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25th Negros Trade Fair 2010 in Rockwell!
The Negros Trade Fair, the longest running provincial trade fairs in the Philippines is once again back. this time with all the glitz! This year, the trade fair is celebrating its 25th year.
The Trade Fair is spearheaded by the Association of Negros Producers. The group is known for producing export quality furniture, clothes, handicrafts, accessories, as well as delectable Ilonggo treats!
Bacolod Inasal
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Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. Apple iPad : comparison sheet
Gadget addicts, look up!: in the ongoing IFA electronics show in Berlin, the much-talked about so far has been the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Samsung’s Android-powered tablet which is now touted to be the closest competitor to the earlier-released Apple iPad.
Samsung Galaxy Tab isn’t available locally yet (so we might as well hold our horses) but it’s worthwhile to compare the two, based on Samsung Galaxy Tab vs Apple iPad specifications. Unless iPad upgrades itself to include more features, looks like it’s Samsung FTW!!
Screen:
SGT – 7-inch TFT LCD with 1024×600 pixel resolution
iPad – 9.7-inch LED glossy widescreen display with 1024×768 pixel resolution
Camera:
iPad – none
Samsung Galaxy Tab – 3MP AF camera with LED Flash, 1.3MP front camera for video calls
Calling ability:
Refer to above. SGT allows one to make video calls, while iPad doesn’t. This also means that next generation iPad might have the feature as well.
Processor:
iPad: 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip
SGT: Cortex A8 1.0GHz w/ PowerVR SGX540
Operating system:
iPad: Apple iOS
SGT: Android 2.2
Flash Support:
iPad: none
SGT: Adobe Flash 10.1 player support
Internal Memory:
iPad: 16 gb and 32gb
SGT : 16 gb and 32 gb
Apps support:
iPad : 250,000 apps in the Apple Apps Store
Galaxy Tab: estimated 100,000 apps in Android Market
(to be continued)
Marketmanila takes a blogging break
Something picked up from my Google Reader: Marketmanila, one of the Philippines’ top food blogs, is going on an indefinite sabbatical. ” I have decided to take a month or two off, and when that time has passed, decide whether to return to blogging about food on a much less active basis or to call it quits for good,” said the Marketman.
In five years, Marketmanila’s stats are certainly impressive, with 2,700 posts logged and an Alexa traffic rank of 73,942 (which effectively puts it among the top 73,000++ websites in the world). I am truly amazed at the number of blog posts he’s written because in my five years of blogging, I’ve only made 1,001 posts and I feel I’ve worked like a carabao already.:D I guess that when you pursue something with such a passion, blogger burnout is bound to happen. And in such a case, it is well-advised to take a much-deserved rest. It is true that we can only blog ardently at the expense of other things in life we need to do, and sometimes, difficult choices have to be made.
I’ve featured Marketmanila in my Manila Bulletin column Blog-O-Rama and while looking for it in my Gmail archives, I found it creepy that I submitted the column on September 2, 2006 (!) and four years later, on September 2, 2010, Marketman would announce his sabbatical (or not) from blogging.
Here’s the transcript of that article and email interview entitled “The Marketman’s Passion for Food”
The blog world only knows him as the Marketman. For someone who “once flipped hamburgers and fried thousands of pounds of French fries” as a sideline in Boston, his website is surprisingly about the good life, and good food. It seems there is no restaurant, no hideaway, no nook in the world he will not visit in order to indulge in his all-consuming passion for gastronomy. And for sure, his countless readers are grateful enough to learn about treasured recipes, tips, latest foodie discoveries, and insights on global cuisine which the well-traveled Marketman abundantly shares in his site, aptly titled “Marketmanila.” It has become so popular that even foreign readers are taking notice, and has decidedly given dining in Manila and the much-neglected Filipino cookery a new face. More in the following interview:
Q. Please tell us something about yourself
A. I once flipped hamburgers and fried thousands of pounds of French fries at a fast food outlet to help fund my undergraduate degree in Finance when I lived in Boston. I worked as a corporate banker and management consultant and “retired” in my late 30’s. I say exactly what I want to say and I often get kicked by my wife under the table for saying it… Despite being totally logical and rational by nature, I am a LEO and DRAGON and I read my horoscope…
Q. What compelled you to start a blog?
A. Food is a personal passion second only to my family. In 2004, I discovered several other interesting food blogs and I thought I could do an interesting one based out of Manila. I never thought it would go on this long or reach so many readers around the globe. The final push to do a website came from good friends.
