Science Fiction and Fantasy

I had an interesting conversation with a patient recently. I guess the topic turned a bit friendly when he was satisfied with my explanations of the disease process and treatment.

Basically he said that he was giving a piece of unsolicited advice, that I should look towards writing a book because he apparently enjoyed the way I conducted my narrative, that I was able to  hold his attention unlike the stereotypical doctor dealing out scientific jargon not normally understandable to the lay person.

I thanked the dude for his compliments, but it really got me thinking... Could I really transition into writing an actual full-fledged narrative?

I mean, it wasn't for lack of trying. I recall sometime in grade school when I first set out to write my own science fiction novel (since I was still on a high from reading all the Robotech novels from my collection), but this project fell short because (in hindsight) I really didn't have a concrete story to build around. I thought that I had shelved that idea for good, until now.

Structure. That is the one thing great stories have which I didn't prepare for. We learn in school about how stories  are made, about the different parts and how the narrative should flow together, but since that just seemed like a random concept, it never occurred to me that I needed to apply it to my own work.

AS you can see, most of the stuff I write here on this blog are pretty much free-flowing. I just pluck the thoughts from my stream of consciousness and hope that the thought will be cohesive enough for my readers (or even myself in the future) to understand.

To be honest, the idea of making a structured story now kinda intrigues and excites me. The fact that I would need to craft a dramatis personae with their own backstories that would provide a logical flow to their actions has piqued my interest..

 I had been reading my way through the Dune novels since I passed the diplomate exams and is my constant activity during clinic downtimes, but to tell you quite frankly, it has lately become a struggle to keep myself engaged, since the latter original Dune novels dwell a lot more on political intrigue and the inner workings of a prescient mind. 

This entry also has "Fantasy" in the title for good reason. I have recently come across a D&D-based story entitled the Tale of an Industrious Rogue, which basically details an entire Dungeouns and Dragons tabletop campaign conducted by a flexible and creative Dungeon Master (DM) and played by an equally creative bunch of players controlling the colorful and devious characters that serve as their in-game alter-egos. This story has renewed my interest in old-school tabletop RPGs (I used to play the Sci-Fi equivalent of D&D called Star Frontiers which was also made by TSR, the company behind Dungeons and Dragons). I realize that this would present a set of challenges, since the people I would normally play with (the BNO guys) ave much difficulty organizing our nights out, much less a long term campaign requiring multiple sessions. The magic of the internet offers some promise however, especially with the advent of videoconferencing. All we would have to do is work out who controls the dice so that there would be no accusations of cheating. Hehe.

Seriously though, I think I am yearning for a return to the good old days, when adventure games were driven more by imagination and creativity than visuals and gimmicks. We'll just see what comes up. ;)

Ang bagyong hinde

A couple of weeks ago, the metro was hit by a torrential rainfall similar to what befell us a few years ago when the typhoon Ondoy rolled into town. Memories of being stranded on the road until 9pm was renewed in my mind as the downpour reduced visibility to near zero.

The day had begun quietly enough, with a bit of scattered showers falling unpredictably here and there. The local weather forecast showed that there were storms located outside the PAR (Philippine Area of Responsibility) but had the side effect of bringing in these monsoon rains. I had just gotten in the car with my Other Half when the downpour suddenly came. It was a good thing the mall was nearby, but I found myself suddenly fearing any flooding that would occur in the basement parking.

We went on the date as usual but it was ominously dark outside. I remember saying to myself that it looked like it was evening already but in reality it was just a little past noon. The rains raged on outside until we got the call from her mother to abort and come home since there was flooding already at different parts of the metro. We hurriedly left and I got her home safe before saying a little prayer and heading out. Luckily I made it home unscathed. Then there was the long wait... I spent a great deal of my time waiting for everyone else to come home. My brother arrived first after dinnertime, but my poor parents got home at 3 in the morning already due to standstill traffic caused by severe flooding.. :(

I was really thankful that they got home safe and that the water level in the immediate vicinity had not risen to alarming levels..

We saw the news the following day... The riverside communities in Marikina had to be evacuated, and the dams were forced to release water because levels had gone dangerously high.. :(

It was really fortunate that the rainfall was not as severe as what was previously experienced. The cost to human life and property is presumably much less than before. From a physician's standpoint though, we have to be an the lookout for an increased incidence of leptospirosis, as this may progress to outright renal failure and fatal pulmonary hemorrhage. 

Net Negativity

A lot has happened in recent weeks, and foremost among them was the blatant doctor-shaming by an infamous media personality who in my eyes has devolved from a supposed protector of the oppressed to just a plain old mean-spirited bully who pushes people around just to get what he wants. Seeing as all this negativity has had a substantial impact on my general mood as of late, I shall not be dwelling on that much-publicized incident here.

AS you can see, there have been so many ups and downs as of late. The internet has now turned into a hotbed of hostility and negativity which is spread far and wide through the (mis)utilization of social media. Foremost among these sites are Twitter and Facebook. The supposed freedom and anonymity of the internet has turned people into such jerks and assholes that it sickens me.. Then you have all these fake accounts pushing a particular agenda or orchestrating demolition jobs on individuals. Then there is also the abudance of fake news being circulated by uscrupulous individuals who are often in the payroll of one moneyed faction or another. It's just so sad... I guess this is human freedom at it's very worst..It is impossible to tightly control the entire internet, although I think China has been doing a helluva job with its own Great Firewall.

I just want to comment of this foul nature of humans, particularly the aspect that we manifest when we are behind the anonymity of the computer. Free access to the internet has led to an exlosion of apathetic individuals prowling online doing hurtful things just for the hell of it. Basic decency appears to have taken a backseat (or even no seat at all) for these people. It is sad that such a wonderful tool like the web is used merely to spread hatred and evil instead of fully utilizing its potential to help  better the lives of everyone though the sharing of knowledge and the ability to connect earnestly with people who are far away. I guess it bolis downto education, and I'm not talking about those fancy degrees here. What I am highlighting is the "manners education" that a person should receive as a child, the basic rules of decency and good moral conduct that would ideally be ingrained in every individual from a young age. I look across the internet now and see a general lack of empathy with others. I mean, you don't have to cry and sympathize with every sob story that you hear, but at least you could be decent enough not to act like a dick and make fun of those aggrieved.

I have observed that the supposed "nice people" on the internet are often drawn out to become angry lunatics because they tend to have very emotional responses that the so-called "trolls" are skilled at eliciting. This used to be the domain of the crazy obsessed fan, the nutty conspiracy theorist, or the blindly loyal staunch political supporter, but has now taken a more sinister undertone as the trolls are now for hire. This makes them much more dangerous since they are able to focus their attacks on anyone or anything going against their agenda (as opposed to individual nutjobs who people don't take seriously at all).

I guees that's enough about the negativity epidemic. I didn't want to get anybody down, but I just needed to have some catharsis from this rough couple of weeks..