Our Department of Health has actually issued guidelines for those intending to self-flagellate or have themselves crucified this Holy Week: (1) Have a check-up, (2) drink lots of water to prevent dehydration, (3) use sunblock to protect your skin, (4) avoid direct sunlight from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., (5) have implements sterilized to avoid infection, (6) take anti-tetanus shots. quoted from Michael Tan of Inquirer.net
I am pissed off today. My client, owner of a well-known travel agency in Tagbilaran City whose office is located in one of the known resort-hotels in the city, is hiding from me for a mere P5,000 bucks.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Here’s why according to controversial Filipino personalities (government officials, politicians, prominent businessmen, and local celebrities):
20: ABS-CBN: “Somebody manipulated the chicken into crossing the road and we believe that the manipulator comes from another network.”
19: GMA 7: “We strongly condemn the insinuation that we were involved in the manipulation of the chicken. We will take this baseless allegation to court to clear our name.”
17: Manny Pacquiao: “I don’t agree. For me, business is over.”
16: Tim Yap/The Gucci Gang: “To party! (And snort some stuff.)”
15: Bb. Pilipinas-World Janina San Miguel: “Oh I’m sorry. A-ha-ha. I’m only 17 years old. I did not expect that the chickens is a tough hens.”
14: MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando: “Pano’ng di tatawid ‘yan eh wala nang madaanan sa sidewalk. Okupado ng vendors!”
13: Joseph Estrada: “A legal study shows that the chicken can still cross the road even if it has failed to complete its first attempt to get to the other side.”
11: Cory Aquino: “Why did the chicken cross the road? Let us all pray so that the truth will come out.”
10: President Arroyo: “I reiterate: my government is focused on the economy. We will not be bothered by the noise created by some fowls marching in some streets.”
8: Sen. Joker Arroyo: “Don’t mess around with my chicken!”
7: Sen. Jamby Madrigal: “Let’s subpoena the chicken and ask why. If it refuses to talk, I will expose its secrets.”
6: Sen. Panfilo Lacson: “I have a surprise witness who will tell us why the chicken crossed the road. Ladies and gentlemen… my witness!”
4: Benjamin Abalos: “Preposterous! I categorically deny na nagbanta akong ipapapatay ang manok na ‘yan kaya biglang tumawid sa kabila!”
2: Jun Lozada: “Kinabahan kasi ang chicken nang lapitan ito ng tatlong tandang na hindi nagpakilala. Naalala tuloy niya ang nangyari noon kina McChicken at Chickenjoy… kinidnap tapos pinatay.”
And the No. 1 answer to the question, “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
1: First Gentleman Mike Arroyo: “You keep saying that the chicken crossed the road but where is your evidence!? Maglabas muna kayo ng ebidensya!”
Philippine Daily Inquirer (Banner Story): “Unnamed sources say the chicken crossed the road to lay eggs”
Two days later…
Philippine Daily Inquirer (Erratum): “We would like to apologize to the chicken. It couldn’t possibly lay eggs as what we have previously reported because the chicken was in fact - a rooster!”
Since somebody from here told me my blogs are educational, I think I should live up to that hehehe. Anyways, speaking of education, I was reading something nice from the National Geographic which will actually help us (especially the more mature people like me), boost brain power.
Join the Inquirer Lifestyle Photo Contest! Simply submit a photo that best captures a most enjoyable vacation on the island of Bohol.1st prize - Round trip ticket for 4 to Bohol + 4 days, 3 nights at the Peacock Garden Resort
2nd prize - Round trip ticket for 3 to Bohol + 3 days, 2 nights at the Amarella Resort
3rd prize - Round trip ticket for 2 to Bohol + overnight stay at the Bohol Beach Club
Mechanics:
1. Contest is open to all photo enthusiasts who have visited to Bohol.
2. Photo must be taken in Bohol.
a. If entry is in print, it must be 8x10 inches in size. No prints will be returned.
b. If in digital form, it must be 200 resolution JPEG format and unaltered.
c. Submit photo with short caption describing the experience, where in Bohol and when the photo was taken.