Q. Please tell us something about the design and concept of your blog and the blogging system you are using.
A. I wanted Marketmanila to be as “clean” as possible. Lots of white space, lots of content, little if any clutter. I wanted to have several photos per post. I use WordPress to blog, but to be honest, since I consider myself a technology-deficient individual, I got an expert to help me create and maintain the site.
Q.You write almost daily, if not everyday. What motivates you?
A. I am obsessive-compulsive by nature. Once on a roll, I like to roll even faster, better, more often. Though I often have several dozen posts in my “backlog,” I find that I blog best when I blog about something that is very current – unique produce I spotted at the market that morning, a dish that tasted brilliant at lunch or a service fiasco that got me so hot and bothered that I tapped out a thousand words before pausing for a Diet Coke.
Q. What advice can you give aspiring and existing bloggers on blogging successfully and consistently? What do you think are the qualities of a good blogger?
A. Readers are looking for the “personality” of the blog. If it is one they like, they come back repeatedly. If the personality of the blog doesn’t suit them, they never come back. However, as a community of readers grows, you need to feed your blog often if you want it to grow and prosper!
Q. There’s no Google AdSense running in your blog. Why?
A. I always thought taking advertisements or having a commercial side to Marketmanila.com would ruin its “personality.” I once toyed with the idea of using the phrase “Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?…Marketmanila is fresh, finicky and free.” I want the freedom to write exactly what I want, and I don’t want ads to stifle my freedom.
Q. Do you still see yourself blogging five years from now? How about blogging full-time?
A. I didn’t think I would last more than 300 posts but I have just written my 700th post in roughly 20 months of active blogging – that’s about 1 post a day. I hope I will have evolved into other areas in 5 years. No, I would never blog full-time, though I am close to it now!!!
Q. What do you find most fulfilling about blogging? Any memorable feedbacks from your readers?
A. I have learned a phenomenal amount from my readers and have personally pushed myself further food wise than I could have ever imagined. Readers not only correct my posts when I am wrong or have minor errors, but more importantly, they provide valuable new information about how a dish is prepared in their province, town or home. They introduce me to new ingredients and methods of preparing a dish. They give interesting suggestions, ask good questions and often know much more about a topic than I will ever learn… I also feel like I am becoming a part of their day…how bizarre is that???
Q. What do you think are the elements of a great food blog?
A. A good food blog makes you salivate. It unlocks a special childhood memory or taste. It gets your heart pumping a little faster when you read a rant. It gets you to try and eat or cook new things. It has superb photographs. And it must possess the personality of its author. My friends who know me well and who read my blog say it reads exactly like I talk.
Q. What do you think is the role of your blog in promoting Philippine cuisine?
A. With over 1.5 million page views in the past 20 months, I hope many Filipinos and foreigners alike, at home and abroad, see many classic and invented Filipino inspired dishes prepared with care and the best ingredients. I also hope to bring a bit of home to Thousands of readers who now call a foreign country home.
Q. Plans for your blog?
A. No plans. Not sure where this will all lead…
?
The Malacañang-DFA disconnect
Learning the art of when and what to talk about
Like the cancellation of the visits to Vietnam (Sept 13 to 14) and Indonesia (Sept. 14 to 15). Coming from him, the cancellation had a grating effect.
Aquino also said that he is pushing with his scheduled visit to the United States scheduled Sept 18 to 28.
“Canceled na yung trips, the first one will be America,” he said. He will be speaking at the United Nations and will be witnessing the signing of the Millenium Challange Corporation’s $434-million grant. Other activities have been lined up for him during his U.S visit.
By making the United States his first foreign visit, Aquino breaks the tradition among Southeast Asian leaders to take his first foreign visit to any of the fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Vietnam was chosen because it is the current chair of Asean and Indonesia because it will take over the chairmanship from Vietnam for 2011. By the way, President Cory’s first foreign visit in 1986 was to Indonesia.
There’s no law that punishes those who veer away from traditional practice. But tradition is what holds people with common aspirations together. There’s also common sense in the tradition of visiting a neighbor first before going to a distant ally.
