[Federico]

Originally Posted by themorningstar

i apologize, because i am not able to ignore your posts when i know certain information written by you is either wrong or inaccurateand i feel compelled to enlighten. yes, i would feel it a great gesture if you did take the time out to thoroughly study and research the history and cultural context of the weaponry of the region and accurately disseminate its beautiful existence.but for you to include other forum members in your statement is rather uncalled for, for none have tried to play the role of expert. .

Well, I would like to think that I have not tried to pass myself off as an expert by any means. I used to write in my profile, that I was just a bum who had access to the library. And in many respects I still feel that I am still just a bum who has read too many books for his own good. If it seems like I was talking like an expert, then I apologize, as I am far from it. I am just another forumite (and thus felt myself in the same category as the other forum members here who are not from Sulu), who after a few years of trying to research, is left only with more questions than answers. So feel free to correct me if I am wrong, I am still learning. However, I may still ask why I am wrong, so that if I am on the completely wrong path, then I can get off it.

Originally Posted by themorningstar

i do agree w/ you however that if we were to "play" academics, that we would need some form of standardization as well as citation. but since most of the academic knowledge i have acquired came from the lips of old men and not papers, what good would it do to cite those sources? i have preserved their knowledge for many years, shouldn't that be all the verification needed? it's possible, but i have also done my research outside and all it has done is authenticated that knowledge. it may serve to your benefit, a display of my information, but by not doing your own research you would rob those who did search, sacrifice, preserve and utilize that knowledge of their hard work and honor.
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For me the words from the lips of old men, is the best form of citation/reference and I value it far above what has been written in some book by some Westerner. If I had access to old men who still knew the knowledge, I would be at their feet asking at my most humblest to see if they would be willing to share their knowledge. Some of my best memories of my childhood, are exactly such episodes, sitting at the feet of the old Manongs as they told the stories of the past. Unfortunately, I live in Minnesota, and access to those with such knowledge is severely limited. In fact, most of the elders in my hometown have long since been dead, and hence my memories are only that of a child. I would like to wish one day that I could make a journey to places where such knowledge remained intact, but unfortunately my bio as a bum, is not all together un-warranted. I lack the funds for such a trip, and must content myself to pursue knowledge where I can find it, via books and from those willing to share on such forums as this. Even then, I have tried to credit those individuals who have helped me, as would be noted on my website. However, it is helpful for me, that if knowledge is coming first hand, to know where it is coming from. Otherwise, I can only guess that a forumite is like myself, reading accounts in books. When that is the case, then I would like to know if I have read those same books, to see if I draw those same conclusions. But if it is first hand, well then that is enough for me. This is just a hobby for me, and citation does not need to be overly formal, however a statement such as "this appears in legends". Well what legend? Maybe Ive heard it before, and can check if I remember seeing it. Perhaps it is a path I should seek. I have always valued those who did not give information, but have instead pointed me to where I should look.

Originally Posted by themorningstar

that is very admirable of you to be forthcoming of who you are and your information, the fact that my profile is blank is mostly due to laziness and other things,but i am not a difficult person to find out about or find for that matter. i am thankful that you realize some information must be kept secretive, but to say our discourse has hit a dead end due to "secrecy" is rather odd because i thought it was due to a lack of citable sources. .

What I meant by our discourse hitting a dead end, is that in the past I have had discussions where it has ended because of "secrecy". If we are discussing, lets say the origin of the barong, and someone says well I know the true origin of the barong, but cannot discuss it because of "secrecy" that is a dead end because they refuse to discuss further. Or if I am wrong, but there is no reason given why, just a simple statement that I am wrong, yet the reason why cannot be given due to secrecy then that is a dead end. I am more than willing to change my opinion, but will reserve the right to form my own opinion in lieu of evidence provided. If no evidence can be provided, then what am I to form my opinion off of? Also, I will be the first to admit, there are a million and one things that I am probably dead wrong on, I can scrap all my knowledge (which I am often tempted to do) as being wrong, but if part is right then it would be helpful to know which parts are wrong. If we are overly trapped by secrecy, there is only so much we can discuss before we can discuss no more due to secrecy.

Originally Posted by themorningstar

the statement on logic was my pointing out of the oxymoron that had occurred in your sentence regarding pure logic and how it suggests, suggestion borders on assumption. logic is logic for a reason, its relative to fact. and yes i will clarify for you that i am one individual behind the keyboard speaking on behalf of those that are no longer here.

As for logic, well yes it was meant to be an assumption and not fact. Most of what I type is pure speculation, and by no means meant to be hard fact. Like I said before, I am far from an expert, and like to stir the pot and see what comes out. As for your clarification, thank you. Anyways, it seems like our discussion is mostly off-topic for a public forum. If you would like to continue perhaps in Private Message or Email. Perhaps there I can give you a better perspective of who I am.