ABC STARS Inspires

'It is time to go to the next stage, Kirk.' "I lost something, I think, Miss Winters." "Yes. You did lose something. Nevertheless, we fixed it," then she smiled. "It is my fault. I take full responsibility for it," he said with a reassuring tone. 'No. Bad things do happen to good people. But find solutions for them. Focus. And control your attitude. You have two choices: to be positive or to be negative. And do something about it. Being positive will change your situation. Believe and do not doubt. I believe in you, Kirk! We have already seen your success and we are so happy that you have accomplished the mission. The next phase is much more exciting!' "I am looking forward to it," and Kirk smiled.   photo credit: classic_film Audrey Hepburn, Richard Dreyfuss, Always, 1989 via photopin (license) License: (license)

(L-R: Father Carpio, Atty. Juan Luis Z. Carpio, James Younghusband, and Phil Younghusband) Right after our grade school classes, my younger brother and I, would climb the massive walls of the Cathedral and sit on the wide concrete summit, it was sort of our stadium seat, as we watched football players on the soccer field of the local High School Seminary. One of my older brothers, Jose Marcelino Z. Carpio, went to that school and joined the football team. With sheer dedication, strategy and perseverance he continued his passion for the sport and played at his university. Then, he pursued his dream and became the goalkeeper of the Philippine National Football Team. He was featured in an Asian circulated magazine as one of the greatest football players of the region. Presently, he is contributing to the further development of the sport at the Asian Football Confederation.  Another older brother, Atty. Juan Luis Z. Carpio, is actively promoting the right of ...

That would be me last night, but on a bridge and looking into the river. I was meditating. I do that a lot, my pensive moments and breathing in the cool fresh air. I work in Media, now as a writer. My works are featured in other parts of the world. I have to be unoffendable. It is unfair but I live with it. No big deal, really. I am Mr. Nice Guy. I was the one in charge of irate clients back in the day in one of the largest companies in the country. The usual approach of other inexperienced managers would be to fight with the clients. That is skewed. It took a difficult time for your sales team to gain a customer then once that customer has a problem or any concern at all they treat them as an enemy? Well, it is understandable. The irate client would be shouting at the top of their voice behaving like a wild beast. Maybe, that was too hyperbolic but it could really escalate to that degree. Human nature would be to react in the same way. I do not do that. No...

photo credit: mykel7873 Diamond Eyes via photopin (license) License: (license) When I was in Kuala Lumpur, there would be chances that I would have conversations with locals and they are all agog about Makati. I felt that it is amazing that they really love that part of Metro Manila. The whole of the business district of Makati is so similar to New York. You would not even think that you are in The Philippines at all. Back in the day, it used to be where I worked at and enjoyed the cityscape. photo credit: Trekpedition.Com Clouds over the Manila city via photopin (license) License: (license) The opulence of Makati and the other high end parts of Metro Manila is a stark contrast to what the world media shows about The Philippines. Generally, it is a peaceful metropolis. It goes without saying that you do have to be street smart. It is also a shopping destination. And it is frenetic 24/7. photo credit: Deortiz Manila, Greenbelt shopping mall ...

Ascension Press  and  Ascension Presents   in collaboration with  Inspires   give you this riveting magnum opus.‎.. Condensed Reflection by James Z. Carpio Upon release, an innocent man imprisoned for several years, was asked, "what kept you going and how did you deal with that grave injustice?" 'Well, my family would visit me often. They would bring me food. And... Uhhmmm... As he cleared his throat, he paused and looked down. Then, tears welled up in his eyes and he said, you know what? I would pray to God a lot, hoping for a miracle. There is a small window in the cell. And, whenever I would feel frustrated and devastated, I would look out that window.  I would see the sky. Sometimes it would be clear blue skies, cloudy, or rainy. And it gave me hope. Because I knew God is there watching over me... and I have complete faith and trust in Him.'  

There are at least five languages that I know; I speak Tagalog, Bikol, Filipino, English, and Spanish. Not to mention, Taglish and Spanglish. 1. Unknowingly, you commit grammatical mistakes In English, white house is spoken and written as that. In Spanish, you say it as casa blanca, if you would say that in English it would be house white. 2. You could only really write in the language that you know best One piece I wrote in Filipino, I inadvertently spelled baliktad as baligtad. 3. Shifting from one language to another while speaking has a delay lapse of proper accent This is the funniest because people who do not know you think that you really come from another country. 4. The two lesser and least languages you know are just conversational or really basic When I speak in Bikol it is just enough to get by. When I hear deep Bikol words then I become lost in translation. 5. People sometimes are confused why you are multilingual My father and mo...

"You will not be able to support a family as a writer... " Those words are like graffiti in my state of mind until this moment. After the interview, those words are what resonated in the depths of my being. The Editor was being frank. And it hit me like a ton of bricks. My dreams went down the drain into the abyss, and probably, even to middle Earth, or right at the core. Metaphorically, I was shot and it hit me right on target. Pardon me, for the hyperbolic statements. I died that day. Do not write for the money. Period. Well, at first, that should be your attitude. However, I have never been a quitter. And, I wrote my article for that newspaper firm and it was published. I had been paid, subsequently, I became a professional writer. You have to read, read, and read. Observe people. Study them. See nature. Explore. Okay, that is called rambling. Do not do that. You could best put it simply as: live your own life and write about it. Well, you have to ...