2008 is drawing to a close, 2009 is coming in. haven't done much travelling this year, (as you might have noticed from the rarity of my posts :D) but i must say that i was able to reach for something that i've always wanted to do. ;-)
diyos ko, anong nangyayari sa iyo? gumising ka! gumising ka lando!!!!! *sobs*
when i was younger i used to have this teeny-tiny fear of the upcoming new year and the song auld lang syne. maybe it was the loud blasts of the firecrackers or this feeling of foreboding that something bad will happen. well, bad things have happened all throughout history but with God's grace we have survived somehow :-) and yes, God is so good, i have grown to love the song auld lang syne. ;-)
here's to a blessed 2009 for y'all! just hit play!
hi all, it's that time of year when good friends are near, and everywhere there's an air of christmas joy (hoo-hoo-hoo) ;p
yeaaaaanywayz, lemme share with you a different kind of holiday music from the trans-siberian orchestra. nope, the band's not from siberia as the name implies, but from america. they specialize in holiday music (traditional christmas songs as well as their own compositions) that are done with a twist. a rock twist, that is. the band as a total of five albums to date. andyes, any of their albums has been on my wish list for 3 years running. lol. :D
the vid shows a christmas lights display synched to wizards in winter, one of the songs in the lost christmas eve, TSO's latest album. i hope the person who owns this vid doesn't mind me posting it in this blog :D
this month my dusty, rusty, trusty pair of chuck taylors will turn three years old. i bought them as a christmas gift to myself after getting the bonus. :D
so anyway, i decided to make a video tribute to the most wonderful pair of travel buddies (and office buddies, for that matter) ever. heheh. might be retiring them soon, tho. three years of wearing them 99.9% of the time i go out wore them out. lol.
i've been meaning to write about this band for the longest time, but words aren't enough for me when it comes to describing their music. you know the feeling when you eat something really good and as you savor it, you forget everything around you, even your own name? all you think about is how good the food is. well, that's how i feel about white shoes and the couples company's music. i get lost within their music's spell and out i come with a big smile plastered on my face. ;p
white shoes and the couples company is an indie band from indonesia (no pun intended) and has been making waves around indonesia since 2002. this year, they were signed by mintyfresh records, an indie label based in chicago. since then, they have gone on tour in the US (san francisco, los angeles and new york). man, it'll be a dream come true if they could also come to manila.
anyhow, what got me hooked to the band's music is their 70's sounds with orchestral arrangements done in some of the songs. in fact, some of wsatcc's songs remind me of manila sound. when you watch their videos, you might think that they really come from the 70's coz of their style. but then, that's also part of their charm. and oh, lyrics are not a problem at all coz there's always the online translation dictionary. *wink* *wink*
btw, the song from my sidebar that i posted a couple of weeks ago is one of their songs, called senandung maaf. also, i also posted another song of theirs, roman ketiga (my current LSS ;p) about two months before. both songs are my faves. (might post something about roman ketiga next time)
you can check out the band's official website, just click on the link at my music webbies links on the sidebar. they also have a myspace page here.
i'll let the music speak for itself now. as ever, just hit play! enjoy! =)
yesterday at a meeting, a friend brought us some soan papdi, a yummy melt-in-your-mouth indian delicacy. it was love at first bite, or rather, first melt; it was like eating cotton candy-slash-ice cream. if there's ever such a thing called dry ice cream, this would be it. according to the label, soan papdi is made from pure ghee and blended with natural cardamom and topped with pistachio and almonds.
the soan papdi comes in a plastic box packaging as it's very delicate.
got tagged by gypsy for this one. it’s a meme highlighting the threat of breast cancer and how important it is to practice early detection procedures like self breast examination.
* One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
* Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
* Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
* Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.
* Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 15 and 54, and the second cause of cancer death in women 55 to 74.
* Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.
* Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.
