Yanny

Netnet Camomot .

REMEMBER “the dress” that shook the world in February 2015? White and gold to me; black and blue to you?

Now, there’s the Yanny-Laurel debate. Vocabulary.com’s audio recording of the word “laurel” sounds “yanny” to others, including me, and here’s why: Our ears are young. Hmmm. There’s this joke about virgin ears but I’m not going there. Haha!

The world is now divided into Team Yanny and Team Laurel, even Ellen DeGeneres and Katy Perry, both Team Laurel, have joined the fray. Must be the same thing happening to the “Dutertards” and “Yellowtards,” with their respective camps not able to see how a Pinoy could end up on the opposite side.

Sandra Bullock and Stephen King, however, heard both Yanny and Laurel.

Yes, the Pinoy continues to learn something new every day. The Senate hearing in aid of legislation. LPA a.k.a. low pressure area. Quo warranto. Yanny versus Laurel. And here’s one more: Mints have expiration dates. And I didn’t know! Tsk tsk.

But the latest breaking news is this: Sen. Tito Sotto is the new Senate president. Asa na ang hustisya ani?! Well, the seat for the Supreme Court chief justice is still vacant, if ever Sen. Koko Pimentel, the immediate past Senate president, will end up sitting there, I won’t be surprised at all.

The rest of the world won’t be surprised, too, about whatever happens here in our corner of the world, as long as it doesn’t affect them as much as the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who are now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Any newly married couple would of course be hooked on the last three letters of Sussex, so, this must be the most appropriate place ever for the hopeless romantic.

Once upon a time, the royals and their future spouses were expected to behave like the Pinoy’s Maria Clara—always prim and proper, with each strand of hair in its designated place. That’s the royal family that Princess Diana was shoved into. The lofty expectations she had to meet eventually took a toll on her eating habits until they morphed into bulimia.

After Princess Diana died in August 1997, no other royal has managed to capture the attention of the madlang pehpohl as she did, and the present batch of royals can’t be blamed for not trying.

In Malaysia, though, there’s at least one trying to live like a royal. Its former First Lady Rosmah Mansor is being compared to our own former First Lady Imelda Marcos for her lavish and luxurious lifestyle. Why can’t these two simply have a spring cleaning and lead a simple life, eh?

Still, while in the midst of a spring cleaning, a bookstore calls about its sale. With books already packed like sardines in two cabinets, buying more books is comparable to buying more shoes when you already have more than 3,000 pairs at home.

There are days when you’re torn between attending a birthday party and opening a box filled with useless items that have occupied precious space for decades. Yup, it feels light to throw away garbage. Now that they’re no longer around, it’s like Life Light, you know, kind of Coke Light, no sugar.

Minimalism as a goal can test your priorities, and helps you see what you want to live with for the rest of your life. I don’t know if John Lloyd Cruz was thinking the same way when he met Ellen Adarna. Could be the proverbial light bulb appearing above his head as her spontaneity began to rub off on him. There’s the woman who plays safe and always politically correct with her words and actions like Maria Clara, and then, there’s Adarna who seems to live life to the fullest without a care in the world.

That’s the world of showbiz where the pressure to be the best and the most beautiful and the most famous can be a burden to the dainty shoulders of Sarah Geronimo who had a breakdown last month at her Las Vegas concert where she said she “feels empty.”

Rich and famous, and still “feels empty.” Whew.

Former politicians can probably relate with that feeling of emptiness, too. No one is seeking their wise counsel, no one is kissing their a**es, no one is making them look like the emperor with new clothes. But at least they now know who their real friends are, and that’s the blessing in disguise.