2014, the second decade of the millennium at its midpoint. What seems to be the most exciting thing that has happened in our lives anyway? There's no romanticized revolt to speak of unlike 1986. Any discontent can now be posted instantly in the wide wide world of web. But whining individually doesn't automatically translate into change. It can only go as far as a "trending" issue. Sometimes I wonder what should we really be fighting for anyway? The last time that converged us, we considered Marcos a unifying villain. It was easier to know who the enemy was. The more names go into the Napolist, verified or not, transcending both political parties, but limited to Arroyo period of rule, corruption becomes the villain, but not necessarily a clear cut manifestation in one persona like Marcos. One thing that grabbed us and united us all was a clear-cut Destroyer in the form of a super storm. Maybe a future crusader for us to gravitate to also needs an enemy as obvious as Haiyan (Yolanda) or as an overstaying Authoritarian / Tyrant. Who's the newest star to make thousands scream for more? A youthful guy with bangs named Daniel? His crowd-drawing charisma and the hysteria he can command still remain puzzling to me or he could be really out of my generational taste. We had our icons before in our times that our parents can't figure out why. But c'mon, can't we go more surprising or much more innovative and imaginative than that and have someone shaking the medium, giving it a much needed splash of cold water the way the Beatles took the bubblegum away from the sweet, naive Pleasantville 50's? Anyway the Beatles started bubble gummy and learned seriousness along the way. Maybe Daniel will be an important artist in his latter years, after the decadence of fame's demands take its toll, and make him search the innermost recesses of his reason for being. But am not wishing for him to end up as another Club27 case. Scanning through the much touted independent cinema wave since Maximo Oliveros blossomed, until the latest bundles of film ideators' hopes for the 10th edition of Cinema One, one can only wish for what's the next WOW now that freedom of imagination is unleashed by the easy access to digital production. The premise is always fresh in some cases. But as execution comes into play, it's as if a sense of "ningas cogon," the initial spark you'd hope could create an exciting wildfire and ripple, dissipates. Put into play the low-budget limitations as one only hopes to craft more, for less. The look of the humble SLR's in 5D's can become tiring, one selection colleague pointed it out to me, or the license for available light as a reason for texture and untampered visual documentation. One thing I noticed with independent films now, is the lack of "imagination" in a scene. I hope for a moment (but not in the dramatic sense of it) where humanness shines, instead of the drudgery of slowness and emptiness in the cerebral "premise" an idea is based on. Perhaps the lack of face-to-face talk has removed the humanness of life, everything becomes observational, distant, or alienating as an outsider of life, than as a participant in it. Is this the effect of getting hooked on Facebook or other forms of social networks that has made us cyber than real? Or maybe, it's really the lack of jolt in our times, enough to stir our emotions once again. Now all those emotions are left to the soaps, in a contrived way that hasn't evolved since Flordeluna, Annaliza or Mara Clara made our primetime viewing melodramatic. Oh I remembered, we're way past the 20th century. But television will take longer to approximate the level of imagination and passion that has pushed American TV now to its exciting era. Music has remained clubbish, mash-up, that, pardon the oldie in me, seemed to have removed the musicality and melodiousness I grew up with, from the first instrumental bars of "Stairway to Heaven," now belatedly accused as copied, to the sweeping tunes and tones of Willy Cruz, Ryan Cayabyab, when someone minded what chords to put in the G and F clefs. I listen to what my younger friends sing at a videoke bar, and they all sound the same to me… except there are more words maybe to cloak the lack of melody. I don't wish for a cataclysm called war, or a national crisis of being doped and drugged, to shake the monotony and unexcitement of our times. The way people challenged norms and started asking questions they never dared to ask in the 60's. But can't we be innovative and playful once more, treading into the unexplored, and let's see where it will all take us. There's no need to converge at EDSA. In the comforts of our wired to the net worlds, let's make imagination and risk fashionable once again. We cannot expect a leader to be visionary, but we can have our own little visions to see the world differently once more. Make movies like movies once again. Make music sing once more. Make stars really stellar for a reason. And yes, solve our problems as well with more creativity, than sitting down saying traffic remains the same, our airport is still the worst, corruption is still there, and in spite of the rising GDP's and the declaration we're no longer the sick man of Asia, there's still poverty around us. (Interpret that as Greed is here to stay). It takes imagination and passion to get us out of this mid-decade flatline. And let excitement come back so our heart monitors will be pulsating once again.