3. Indicate the following in the entry: a. Name b. Address c. Mobile phone number d. Landline phone number e. Email address
4. Submit as many entries as you wish but you may win only once.
5. Send entries to:
Best of Bohol Photo Contest
Marketing Department
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1098 Don Chino Roces Avenue
Cor. Yague and Mascardo Sts.,
Makati City
6. Entries must be received at the Inquirer office if hand-delivered or via email by 30 April 2008. Mailed entries must be postmarked 30 April 2008.
7. Entries will be judged by a panel composed of Inquirer editors and photographers
8. Criteria for judging are: a. 40% Relevance b. 30% Overall Impact c. 30% Quality and Technique.
9. Winners must submit negatives or CD files of theri winning entries before claiming their prizes.
10. All winning entries will become properties of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Bohol Tourism Office which reserve the right to use the photos without any liability.
11. Winners will be notified through phone and mail. Winning photos will be published in the Lifestyle Section.
I was chuckling when I read the news over at Yahoo! Tech (read it here) when a programmer was stopped by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the transport security of the US, because he was bring with him the envelope-thin MacBook Air.
All the while I thought I was the prodigal son. Free-spirited, a drunkard, generally indifferent with what is happening at home, does not even go home if a close relative dies, rarely sends money to parents.MANILA, Philippines - To be launched in Tagbilaran on April 15, “Sukaran: The Domestic Architecture of the Towns of Loay and Loboc in Bohol,” published by the Ayala Foundation, is a book that takes, as it states, the “first step to meet the need for references that document the stylistic and architectural vocabulary of Bohol.”
Authored by the respected resident historian of Bohol, Marianito Luspo, and cultural worker Ino Manalo, the book celebrates the Boholano’s built heritage—the traditional homes of Bohol, ensembles of rural, straightforward architecture humbly constructed without the ostentation and frills seen in the plantation homes and mansions of wealthier regions in the Philippines.
Steering clear of the misconception that heritage must be grand, this delightful book highlights the often overlooked heritage of the everyday.
This richly illustrated publication pictures the ordinary homes of ordinary people in what formerly was a forgotten province until its recent rediscovery as a heritage showcase.
Bohol is a primary example in the Philippines that heritage, if properly tapped and managed, is a resource for income-generation. And because of that, Bohol is rapidly changing.
Sukaran attempts to regulate the rapid changes that Bohol is facing as a result of tourism and modernism.
Noting the existing predisposition of locals, architects and developers for generic Western-style developments that do not reflect the local culture and appropriateness of traditional Boholano architecture in contemporary design, the publication rightly attempts to focus interest back on local craftsmanship and design traditions.
A folio of photographs documents the parts of traditional homes, from roofs to façades, doors and windows. The folio even takes an unprecedented look at unappreciated vernacular gardens.
More interesting are the patterns from calado fretwork, the embroidery-like cutwork on wooden walls that allows air to circulate throughout houses. There are patterns of amakan (sawali, woven bamboo walling) ranging from the checkerboard to the herringbone and elegant diamond shapes.
“A conscious effort was made to confine the survey to architectural structures that used mainly traditional methods of construction, and, more importantly, materials from Bohol such as stone, wood, bamboo, nipa, cogon and capiz,” the authors write.
“Our aim is to privilege architecture that relates to Bohol’s environment, not only in design but also in use of materials.”
Foreign elements
The exhaustive survey is a result of “the observation of many visitors that Bohol’s tourism infrastructure is hardly reflective of its culture,” the authors say.
“Resorts that display foreign design elements have recently sprouted in Bohol. The island of Panglao, for example, is now home to Mediterranean villas, Balinese hideaways, Swiss chalets and American country restaurants.”
To refocus the globalized, generic look of new architecture back to its roots, the book records the Bohol vernacular and presents a veritable album of architectural details. It becomes a source book to redirect the vision of professionals, developers and aficionados who typically turn to the latest Western magazine for ideas to graft directly into whatever they might be building.
But the book, reference material that it definitely is, does not pretend to give all of the answers to reorient architecture into looking at modern adaptations from the traditional.
There is really no substitute to experiencing the real thing, going to the houses, feeling the space, understanding how light and air are modulated within the space, and finding out that decoration is not simply appliqued into the structure but is something integral to it.