I know that Aquino is so desperate for stories to obscure the August 23 hostage fiasco but did it have to be him telling the media about it? Aside from his spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, he has two communications chiefs, Sonny Coloma and Ricky Carandang. The Department of Foreign Affairs also has Spokesperson Ed Malaya who could have done better in announcing the cancellation.
After Aquino made the announcement, the DFA had to issue this official announcement:” After prior notification to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Indonesia, the State Visits of President Benigno S. Aquino III to Hanoi and Jakarta are deferred.
“President Aquino looks forward to visiting both capitals at a more propitious and mutually convenient time, to discuss bilateral issues towards further enhancing Philippine relations with Vietnam and Indonesia, respectively. “
Foreign Affairs sources said they sent a note verbale to the governments of Indonesia and Vietnam during the weekend after Malacañang made the decision last Friday.
So be it. The visits to Indonesia and Vietnam are cancelled. But Aquino had to talk more about it which revealed something’s amiss in his office.
He said “”Yung Indonesia, I understand, can only accommodate us sometime in October.” He added that anyway he will be meeting Indonesia president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vietnam president Nguyen Minh Triet for an Asean leaders side meeting in New York.
A DFA source said “I think the President is misinformed because Indonesia has not declined the Sept. 14 and 15 visit. In fact it was still being arranged until he canceled it .”
As to the Vietnam visit, in my talk with Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang about two weeks ago, he explained that Aquino, in consonance with his austerity program, has informed the DFA that he would rather make the state visit immediately after the Asean summit last week of October so that he did not have to make two trips to one country in one month.
It makes sense. Was that conveyed to the DFA? If that was conveyed, there would not have been any preparation for a Sept. 13 and 14 visit. And therefore, there would not have been any need to cancel anything. What cancellation then was Aquino announcing?
That’s why it would have been better that somebody familiar with foreign relations and preparations for the visits made the announcement.
It’s clear that foreign relations is not Aquino’s strong points and he needs a competent adviser on this area.
Malacañang and DFA sources say Aquino does not have rapport with Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo. It has been widely written that Aquino accommodated Romulo, whose record of incompetence is known in the diplomatic community, in his cabinet because of his sisters’ wishes.
The disconnect between Malacañang and the DFA showed its adverse repercussions in the missed calls of Hongkong executive Donald Tsang to Aquino at the height of the Aug. 23 hostage crisis.
It is certainly hoped that Aquino learned a lesson from that unfortunate episode.
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Robredo to P-Noy: “Thanks for clarification”; Coloma defends Puno
Statement of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo:
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo today expressed his gratitude to President Benigno S. Aquino, III for absolving him of accountability on the botched police negotiations during the August 23 Manila hostage crisis.
“I appreciate the President’s clarification of my role as the one primarily in charge of local governments, rather than the police,” said Robredo. “My mandate was clear from the very start and since the directive of the President is such, we will have to comply by it,” added Robredo and further debunking a radio report today that said Robredo merely wanted local governments.
Earlier, the President defended the DILG Secretary from statements that he should not be part of the investigating team on the hostage tragedy because of his lapses as DILG chief.
Aquino said it was Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno whom he designated in charge of the police because he wanted Robredo to concentrate on the concerns of local government units.
Asked whether Puno should be held accountable, Aquino said “partly” because he was in charge of the police during the incident.
Robredo co-chairs the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima probing the Manila hostage fiasco that resulted in the killing of eight Hong Kong nationals and the hostage taker.
Other members of the IIRC are Teresita Ang See, representing the Filipino Chinese community; Herman Basbaño, president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas and Integrated Bar of the Philippines governor for Eastern Mindanao Rowan Libarios
******
From ABS-CBN:
Rico Puno qualified to handle peace and order – Palace
Despite the botched police rescue of Hong Kong tourists, Malacañang believes Rico Puno is qualified for his post as Interior and Local Government undersecretary for peace and order.
Read the rest of this entry »
BYAHILO Rainy Day Giveaway Raffle Winner!
A couple of weeks ago, I ran a contest where I asked you, dear readers to tell me where’s the best place to go on a rainy day, and what’s the best comfort food during this season.
a lot of interesting answers were given like Baguio, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Dumaguete, or simply shop like theres no tomorrow in malls. for foods, a lot answered Champorado, bulalo, and batchoy.
After 105 entries were submittted, I am pleased to announce that we already have a winner! The two winners were picked via Random.org.
