Fire hits Shoppesville in Virra Mall, Hitchhiker's Guide and other events

Reports said traffic gridlocks caused by vehicles wanting to get out of the shopping area are hampering efforts by firefighters to put out the blaze.

Well, I came from North Greenhills Village and I was one of those poor saps that wanted to get out of the area. Traffic enforcers, PNP, barangay police, and the mall guards have a huge coordination problem which resulted in the gridlocks. So it's unfair to blame it all on the passers-by.

In SimCity 4, when you dispatch the firefighters, the cars nearby just disappear into thin air while the firetrucks rush to wherever you point the "dispatch arrow". Unrealistic? Not really. I believe in other countries, they have fire lanes. But in Metro Manila, even sidewalks are narrow, and sometimes non-existent.

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We were also in Greenhills last night waiting for the 7:40 PM showing of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in Promenade theatre. We ate at Bizu, a relatively expensive restaurant with good desserts and main dishes. I had the Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwich (I believe it was called), and added P15.00 to make it with whole wheat bread. Pretty good, I must say.

Heavy rain was pouring outside. Good thing I brought my golf umbrella.

Now after all that rain, who knew there'll be a fire just the next day?

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I can't really describe my viewing experience. It's maybe because for me, maybe they should have left it in book/radio/tv form. I wasn't able to appreciate it as a movie, I mean since I've read the book (and therefore, all the humorous quips and puns). To begin with, I'm guessing there were a few who watched it out of sheer interest since only about 1/4 of the theatre was even sparsely occupied. As for Douglas Adams fans here, let's just say they weren't watching last night at that particular time and theatre.

I liked the visual effects though, but c'mon, this is the 21st century.

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"The law applies to all or none"

I just loathe those with "TMG" (Traffic Management Group) vehicle plates or whatever special plates they have. How different are they from the "Erap" or "Gloria" or "8 (congressman)" plates? Not at all, I think. Are they exempted from traffic laws and ordinances? Do traffic enforcers avoid vehicles with these plates to prevent embarrassing situations? It seems like it.

The solution is very simple: Nobody should be exempted from breaking traffic laws and regulations.

I remember there was a story about President Erap trying to drive somewhere in San Juan and then got pulled over by this MMDA traffic enforcer who realized his mistake upon seeing the driver. Turns out that the traffic enforcer was the loser in this story. I don't agree. You drive in this country and you're fair game. If you don't have escorts, you're fair game. If you are not allowed by law to have escorts, then you are fair game.

A few weeks ago, Anti-Kidnapping Presidential Adviser Angelo Reyes held a press conference on cracking down on abuse of special-plates and wang-wang (sirens) by motorists. When asked by a reporter if government officials or cabinet members are covered by this crack down. He said, "what if there are emergency meetings?" See, now that's the kind of attitude that leads to abuse, when people look out for themselves and not the people. If there are emergency meetings, then go duke it out in the streets just like everyone else. I'm sure they have drivers and cellphones.

At last I've found an editorial by Ben Lim, in case you don't understand what I'm saying. Would you believed I just googled the quote I remembered from the article "more equal than others" and then I found a link? How did we ever survive without Google?

Anyway, indeed, some are more equal than others, and we are all Boxers and Benjamins.