In other words, the book is not something to just copy ideas from, it is something that tries to make people understand why these ideas not only give us our special Philippine pride of place, an identity shared by no other people on this planet.
But for those bent on just copying out of this book, at least they would be copying authentic details that they might take some pride from.
Whether this book finally reins in those individuals still dreaming of constructing more Swiss chalets, Italian trulli or Disney castles on Bohol shores, that remains to be seen.
But this is a good start.
Call Filipinas Heritage Library at services @fillib.org.ph
Among Catholics, today is Palm Sunday. This is in commemoration of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem which later also had him martyred.
I am not religious. I do not wish to fight zealously over some issues with religions and other sects. I even hate those all-pious Catholics, Bible-toting Protestants and Born Again Christians who have nothing to say but make you feel you are the dirtiest scumbag on earth.
No! This is not your usual eye-ball sessions with your online sex partner, silly. The eye- as in your eyeball getting tattooed!=================
EYEBALL TATTOO
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This is not a tattoo design I like. Just saw it on the news. Shannon Larratt and two friends had their eyeballs injected with the same dye as is used in regular tattooing.
To tattoo the eyes, they used two different procedures. First they used a traditional needle with ink on it, but when the ink didn't hold, they switched to a syringe that injected ink into the eye. The most recent posts indicate that all was well, with one of the guys saying it felt like he had something in his eye.
I have to cry crocodile tears here so that GMA's Wish Ko Lang program would grant my dream. I am sure they will grant me this-The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah resort in Dubai, is acknowledged as the best hotel in the world. So how does a hotel earn such bragging rights?
The stellar customer service starts the moment you land in Dubai, with a chauffeur picking you up in the Rolls Royce that will be yours for the duration of your stay. When you arrive at the breathtaking hotel which stands 321 meters tall in the shape of a sail, you are taken directly to one of the 202 suites where you are checked in, a service that guarantees your privacy. Each sprawling suite is two levels, and has floor to ceiling windows providing breathtaking views of the Arabian Gulf. Some of the listed in room features are, a private elevator, private cinema, a rotating four-post canopy bed,a separate butler entrance and a study area with a library. Should you venture out of your palace, activities made available to guests include hot air ballooning, horse back riding, golf at the world class Montgomerie Golf Course, desert safari day trips, chartered yacht trips and helicopter tours. After working up and appetite you are invited to dine at one of the hotels award winning restaurants. The signature restaurant, 'Al Mahara is frequently listed as one of the top ten restaurants in the world and offers the finest seafood and Mediterranean cuisine in an underwater setting, complete with a mock submarine ride. Unparalleled luxury, set in paradise... truly a once in a lifetime experience, especially when you consider the prices.
An evening at the Burj Al Arab will cost you between $3,000 and $5,000 per night!
I found this article interesting enough for me to think twice. Hmmm sounds true.A lot of guys try to give the impression that they're calm and cool, that they can handle the pressure, that they think worrying is for wimps.
And the sad part is, the women in their lives sometimes buy this act, or even encourage it. Heck, if he isn't worried, they can feel calmer, too. Maybe you buy the act because the only time you see emotion in your man is when he's watching the first round of March Madness, and his bracket is about to go down in flames.
Or maybe it's because the only time you've seen him sweat was when he had to wear a suit to an August wedding. Or maybe it's because the last time you asked him, "Aren't you worried?" he responded with a dismissive, "Nah."
While men pretend that they're wired with steel cable, not nerves, they have their shakedown moments, too. Here are some of the biggest worries that can weigh on a guy's mind.
That He's Going to Lose His Hair
Yes, I know it seems surface-level to worry about such a vanity issue as baldness, but lots of guys equate follicle failure as a failure in masculinity, as well. Oh, we know it's not true - that hair loss has nothing to do with how funny, smart, or good a guy is. But knowing is a heck of a lot different than feeling. Pluck a lion's mane sometime, and see if he purrs.
That He's Going Broke
Economic shocks (like the one we're in right now) worry guys for lots of reasons: Your man probably feels like one of his largest charges in life is to be able to provide comfortably for his family. While money and job problems have their own tangible effects, they can also undermine the way he sees himself as a man. So if he's a little freaky around the checkbook, it's because his bank balance is closely tied to his emotional balance. A simple four-step plan for your savings like this one can ease his fears.