Facts taken from Women’s Health
And now here is the tag and the rules:
1. Put the logo in your blog. 2. Add a link to the person who shared it with you. 3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Add your link to the list of participants below
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.
donita rose? audrey hepburn? nope. she's none other than shirley gorospe, a fil-am beauty queen-turned-actress during the late '50s up until the early '70s. her on-screen loveteam with zaldy zshornack eventually blossomed into marriage which lasted 44 years until zshornack's untimely demise. click here to read the article about ms. gorospe (by ricky lo).
note: pic was taken in mowelfund's paradise of the stars. if there's anyone who knows how to erase the line under the eye, please let me know.
update: many thanks to mimi for fixing the pic! :-D
a khlong or klong is the general name for a canal in the central plain of Thailand. These canals are spawned by the Chao Phraya, the Tha Chin, the Mae Klong Rivers and their tributaries. The Thai word khlong is not limited to artificial canals; also many smaller rivers are referred to as khlong followed by the name of the stream. (wikipedia)
as i've mentioned in my previous post, one of the side trips of our river cruise included traversing along the klongs. the klongs look exactly like the esteros right here in manila, only different. wayyyyy different. take a look. =)
along with the boatman and our tour guide, my friends and i have this boat ALL TO OURSELVES. =)
onward to the klongs!
gateway to a street. as you can see, even the gate has the ornate angkor design.
anywhere we would probably go, people will wave at us as long as we bring a camera. =)
my friends and i feeding the fishes that spawn ONLY at this particular part. the monks at the temple right on this spot (but not pictured) take care of the fishes, and they allow tourists to feed bread to the fish.
casa grande (above and below)
a watery street. most of the houses we passed have boats from the back entrance.
the lurking lizard
looks like any old estero here in manila, 'no? but no. the air is as fresh as could be, even in this part of the city.
waterworld!
more houses below.
i do believe we can also do something like this right in our own pasig river. =)
a trip to bangkok would not be complete without going on a cruise along the chao phraya river. so that's exactly what my friends and i did on our last day. our day cruise included a stop over at the grand palace as well as a side trip along the klongs (canals or esteros), which i will be featuring in my next post. here are some pics of the views you can see along the river.
the millennium hotel
the grand palace
a chinese temple
the wat arum or the temple of the dawn (doesn't the temple of the dawn have a nice ring to it? :D)
here are some pics i have unearthed from my trip to thailand with friends C and C (may 29-june 2, 2005). the first batch is taken from the samutprakarn crocodile farm and zoo. founded in 1950 by the crocodile king mr. utai youngprapakorn, the crocodile farm boasts of the distinction of being the biggest crocodile farm in the world. it houses over 60,000 crocodiles which includes different species from around the world as well as endagered ones. and aside from the numerous croc pens, the farm also has a zoo and a dinosaur museum. and oh, how could i forget the crocodile wrestling and amazing elephant shows? (although we were only able to watch the crocodile wrestling show. watching those guys do daredevil tricks like putting their hands inside the crocodiles' gaping mouths is an amazing, nail-biting and exciting experience.)
samutprakarn crocodile farm and zoo is located in samutprakarn, just 10 kms. from bangkok.
a brave, brave soul, i must say
half-submerged croc with a wide, gaping mouth. dyou know that crocodiles can just lounge around with their mouths wide open for hours? if they're not in the water, they look just like a fallen tree trunk or even a rock. just one of the numerous croc pens in the farm
one day is a song i first heard as a theme song to a radio drama i was listening to a few months ago. since it's an old song, it took me quite some time to find out its title and singer until i heard it played over 774, an AM oldies radio station. the version they played was that of vilma valera, a filipino actress/singer during the 1960's.
one day was originally sung by sandie shaw. she's one of the most successful female british singers back in the 1960's and was noted for her singing barefoot onstage. (kinda like bamboo singing with his back to the audience when he was still with rivermaya.) the song was written by chris andrews, a singer-songwriter in the same decade who also wrote other hit songs for sandie shaw. it was released in 1965 in shaw's second album, me. (source: wikipedia)
one thing i could truly say about one day is that it's riveting. the haunting music and lyrics coupled with shaw's dusky-sweet vocals makes the song very heartfelt. (i dunno if it's just me, but i think we don't get a lot of songs like that nowadays.)
just hit play. enjoy! =)
note: in addition to food and travel, i'll make my posts on music a regular fixture in this here blog. =)
previously, i've ridden the ferry at night time so there wasn't much to be seen, save from the well-lighted malacanang palace and the bridges (jones bridge, macarthur/sta.cruz bridge, quezon bridge, ayala bridge, etc.). as for the rest of the trip (from escolta to guadalupe)... it's dark save for the occasional twinkle of lights from factories and some shanties that dot both banks of the pasig river.
a few weeks ago though, i was able to ride the ferry again, this time during the day. this time around, i did not inconvenience myself. and i made sure i got off at the right station. lol.
here are some of the pics my bro took from a point-and-shoot camera (from inside the ferry).