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Torque TQ800 Trinity is the first triple SIM phone, says proponent
This is a rather belated note of clarification on my previous blog post on Cherry Mobile and its triple SIM phone, Trident. The guys of Torque Mobile, notably Mr. Chris Uyco, nudged me to clarify that Torque TQ800 Trinity has the distinction of being the country’s first triple SIM phone, contrary to the claims of their close competitor.
“While Cherry mobile launched their Trident ad on July 1, Torque Mobile released its official press statement announcing the first Triple SIM phone on May 26, 2010,” said Torque, one of the newest players in the lucrative mobile phone market.
If I may offer my unsolicited advice to tech companies and their PR agents, it is always wise to conduct an email blast whenever you launch what you believe to be a revolutionary product. After all, email is FREE 
There’s no reason to be stingy or selective with this one. And bloggers like us are always in need of useful information.
Take for instance triple SIM phones. I will always be curious about them, even though I don’t see the need for one in my life. I think the whole idea is amazing, especially for people who have extensive interests and social networks.
The Torque TQ800 Trinity (Triple SIM TV + WiFi) is priced reasonably at P8,000 and should you consider buying one before the holidays, here’s its specifications:
Triple SIM, Triple Standby
WiFi
Trackball Navigation
Mobile TV (with recording)
Quadband GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Large 2.46″ 262K Color QVGA LCD Display
2.0 MP Camera
Wireless FM (with recording)
Google Maps
Document Viewer (Word & Excel)
JAVA / WAP 2.0 / GPRS / SMS / MMS
Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
3,000 Phonebook Memory
Motion Sensor
Micro-SD (up to 4GB)
12 months warranty for handset
New Air Phil Express Promo for lean month!
Air Phil Express, one of the newer low cost carriers in the Philippines is having another round of seat sales again! More reasons to book tours, or book cheap hotels and travel!!!
The new airline promo fare is pegged at PHP600++.
The new seat sale is perfect for the upcoming Masskara Festival 2010 in Bacolod City. Zamboanga City is also celebrating its Fiesta Pilar, also known as the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival in October. This is also a good time to visit Mindanao cities since these areas are less prone to heavy rains during these season.
Miag ao Church, Iloilo
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Word of the Day for September 1, 2010
kulasbong v. stumble; to fall inside a hole
Eraserheads box set: to be released on September 6
This just in! Greenwich’s PR posted in Twitter that the Eraserheads box set will be available on September 6 and it will be exclusively sold in Greenwich!
UPDATE 1 (Where to buy)
According to harold_geronimo, the box set will be most certainly available in the following Greenwich branches: SM Megamall, Robinsons Galleria, SM North EDSA and SM Mall of Asia.
UPDATE 2 (how much)
According to Harold, “As far as I know, when u buy six pizza boxes on sept 6, ul get it for free. Succeeding days, it will be sold at P2000++”. 
Time to buy 6 pizza boxes on the 6th!
UPDATE 3 (teaser in Greenwich Website)
Just saw the teaser in the Greenwich website. Hover over the right corner and you’ll see this.
The 3M innovaton Tour
A few weeks back, I was invited to join the 3M innovation Tour at their office along South Super Highway. If there’s one thing that made 3M standout, it’s Innovation. 3M is a company that never ceases to innovate, and create new exciting products that would range from the very basic Consumer goods to Construction and Electrical products.
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BlueWater Day Spa Run
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BlueWater Day Spa’ Innovating Wholeness Fun Run
October 17, 2010 – 5AM
Seaside, SM Mall of Asia
Run with BlueWater Day Spa’s newest faces: SAM MILBY and MIKAELA LAGDAMEO-MARTINEZ together with current endorsers: Karylle Tatlonghari, Akihiro Sato and Boom Labrusca. They will participate alongside our Innovating Wholeness Icons: Coach Rio dela Cruz, Daniel Matsunaga and Fabio Ide, with the special participation of Sen.Pia Cayetano, Kiko Rustia Coach Alfrancis Chua and 40 Brazilian Model-Endorsers.
Registration Fee: (NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON TRANSFERABLE)
October 17, 2010 – 5AM
Seaside, SM Mall of Asia
Distances of :
3K – P500
5K – P600
10K – P700
Entry fee includes Blue Water Day Spa Run singlet.