That He'll Have One Cheeseburger Too Many
Millions and millions of guys worry about their health - more, of course, as they get older. The one killer that really makes us think: the heart attack. One minute you're watching Simpson reruns; the next minute you're staring at the ceiling of an ambulance. Because we've read too many stories or known too many people who checked out earlier than they should have, the threat is always lingering - in our bodies as well as our minds.
That He'll be Called Out in Public
Some of us are thick-skinned when it comes to taking criticism from bosses, spouses, and every other kind of critic. And some of us have skin thinner than a Spring Break T-shirt. But none of us like getting called out or picked on in front of a crowd. It's not that we can't take the criticism, or can't think of a comeback, or can't accept the fact that we're imperfect. It's that public attack forces us to counter-attack or retreat - both of which have their downsides.
That His Kid Won't Make the Free Throw
Granted, a guy is going to worry a heck of a lot more about the big things when it comes to parenting - that junior wears a helmet when he rides his skateboard, that he does well in school, and that he thinks drugs are for losers.
But want to see a guy's heart pump? Put his kid on the field, court, or dance floor. He's pulling hard for his gene-carrier to do well - not because he wants to live vicariously through them (as most people assume), but because he wants to see their smiles and their fist pumps. It's because happiness is directly correlated to theirs.
That He'll Fail to Perform in the Clutch
When a man can't rise to the occasion he feels about as useful as a '63 Oldsmobile with rusted spark plugs. But before you put him up on blocks, reassure him that more than one in ten will have trouble with erectile dysfunction at some point in their lives, and the other 9 guys out of 10 have good reason to be concerned as well.
As part of our research for the new book "Eat This, Not That!," my coauthor Matt Goulding and I undercovered evidence that the American diet is slowing our sex lives (for both men and women) to a crawl. You can find out why that's happening and discover the best and worst sex foods by clicking here.
I am not a tea person although my grandparents used to let us drink one from time to time. My usual reaction was a big YUCK! I always associate tea with the tinustos (large hand-rolled tobacco) my Lola puffed every time she had her tea.Power of Tea
Did you know that after water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world?A nice hot cup of tea can make life's little miseries more bearable and boost your antioxidant quotient. There's something very calming about the ritual of preparing a pot of tea. Tea, whether it is black, white or herbal, has many health benefits. Latest research shows that a daily cuppa is brimful of antioxidants, which can lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health.
In Japan, a team of researchers was able to link green tea consumption with decreased mortality from all causes, based on a report from the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Also, research shows that green tea may contain cancer-fighting agents, while certain herbal teas claim to combat or soothe many maladies. Some experts believe its flavonoids may even inhibit the growth of plaque on teeth.
Apart from being good for the health, the humble cup of tea was a powerful device for promoting world peace, according to a Japanese grandmaster Genshitsu Sen whose family has been promoting the tradition of tea-making for 500 years. It might be a result of the gentle act of making tea that could have an impact on human relations, suggested by Dr Sen, speaking through an interpreter.
Occupational psychologist Dr Rebecca Newton, who conducted a study into tea drinking for the UK Tea Council, said it is true that drinking tea together is a relaxing way for people to communicate effectively. "Tea is a natural social lubricant. It helps people relax, talk to one another and catch up. So it makes sense that one of the most effective ways to build a good reputation in the office is to make a refreshing cup of tea for colleagues.”
Tea is so popular today, with many flavours available. Drink to your health with traditional herbals favourites such as peppermint or chamomile or tempt yourself with one of the modern blends such as berry ripe, a chocolate and berry sensation or maybe Japanese Sencha green tea infused with vanilla. Get your cuppa tea, savour the taste and reap the benefits of it.
I was browsing workabroad.ph for obvious reasons. I had a friend who got his job from the website and he almost always recommend the site whenever somebody ask for a job.There are more weird jobs at the site but my head aches from looking for them.
