Archive for October, 2006


Philippine Nike

Nike shoe with Philippine tricolors

This Nike Air Force 1 Low Insideout Priority 314770 looks pretty cool, huh? Once I saw it on Francis Magalona’s blog, I told myself I should have a pair of these. I went and searched the internet for it but everywhere I looked, it was out of stock.

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Barako coffee from Amadeo

Cappucino made from Barako coffee from Amadeo, Cavite

The coffee that will be served in our soon-to-open restaurant is sourced from my father’s homewtown, Amadeo, Cavite. This cup of cappucino is made with pure Barako coffee from Amadeo. It will cost someone 30 pesos.

Save the Barako! websiteAmadeo is the Philippine’s self-proclaimed coffee capital. My grandfather’s farm, aside from papayas, pineapple and cocoa, is planted mainly with coffee. As young children, much to the annoyance of our elders, my cousins and I would play on heaps of fresh and colorful coffee beans being sun-dried in the backyard.

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What is Halloween?

I didn’t grow up celebrating Halloween. When we were much younger, my brother and I didn’t go trick-or-treating around the subdivision, exactly because there wasn’t any celebration at all. It was only until a few years ago when suddenly the village and my elementary school started organizing halloween parties and trick-or-treating for kids. I still actually don’t see the point. The whole concept still seems alien and foreign to me. It appears to me that it is simply an attempt to copy what Westerners do and an excuse to needlessly spend money. Halloween is irrelevant.

Sa likod lang

I took this photo of the town church in Sta. Maria’s poblacion a few days ago. This is where I was baptised.

Shoot and eat

I’m on official semestral break now. My group passed our final requirement for Communication Research 101 yesterday. I breathed a sigh of relief when my groupmate sent me a text message that she had passed our paper. And even if it was late for a few minutes, it doesn’t really matter to me much anymore. Whew.

I’ve been going to our Bulacan town for the past days. My mother commissioned me to make the marketing and publicity materials for our soon-to-open restaurant. Of course, before I get to do any menu layouts or posters, I had to have pictures of the dishes. I have been taking pictures of the initial menu the past two days–and for a first time attempt at food photography, I’m pretty satisfied.

pasta paella

After taking a dish’s photograph, of course, it’s free to be eaten. And who else would eat them but me. That’s what I loved about doing this project.

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Lost in stones

Sometimes, I look forward to (unintentionally) getting lost. Finding the way back is an experience I often look forward to.

with Comm Res 101 groupmates at Red Ribbon along Escriva St. in Ortigas Center

My Communication Research 101 groupmates and I headed off to Ortigas yesterday morning to spend the whole day at Eka’s father’s condominium unit there to finish our reasearch paper. Unfortunately, I had an exam at 1 PM so I had to leave my groupmates early and head back to UP.

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Chinese food is mmmph

We had another family lunch at Emerald Garden Restaurant yesterday. And you know what, despite us being there almost every month for the past how many years, I still enjoy the food a lot. Especially yesterday when the elders ordered something new, I mean, aside from the usual dishes we order every single time. I love Chinese food.

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Shall she stay

Gloria Arroyo is hellbent on staying in power and crushing all resistance.

Activists and journalists are being killed by the day, libel suits are being filed against critics, To limit the growth of the resistance, she continues to hypnotize people into “moving on” and tries to paint a rosy picture of the economy despite current low-profile government statistics proving that a quarter of the entire population live on just 36 pesos a day.

Then there they go creating a public perception that there is an overwhelming threat of terrorism by bombing remote markets and killing a few people and circulating terrifying text messages in the metro–all so they could justify passing an “Anti-Terrorism Bill” which provides her government the authority to trample upon, on their discretion, the civil liberties we are entitled to.

And then of course there’s their ovewhelming desire to change the Constitution as soon as possible into one that not only entrenches the current administration congressmen’s hold on power but also obeys ’suggestions’ of foreign financial institutions and the United States to allow foreign control on our basic social services and the media. All so that the administration, in the name of the Philippine government, could borrow more money to pocket.

And because there is the threat that the administration will lose control of Congress and of local governments in next year’s elections, they continue to refuse to revamp the Commission on Elections and implement real electoral reforms. They have also recently allocated billions of pesos for dubious feeding programs aside from their pork barrels to ensure a massive election warchest. And, as manifested recently by Makati Mayor J. Binay’s suspection, they have begun neutralizing and demonizing opposition politicians months before the elections.

To ensure the support of army generals, she has saturated our civil bureaucracy with retired army and police generals, and has repayed those who helped her cheat in the 2004 elections. From appointing Gen. Esperon as Army Chief to appointing retired generals and policemen to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to the Department of Public Works and Highways, to the Department of Transporation and Communication, and until recently she has invited a former army chief, General Senga, to head the National Broadcasting Network, a government TV station, and former police general Thompson Lantion, to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

It’s scary. This administration sure has some good political strategists. Arroyo is indeed a Marcos, a Louis Napoleon, and a Hitler in the making.

Heed the warnings. Don’t fall for administration propaganda. Preserve the resistance.

Additional reading:
Arroyo Moves Underscore That Resistance is Indeed Futile by Manuel Quezon III