Race Kits include:
Singlet, Towel, Race Bibs, Race Map, and Drawstring
bags with lots of freebies
You may also go to these participating outliets for cash registration:
Time ( in SM Mall of Asia and Greenbelt )
Rox ( in Bonifacio High Street )
Columbia ( in Greenbelt 5 )
Rest Toe Run ( in Gateway Mall )
For question please e-mail:
secretariat@bluewaterdaysparun.com
“Jazz Up Your Singlet” Contest
1. Open to all registration of the Blue Water Spa Run.
2. Participants must jazz up the singlet provided run the race kit by using all kinds of materials (ribbons, lace, sequins etc.)
The enfine singlet maybe decorated and jazzed up provided the blue water day spa run logo is not covered and should
be completely seen and highlighted.
3. In order to participate to the contest participant must wear the jazzed up singlet during the race.
4. The criteria for judging: Originality of: Design – 25% Creativity – 25% (use of decoration materials), Adherance to
theme – 15% Overall Impact – 35%
5. A total of 100 finalists will be asked to do the fashion show at the end run. Each finalist will be given 15 seconds
to wear and show off their creation in the cat walk.
6. Prizes: c/o Blue Water Day Spa.
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Unsilenced
Citroni
“People are born, they live and they die. They don’t disappear,” she said. But it happens. In the Philippines the practice is more known as “salvaging” a cruel play on the word that means “saving”.
Citroni, a professor at the University of Milano-Bicocca, has been active in the United Nations effort to ratify and eventually implement the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.
She said Enforced Disappearances start with deprivation of liberty, followed by concealment or denial of the victim.
In searching for the disappeared kin, relatives often are met with questions by law enforcement authorities, “Who is he? Is there such a person?”
“Can you think of a much worse human brutality than someone telling you that your loved one never existed”, she asked.
Yesterday’s forum was also the launching of the film documentary “Unsilenced” about desaparecidos in the Philippines.
“Unsilenced”, directed by King Mark Baco took off from the case of six workers of PICOP (Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines) in Agusan del Sur who disappeared after they were picked up by soldiers belonging to the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army on October 14, 2000.They were Joseph Belar, Jovencio Lagare, Romualdo Orcullo, Diosdado Oliver, Artemio Ayala, and Arnold Dangkiasan.
Orcullo: looking for a disappeared son
FIND and AFAD lauded the refusal of the families the PICOP 6 to be silenced. “With the growing support from the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, AFAD and other kindred groups, the families are more inspired to pursue the fight to its final resolution, “ they said.
The two groups said the International Day of the Disappeared “was an occasion to revisit the chronicles of courage and self-sacrifice of the desaparecidos which remind us that the commission of involuntary disappearance particularly against suspected enemies of the state persists with impunity.
“The abominable global offense, a State-perpetrated violence, has spawned violations of practically all human rights. Precious lives are snuffed out, civil liberties curtailed voices of protest and resistance muffled amidst a chilling culture of impunity.
“Putting an end to enforced disappearance poses a great challenge to human rights advocates and defenders. Far greater is to successfully compel states to sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance and ensure that enforced disappearance constitutes a criminal offense in their statute books.
“Learning from the Philippine experience, it is possible to enact special laws criminalizing human rights violations. In November last year,t he Philippines enacted Republic Act No. 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law.Lamentably, the proposed law defining and penalizing enforced or involuntary disappearance still awaits congressional imprimatur even as the Convention remains unsigned.
AFAD and FIND appealed to President Aquino as well as the leaders of Timor Leste, India, Indonesia, Pakistan,Thailand and Nepal to take the lead in the signing and ratification of the Convention.
To date, the Convention has 83 signatories and 19 state parties (India is a signatory but not a state party. TheNetherlands is reported to have virtually reserved for the 20th slot that will mark the Convention’s entry into force.
The joint statement asked: “Shouldn’t AFAD’s member organizations’ respective states and other Asian states race to be the 20th state party and show the world that they are sincere in upholding human dignity and human rights more particularly the right not to be disappeared?”
Robredo washes hands off hostage fiasco
This is a tragic comedy. You have a presidential aide who did not give the telephone to the President when Hongkong chief executive Donald Tsang called because he didn’t know who Tsang is.
Now you have a signed re-instatement of Mendoza by National Capital Region Police Chief Leocadio Santiago which didn’t reach the hostage taker in time because it was carried by motorcycle cop. They haven’t heard of fax machine!
From ABS-CBNnews
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo will not resign amid calls for his head to roll in the wake of the August 23 hostage crisis.
