I went to Cubao yesterday because I want to have my plane tickets to Puerto Princesa refunded. It was wishful thinking, actually because I was fully aware of the possibility that the tickets are non-refundable since I booked the flights at promo prices. But since I will not be in Manila for the mid of May until end of July, I will not be enjoying the would-be wonderful Palawan experience. Haaaay. And I also needed money, that is why I wanted the refund badly. :((((( Lesson learned: Never book flights just because they're on sale. Book after you've decided you really want to go, even if the promo fares' not available anymore.
So after a momentary depression, we got out the PAL ticketing office and went to Cubao Expo. It was my 2nd time to go there and I still am fascinated by the place. There are a lot of unique shops - bead shop, art gallery, bar, authentic italian resto, and of course, antique collectibles. I went on to buy a pair of earrings made of safety pins! Yes, folks, the ingenuity of these people, making earrings and fancy brooches out of the neglected pins. I love it! haha.
And then, I bought a 1969 issue of Playboy magazine. The content: SIMPLY AMAZING. The amount of information you could get from the mag makes you want to burp out of literary content and intellectual satisfaction. There are short stories, witty jokes and comics strip, an article about Gore Vidal (the great author, playwright, essayist and screenwriter), a spread about De Sade (a movie about the great Marquis de Sade and his sexual adventures and philosophy), and the Playboy forum (an interchange of ideas between reader and editor on subjects raised by the "Playboy Philosophy"). And it was surprising to know that professors write to Playboy expressing their appreciation because they use the magazine as reference material in their lectures. I mean, really, the ton of information one can absorb from it is really overwhelming. It was also interesting to note that some people also write to Playboy to express their grievances. One particular letter I have noted, reflected the harsh repercussions for the use/possession/selling of pot back in those days,
"Having been convicted of selling five dollars' worth of marijuana seeds and stems to an informer, I am currently serving a 20-30 year sentence in the state prison of Southern Michigan, near Jackson...
... I believe that my real crime was a column I wrote for a Detroit underground newspaper, The Warren Forrest Sun. The column was called "Dope-O-Scope" and in it I presented scientific facts about marijuana to counter the mythology circulated by the narcotics bureau." ,
Larry Belcher
And there are about 3 more letters documenting the complaints of the writer regarding the harsh treatment surrounding pot. These people write to Playboy as the magazine is a beacon of light in liberal thoughts and is a great informer to the people. And during those times when society limits the people, some of these people find comfort in Playboy. Wow, right. This makes me want to go find some more old issues and trace the evolution of the great magazine. Hugh Hefner is a genius!
and the 1969 issue : 269 pages of kick-ass substance!
Note: "In an editorial in the December 1962 issue of Playboy magazine, Hugh M. Hefner wrote the first installment of what has become known as the Playboy Philosophy. While the study of sexuality and politics has taken a postmodern turn since the Playboy Philosophy was first promulgated, the Playboy Philosophy presents a manifesto on politics and governance that reflects a modern age vision. The Playboy Philosophy is premised on arguments about the fundamental nature of man, the inalienability of rights, the desirability of democracy, and a plea for the use of reason in convincing others to recognize the truths about humanity and governance. The modernist sensibility of the Playboy Philosophy is ironic since it was at one time a harbinger of sexual liberation. Yet in an age in which ideas about both sexuality and politics reflect a turn towards social constructions, notions of both sexual liberation and political liberty indicate new thinking about what constitutes individual and societal freedom." <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p317120_index.html>
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