quezon bridge
at some point during the ride (where there are shanties such as this one), we suddenly heard something hit the right-side window of the ferry hard. we looked back and saw a group of kids trying to throw rocks at the ferry. one got a direct hit, which resulted in a dent at the window. i kid you not. so if you see a dent in the right-side window towards the back of the ferry, then that's what i rode. seriously though, something has to be done in order to protect the ferries from being damaged.
i'm the king of the pasig river!!!
passengers alighting from an outrigger boat.
makati mahalin natin... atin ito!
old oil depot at rockwell
looks like people at first glance
so that's it for my first daytime pasig river ferry ride. though there isn't much to see, i kind of liked it. better during the day than at night, though riding at night does have its charms, especially when the bridges are lighted up. then again, more work needs to be done in cleaning up the river and its banks in order to prevent damages. if the person who threw the rock at the ferry was bigger and stronger, the rock might have cracked the window or worse, broke it.
this cute pig-faced bun caught my attention while walking along ongpin street. it's sold on a stall outside MXT (maxim's tea house) for P23. as i'm a bread person, i bought one and wasn't disappointed. the bun is filled with yummy pork asado (with no taba, may i add), and the bun itself is a bit sweet and has a nice chewy-ooey bite to it as well. its eyes are raisins. isn't this pig face just cute? love, love, love it. =)
hindi ako makapaniwala. wala na si tiya dely magpayo.
si tiya dely ang isa sa mga idol ko sa radyo.
simula nung high school ako pinakikinggan ko na yung programa niya sa radyo na "ang mga liham kay tiya dely" at "ang tangi kong pag-ibig." walang humpay ang pakikinig ko sa mga programang iyon sa dzrh pwera lang kung may pasok ako noon. minsan pa nga naisip kong magpadala ng sulat sa kanya pero wala naman akong makukuwentong mabigat na problema o di kaya naman patungkol sa pag-ibig.
hindi ba't bagay na bagay ang pangalan niya sa kanyang ginagawa? kung napakinggan niyo yung "ang mga liham kay tiya dely," alam niyo kung paano magbigay ng payo si tiya dely sa mga letter sender niya---diretsahan at walang takot kahit ang ibig sabihin nun ay pagsasabihan niya yung letter sender. (yun ay kung walang sentido kumon yung tao lang naman). limampu't limang taon na ang programang ito at hanggang sa huli marami pa ring nakikinig at nagpapadala ng sulat.
sa halos pitumpung taon niya sa radyo, marami na siyang natanggap na mga gawad-parangal. ganoon siya kagaling.
dahil sa pakikinig ko sa mga programa ni tiya dely, lalo akong nahasa sa pananagalog ko. nakatulong rin ito nang malaki sa bago kong trabaho ngayon. nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataong mapakinggan ang mga awitin ng ilan sa mga pilipinong mang-aawit tulad nina ric manrique at sylvia la torre. (marami pang iba pero sa ngayon di ko maalala ang mga pangalan nila). at higit sa lahat, lalo ko ring napahalagahan ang ating kultura.
nakalulungkot mang isipin na wala na si tiya dely, siguradong maraming magagandang alaala siyang naiwan sa mga kasamahan niya sa radyo at lalo sa kanyang mga tagapakinig. isa na ako doon.
with apologies to my foreign blogfriends who might be reading this post. i felt i should write this post in filipino in respect to tiya dely magpayo, one of the most respected radio personalities here in the philippines who just passed away due to stroke. TT_TT she's one of the people in the industry i look up to and she has even made a difference in my life, tho she doesn't know it. you can read the news item about her passing here.
here are some pics i took while walking along the walls of intramuros. or at least, while walking along a part of it.
1861 or 1981?
smack at the center is the manila city hall and on your left is... sm manila. at the foreground is a part of the golf course just outside the walls of intramuros. it used to be a moat during the spanish colonial times, but when the americans came, they turned it into a golf course so that they could play golf all they want... not! lol seriously, the americans filled up the moat in order to curb the mosquito-borne diseases. but if you think about it, they're really hitting two birds with one stone--improving the health of the filipinos during that time and at the same time improving their golf scores. LOL
fill in the blank: manila city hall is _________ away from intramuros. (hehe. you'll know what i mean if you have also joined the old manila walking tours. :-D)
tunnel to puerta real, which is one of the entry gates to intramuros. at present, puerta real is one of the favorite places to hold weddings. in fact, one of my titos got married here. (in the garden, not in the tunnel. hehe.)
diyos ko, anong nangyayari sa iyo? gumising ka! gumising ka lando!!!!! *sobs*