Cartoon from http://newsday.typepad.com/impulsemovies/gear_stuff/index.html
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Woke up with an urge to sing today. Actually I am no singer and even hate karaoke sessions. The last time I performed in public singing and old song was when I was in Grade 2. And my trainer had a hell of a time practicing my innocuous voice. After that, I shy away from the limelight hahaha.Viewers who regularly watch “American Idol” on TV don’t just get entertained and caught up in the excitement of the ongoing singing tilt; they also get valuable pointers on how to make it big in the pop music field.They get this informal “education” from the comments of the show’s judges, who don’t mince words when they analyze the finalists’ performance in excruciatingly minute detail.
The advice they give may occasionally be painful or insulting to the tilt’s young singers—but, if they could get past the initial hurt or embarrassment, they would benefit from the jurors’ candid comments and analyses.
The first key factor in doing well in the singing competition appears to be: Choice of song. At first, this would seem to have little to do with musical talent, but it turns out to be a key consideration, because the right song presents the singer at his or her best.
It showcases the individual singer’s unique combination of vocal quality and range, emotive and interpretative ability, temperament and personality. This indicates that an effective musical performance only partly depends on a good singing voice and banks more on a combination of plus points that sum up the singer’s entire artistic identity.
Thus, depending on his or her choice of songs to perform, a competing singer can be a winner one week and a loser the next. So, contestants are urged to think long and hard before they decide on a song to interpret.
Fresh interpretation
And they should know themselves really well, so they can most judiciously choose the song that best reflects who they are as performers—and individuals.
The second factor may appear to be too obvious to mention, but the tilt’s judges insist that it’s also key: Don’t forget the lyrics!
Why do they belabor the obvious? Because, when a singer forgets the lyrics to the song he’s singing, he betrays his lack of discipline, competence and professionalism—and is no winner in anybody’s book.
Next: Give an old song a fresh interpretation. Meaning, don’t copy famous singers’ performing styles. Instead, put your own stamp on the old standard, and thus make it your own.
This piece of advice is most relevant to many singers here, new as well as experienced, because we love to imitate famous performers, especially when they’re First World talents.
Blame it on our own “deathless” colonial mentality, which predisposes some of us to believe that we’re intrinsically inferior to stars “from abroad,” so the best we can do to succeed is to copy their singing styles, note for note.
Real deal
This explains why we have a hard time making it internationally, because a copy, no matter how exact, is never as good as the real deal. So, the sooner we can stop settling for being “gaya-gaya, puto-maya,” the better for us!
Other factors: Be confident about your ability. Look your best. Exude charisma, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.
Discipline yourself to become a consistent performer. Have the right kind of attitude in performing—meaning, love your audience more than yourself. Want to make people happy with your performance!
Be comfortable with the song you’ve chosen to sing. Show off your musical range. Develop rapport with your audience. Don’t over-analyze your approach to a song; just perform it intuitively and viscerally!
So many factors to think about—or, not. The path to stardom, on “Idol,” or elsewhere, is fraught with tests, risks and dangers at every turn. But, if you know what’s expected of you, you could survive longer, and even make it—all the way to the top!
I was actually enticed by Misterhubs to this blogsite where several names of "famous" socialites were exposed due to some money stolen or borrowed without being returned. See what money can do?
O my gash!Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art, opening today at London's Barbican Art Gallery, presents contemporary art the way, well, Martians might see it— that is, stripped of context and considered solely as enigmatic sociological detritus. What, for example, did the Earth people do with Sherrie Levine's bronze-cast urinal? Is it an altar, or a pissoir? And—once it's bleached of all that presumptive irony—surely Scott King's Pink Cher, pictured, proves a call to join the subject's revolution. Gimmicky? Perhaps. But co-curator Lydia Yee, for one, is gamely staying in character. "Art is a particularly difficult concept for Martians to grasp," she explains. "They tend to try to make sense of artworks as artifacts with a functional purpose. Therefore, ready-mades and artworks that include everyday terrestrial objects are particularly confusing from the Martian point of view." In other words, the day E.T. finally comes to town, we should all expect to be greeted with a resounding "Huh?"
Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art, today through May 18, Barbican Art Gallery, Silk St., London, 020-7638-4141, barbican.org.uk
MAYA SINGER