“Honestly, if I can tell myself that I was really responsible, you will not see me any minute longer in this office,” he told ABS-CBN News in an exclusive interview.
He added that he was not part of the crisis management group that led efforts to get dismissed police officer Rodolfo Mendoza to free the Hong Kong tourists held hostage inside a bus in Manila.
“I was out of the loop, really, in terms of management of that situation,” he said on Tuesday.
He watched the crisis unfold through television in his office. He said the situation had turned from bad to worse while he was attending an emergency meeting called for by President Benigno Aquino III later that night at the Emerald Restaurant in Manila.
Robredo is asking Philippine National Police (PNP) Director-General Jesus Verzosa to explain why he left Metro Manila at the height of the crisis.
“(Ang) aking impression was that they looked at it as purely a police matter. Yebra was doing his job, but things did not turn out right,” Robredo added.
‘Twas Usec. Puno in crisis committee
The Palace has admitted that it assigned DILG Undersecretary Rico Puno, and not Robredo, to monitor the situation.
Puno defended Verzosa, saying the PNP chief was talking to the ground commander, Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, even while he was in Cagayan de Oro.
“We were all relaxed already. Di na namin talaga inaasahan iyon… Because all indications na makakausap si Inspector Mendoza, and hihingi siya ng isang bagay o bago namin ibigay iyan ay bigyan mo muna kami ng isang hostage.. ibibigay niya,” (We were all relaxed already. We did not expect it because all indications pointed at talking to Inspector Mendoza and he will ask for something. In exchange we will ask for a hostage to be released and he will agree),” Puno said.
He stressed that the government did not belittle the situation, as Aquino was informed about the crisis early in the morning of August 23.
“Protocol dictates na walang high government offficial na makikita doon dahil pag nakita ka doon ay humingi siya ng mas malaki at baka ma-commit. (Protocol dictates that the hostage-taker will not see any high-ranking official. Otherwise, he will only make bigger demands),” he explained.
Puno said the government had plans to give in to the hostage-taker’s demands and reinstate him in the PNP.
He said the crisis management group wanted Mendoza to become exhausted until he surrendered to police.
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who led the local crisis management committee that handled the crisis, said they were willing to grant the hostage-taker’s demand.
“Gumawa nga ng sulat eh, na may order na. Pirmado si Gen. Santiago eh, na sige i-rereinstate na siya. Problema ay pinadala niya sa motorcycle cop, huli na nang dumating. (A letter was made, signed by Gen. Santiago, which will reinstate him in the police force. The problem was it was sent through a motorcycle cop who arrived late).”
Roberedo, meanwhile, said conflicting statements of various officials will be clarified once a government review committee starts its investigation into the case. – From an exclusive report by Julius Babao, ABS-CBN News
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Bakit wala man lang mensahe sa Canada?
Pangwalong araw na ngayon mula nang mangyari ang trahedya ng panghu-hostage sa Rizal Park kung saan namatay ang walo sa 25 turista na galing Hongkong ngunit wala pang mensahe ng pakikiramay or paghingi ng paumanhin sa pamahalaan ng Canada.
Hindi ba alam ng Malacanang o ng Department of Foreign Affairs na tatlo sa walong namatay ay Canadian citizens? Isa na namang katangahan ito kung hindi nila alam dahil napabalita sa mga diyaryo as Canada at Hongkong. Nabanggit na rin ng mga diyaryo dito as Pilipinas.
Ang tatlong Hongkong Canadian ay ang negosyateng si Ken Leung (58 taong gulang) at ang kanilang dalawang anak na babae na sina Jessie (14) at Doris (21). Nakaligtas Ang asawa ni Leung na si Amy Ng at Ang kanilang 18-taong gular na anak na lalaki na si Jason.
Inuperahan si Jason as utak dahil napukpuk raw siya ng malakas as ulo.
Humingi na ng paumanhin si Pangulong Aquino as pamahalaan ng Hongkong at China, na sumasakop as Hongkong. Bakit híndi niya ginawa yun as Canada?
Kahit ba sabihin mong hindi humihingi ang Canada ng paumanhin (at ayaw na siguro magdagdag pa sa problema ng Pilipinas) ay dapat naman magpadala ng mensahe si Aquino.
Hindi kaya siya sinabihan ng kanyang ni Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo? Pumalpak na sila sa tawag ni Donald Tsang. Hindi pa sila natututo dito sa Canada.
