, to learn from her. Their dances and colorful native wear are now just for visitors' consumption. On the other hand, a man from Tondo is raising his family there, in order to teach the B'laans in school. Howie compared the two individuals- one holding the key to their past; the other, to their future.

How to make the twain meet?

CK

Calvin Klein is passe. It's now time for Louie, a sad comic in New York. His self-named series he explained to interviewer Ruben Napales thus: "Szekely  is pronounced CK. It's Hungarian. I ended up sticking with that because when you start doing stand-up comedy or amateur night, you just write your name on a chalkboard, and you come up when you are called. That is what it was when I started. I just wrote 'Louie  CK,'  so he would say it right."

They say one's name is music to his ears. Thus, at the start of mediation, there is need for introduction of the mediator, and even each disputant, because the other party could be a representative of say, a credit company, unknown to the debtor. Hopefully there is no discordant note that follows.

Mayor's Major Shake-Up

Mayor Sylvia Austria of Jaen, Nueva Ecija has a new "hain" to be served drug pushers surrendering to authorities. P 50, 000. for submiting to rehabilitation and later, for alternative livelihood. Hopefully, they don't become lively hoods!!!

In mediation, the compromise agreement ensures that the conflict is resolved in an enforceable, fair, win-win and fool--proof manner.

Hotel Babylon

2nd Avenue's drama series is set in familiar territory, as I've been in three hotels' personnel department. But their immigration woes have not been our experience.

On the other hand, we processed our expats' immigration papers, and one time, bailed out an expat chef who was jailed for supposedly locking a local cook in the freezer!

Helen, The Baby Fox

RED's Korean offering told the story of a veterinarian's son who took care of a blind baby fox. Once, the father blind-folded his son to make him aware of how his pet was moving about.

Much like how a mediator would want disputants to feel about each other.

Cycology

One of my favorite rerun sitcoms is Frasier. One episode had his brother and him learning how to ride a bike for his radio station's fund-raising race.

Could relate to that. Not all kids have done their wheelwork.

Mediating Hold-Uppers

AMC's movie had two hold-upper pairs victimizing the same bank almost simultaneously. It could only happen in the town called Inferno in Texas!

Perhaps they should set appointments?

Age Discrimination

HBO Asia's RED channel has a Japanese series tackling this issue.

There is hope for the boob tube.

Hollywood Tour

The Kardashians got on one. Of course, Khloe dressed and made-up as a southern grandmother of Kendall and Kylie. They just wanted to evade the paparazzi and general public attention, and be in their shoes, for once.

Hopefully, understanding follows, as in mediation.

Biblical Dynasties

Perhaps they are being put forth by political dynasties as their model. But perhaps they should also read about what happened to some of them!

Be careful what you feign for.

Judicial First Aid

It is said that to relieve the disputants of their conflict, focus less on reliving the pain. While the past is crucial in understanding the present, it is dealt with only to decide on how best to avoid it in the future.

Drain Bermuda

A documentary on the recovery of $ 1.5 B worth of old gold coins from the sunken ship, Republic started with tracing the seabed by digitally draining its Bermuda Triangle area. A map of the sunken vessel was produced.

Mediation, too, requires the draining of ill will for the recovery of once precious relationships.

Safety Net

Being acrophobic, I was awed by mountain climbers without ropes! Of course, like movie shots, there was a net spread out below. Still am not doing that!

Mediation is like a net that catches disputants falling over the cliff.

Amazing Food

NAT GEO recounted the search for food of the Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror. It reached the point when they turned to tarantulas for sustenance! Now, they are a delicacy.

That's the development of a nation's problem-solving for nutrition.

Waiting

Can't recall now where I heard this observation: "Why are they called waiters? Diners are the ones waiting."

Just like those with pending court cases awaiting decisions.

Wanda No More

Political appointees' season again. So finally, it was revealed that Duterte die-hard Tulfo's sister, Wanda Teo from a Davao agency, is now at the helm of Tourism.

This conflict (of interest) is hard to mediate.

Ending

That's not the barangay- level gambling. Emily's Post (again not the etiquette columnist) of Emily Marcelo had this lyrical advice to a letter-writer: "Closing the chapter on a great love is always sad in any language. That's the reason for the periods in sentences, winters in seasons, deaths in a life. Every good thing ends, somehow or other. As a song goes, 'All good things must end, and autumn leaves must fall. But that's what memories are for- for reliving, for playing back, for reminiscences.' "

And mediation, too when there is need to trace how the once good relationship deteriorated.

Wagas na Wakas

GMA News TV featured a truly heroic man who became blind after an accident, was left by his pretty girlfriend, learned to be a construction worker and found new love in a plump but good-natured woman.

Mediation likewise seeks a creative and tenacious end to conflict.

Solutionaries

As coined and defined by the previous PCOO Assistant Secretary Celso Santiago, this term refer to "students who are molded into citizens who can propose solutions and not just join the noisy mob in social media." How? The Aquino Legacy Videos will be distributed to 2, 000 schools.

Could refer to disputants in mediation, too.

SODA ads

Not of Coke or Sprite, but of the State of the Department/ Agency that were rampant after the elections. Reminds me of one Peace Panelist who in the 2010 turn-over, cried bribery early on the start of her appointment.

Why only now? That could likewise be asked of disputants at the start of mediation.

Smashing Success

In the Genius series of the History channel, an American with a German-sounding name, Oppenheimer is credited for the hydrogen bomb that ended World War II and lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Did he, like Einstein (for the atom bomb ) regret having had destructive destinies, and preferred to have been a fisherman?

Horse-Man ship

This is the story of French rider Pierre Durand and his family-owned horse. Pierre's first tournament failure was blamed on his coach, who was replaced by another more positively reinforcing. The horse was also not spared and got to be sold except for failing its medical check-up. In the end, after being more caring of his horse, Durand won in the Seoul Olympics.

How like human inter-relationships frequently blaming, escaping, and all else except accepting.

Mediating Tastes

Who could be more qualified than Indians? Its Cinema World feature differentiated spicy (tasty) from hot (hurting).

To every tongue, spoken or tasting, there is a preference, often necessitating mediation.