Fowl Means

World Heritage cable is on preview. No ads! The other day, animals during the four seasons were featured. Owls and eagles were shown extending their wings to scare and ward off preying animals.

Just like people who shout, throw their weight around, and otherwise explode emotionally to defend themselves. All too familiar on the mediation table.

Unmarrying

"The Millers" of 2nd Avenue had an interesting episode on divorce. Their son adminstered their rite of unmarrying, complete with vows to break and throwing of the rings.

At least on tv, it can be funny. In actual cases, hopefully they can be civilly mediated.

Matrimonial Attorneys

In DIVA channel's George Clooney marathon, the first feature had him as the lawyer to-go-to for prenup and/or divorce. Of course with Catherine Zeta-Jones as his client's wife, there was bound to be conflict of interest. In fact, they got married after her intervening marriage on the rebound that ended in divorce, too. After their own divorce, and the death of her first husband, Clooney's character has a legal epiphany and foregoes his usual cynicism. Reconciliation takes its place.

Mediators hope this ending happens more often in real life.

Things We Lost in the Fire

DIVA cable had this good movie last night. Halle Berry's character lost her husband
to a senseless violent crime and  had to take over the care of his friend's drug rehab. She compared that experience with material things they had previously lost in a fire.

Mediation deals with values beyond the material, too.

Magic in the Moment

That was the title of an HBO movie. Delightful English characters dealt with an American woman posing as a psychic, as well as trying to marry her victim's heir.

Mediation sometimes has to sift through credibility gaps, too.

See, Senior

Yesterday was a revelation. Thinking I had left my senior citizen's card at McDonald's, I went back to their outlet. There, the crew member flashed
several cards with the same fate. Suggested they alphabetize them, too.

Seniors have problems with memory. However, they have experience to
make-up for it. They are thus good mediator material.

Ka-purse O

Usually down payments are a few tens of thousands, we are more or less ready to forfeit should the deal not push through.  But big business is something else. The planned sale of tv station GMA to Ramon Ang involved a billion down payment! That amount is hard to lose. So Mr. Ang has sued GMA CEO Atty. Felipe Gozon et al for syndicated estafa, after the sale did not materialize. Let us see if GMA lives up to its tagline of Serbisyong TOTOO.

In the end, one's conscience is a self-regulating mediator.

Men-ace to Society

Ended Sunday on a sunny note after watching Dennis the Menace on Warner Brothers cable. Back then, children were naughty, pure of intention and simple.

Now, they sniff rugby to ward off hunger pangs or engage in petty crimes because they cannot be put to jail. They are thus mediated with their neglectful parents.

International Mediation

The case of the Canadian trash is not yet trashed. "On behalf of its Philippine partner, BAN Toxics, the Basel Action Network (BAN) based in Seattle, Washington, has asked the secretariat of the United Nations on the Basel Convention to file a case against Canada following the dumping of 26 cargo containers of wastes from Canada in a sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac. (Inquirer, 02 August 2015, A9)

Thank heavens for a North American friend intervening for the Philippines against another North American country.

Choices

There is a quotable quote in "Fault in our Stars." We choose the ones who hurt us. Perhaps that is why family members and close friends hurt us the most, as we care for them in like measure.

Mediation has seen more family members and close friends in conflict, too.