***
Mabuti na rin na binusalan na Philippine National Police as pagpapalabas ng ano man tungkol as imbestigasyon na kanilang ginagawa habang híndi pa natatapos lahat.
Ito ay inutos ni Justice Secretary Leila de Lima pagkatapos lumabas ang balita na lumabas daw sa mga naunang pagsusuri na lahat daw nab ala na nakita sa katawan ng mga biktima ay galing sa baril ng hostage taker na si dating Senior Police Inspector Rolando Mendoza.
Ibig sabihin noon, walang namatay sa “friendly fire” o bala na galing as mga pulis.
Maaring totoo. Ngunit sa ngayon, bagsak ang kredibilidad ng Philippine National Police at ng Manila police na siyang nagsagawa ng operasyun para i-rescue ang mga hostages ngunit trahedya ang nangyari.
Nagkatugma naman ang kuwento ng lahat na ang dahilan ng pagwawala ng hostage taker ay nang sapilitang inaresto ang kanyang kapatid na si SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza sa utos ni Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.
Ngayon kung ano-ano ang nilalabas nilang impormasyun laban kay Gregorio. Marami raw siyang dating kaso. Panggulo na ito kahit pa totoo. Ang isyu ditto ay ang palpak na operasyun noong Agosto 23.
Ang sanay simpleng operasyun ng pulis ay nagiging krisis na rin sa diplomasya na apektado na ng ating ekonomiya. Katotohanan lamang ang makakaresolba nito. Kaya tigilan na ng mga sangkot na nasa kapangyarihan ang pagtatakip ng katotohanan.
Wait, there’s more!: Earn money from your blog! Sell link ads and blog your way to the bank.
Urbandub to perform live using an iPod Touch
In my recent visit to Power Mac GB3, I found out that Urbandub will perform live in some stores of Apple resellers. It’s interesting to see how they will perform live using an iPod Touch because I’m used to seeing Lalay and John jumping on the stage with their respective bass guitar and electric guitar. Read more for the Urbandub’s schedule.
Of course there’s no door charge/entrance fees. 
September 4
3PM – Power Mac Center, Greenbelt 3
5PM – Digital Hub, Market! Market!
7PM – iStudio, Bonifacio Highstreet
September 5
3PM – The A. Shop, Podium
5PM – Power Mac Center, Trinoma
7PM – SW!TCH, UP Technohub
September 11
3PM – Power Mac Center, North EDSA
5PM – The A. Shop, Eastwood
7PM – SW!TCH, UP Technohub
September 12
3PM – iStudio, Bonifacio Highstreet
5PM – Digital Hub, Market! Market!
7PM – Power Mac Center, Greenbelt 3
Buglasan Festival 2010 Schedule
Preparations are now in full blast as the Province of Negros Oriental stages the annual Buglasan Festival 2010! Every year, all roads lead to Sidlakang Negros, the home of the Buglasan Festival for a week-long festivity.
During this time of the year, The Sidlakang Negros which is located in Dumaguete gets well decorated as this becomes the home of the festival for the next few days.
It is also during this time when the towns would go out of their way to promote the various tourist destinations, as well as sell local produce like fresh fruits, vegetables, native delicacies or even some handicrafts which is a perfect pasalubong gift!
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Read the rest of Buglasan Festival 2010 Schedule
© Enrico Dee for BYAHILO, 2010. |
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Good Morning, Taipei!
Penman for Monday, August 30, 2010
I MIGHT as well have shouted that when we stepped off the plane a couple of weekends ago, since it was technically morning by the time we reached Taipei on a short two-hour hop from Manila. Landing past midnight in a foreign country was the real price we paid for availing ourselves of a ridiculously cheap budget fare on Cebu Pacific, which likes to sneak into Asian cities like Shanghai when everyone else is snoring.
I booked the promo flight online last April, aware of the possibility that we would be flying—if at all—into Taipei in the typhoon season. As it turned out, late August was steaming; we were soon dripping—not from rain, but from sweat. Our tour guide would later explain that, because of its topography, Taipei was a natural hothouse, a valley over which, to borrow an image from Steinbeck, the clouds closed in like a lid over a simmering pot.
The hotter-than-Manila weather was a novelty to Beng and me, because neither of us had been to Taiwan before, which was another reason we made the trip. We’ve made a pledge to travel together as much as we can—and as far as our meager budget will allow—before arthritis and dementia make even a trip to the bathroom too arduous to manage. We’d seen a ton of documentaries on Taiwan on Living Asia and the Discovery Channel, so we had some idea of what to look for and what to expect—the National Palace Museum was right on top of our list—but as always, you never know what’ll turn up until you actually get there. (I’d circled the charmingly named “Museum of Drinking Water” on my city map, but ran out of time to verify the oddity.)
So as soon as we woke up in our hotel at noon the next day, I went down to the concierge to book a couple of bus tours that would take us around the city and a bit of the island. Each afternoon tour ran for about four hours and didn’t cost too much—the city tour included the National Palace Museum and its entrance fee, for less than P1,300 per person (one Taiwan dollar is about P1.40). For just a little more, we also signed up for the next day’s tour of the old hilltop mining town of Chiufen and the northern coast.
I’m a great believer in package tours and bus tours, especially for first-time tourists, which was what we were. They’re cheap, they’re efficient, and they make sure you hit all or at least most of the tourist highlights. If I were in my 20s or 30s, I probably wouldn’t mind backpacking and darting off into strange alleyways with little more than The Lonely Planet Guide in hand, but in my 50s, I want a soft seat, air-conditioning, and someone to tell me what I’m looking at.
The tours were, as I expected, a great success. We gaped and gawked at the crown jewels of the National Palace Museum, which houses over 600,000 artifacts, much of it carted across the strait by the late Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek when he and his forces fled the mainland after Mao Tse-Tung and the Communists won the civil war in 1949. As a self-confessed teenage Maoist, I couldn’t muster a drop of reverence for Chiang, even as we stood at the foot of his colossal, Lincoln-like statue in his memorial. At the same time, I had to be quietly thankful that many of these artifacts escaped the destructive wrath of the Cultural Revolution’s Red Guards, who would have found such baubles as jade cabbages insufferably bourgeois.
Still better than guided bus tours, however, are the walking tours that literally ground the tourist in the everyday realities of a new city. At street level, some of these revelations popped out immediately:
- All taxis in Taipei are new, yellow, and spotlessly clean. Some drivers decorate their dashboards with huge, fragrant lilies.
- The sidewalks along the main roads are three meters wide. No vendors, no billboards, and, unless you look really hard, no cops.
- Taipei loves coffee, with homegrown coffee shops dotting the boulevards—Merry Café, Barista Café, Coffee+, eCoffee, Ikari Coffee, Is Coffee, Mr. Brown Coffee—aside from the inevitable Starbucks.
- Taipei loves English and an American education, with a whole street downtown devoted to review courses for the GRE, the GMAT, the TOEIC, the TOEFL, the IELTS, and whatever will bring your son Edison Chan or daughter Penelope Wong to Princeton.
- Clothes are expensive by Manila standards, but food is cheap and scrumptious (although I didn’t dare try the stinky tofu—that’s what it’s called, and it’s the honest, godawful truth).
- As with much of Asia (except, strangely enough, the Philippines), the night markets are the place to go for food and shopping. The sprawling Shilin Night Market goes on and on (as does the underground Taipei City Mall, beneath the main Train Station), offering everything from mushroom-rice balls to the new iPhone 4. (Shopping note: fellow Filipinos, get your iPhone 4, factory unlocked and at the cheapest global prices, from the online Apple Stores of Hong Kong and Singapore. You’ll need local friends in those places, though, whose shipping addresses you’ll borrow.)
- The fashion du jour for young women in Taipei seems to be—aside from hot denim pants—frilly, lacy, and flowery skirts, also worn short, of course. Beng couldn’t help noticing the ubiquity of short shorts in Taipei; on the racks of the Shilin stalls, they seemed to be no more than four inches from top to bottom. Everywhere we looked, long pairs of milky legs grew out of these shorts. I, of course, sympathized with Beng’s dismay, remarking for her benefit, “Ugh, isn’t she disgusting… and there goes an even more disgusting one… oooh, I can’t bear to look.”
- There seems to be a 7-11 around every corner in Taipei (alternating with its chief competitor, FamilyMart). When you step into one before noon, you’re greeted by the cashier with a chirpy “Good morning!” When you step into the same place at, say, six or seven in the evening, everyone behind the counter greets you again with, you guessed it, “Good morning!”
Good morning, Taipei!