A Nation of Servants(?)

After reading Bariles’ saved controversial article by Chinese journalist Chip Tsao, I can only cluck my tongue and shake my head in disbelief. People like Chip Tsao makes the world more complicated and sadly, chaotic.

For somebody who professes to be a journalist, Tsao demonstrated such despicable attitude way below his supposed knowledge and experience. He is a shameful representative of what journalism should be. His remarks are actually quite infantile, sad to say.

Tsao may not have realized it but the hand that rocks the cradle is more powerful than the master himself. He has a Filipina domestic helper in his home that is likely running his house for him, preparing their meals, taking care and probably, helps and contributes in the molding of the minds of his children. What happens if the very people he considers mere servants are the very people behind the future generation of masters. I would like to see that irony someday and wipe off the smirk out of the chinky-eyed pathetic Tsao.

As of this writing, the infamous article has been taken-off HK online site (it should really never have been published, in the first place).

Yes For Earth Hour

With only a kerosene lamp and some candles inside our house, we joined people all over the world for the Earth Hour last night. My nieces were quite curious about it and we tried to explain to them the importance of the event and as well as that of the global warming. As I watched the Earth Hour's coverage on TV, I felt really glad that Philippines actively participated in the event. There is hope in addressing global warming problems.

I hope the movement will not stop after Earth Hour. We can help in any little way we can. All of us.

Update:
According to the Earth Hour website, the Philippines topped the most number of participants in the event with 650 communities switching off their lights for the Earth Hour. Go Pinoy!

Blogger’s Earth Hour Link Love Chain:
Norway: RennyBA’s Terella - The host of this list.
Philippines: Heart of Rachel: Vote Earth! and Fun Heart Hour 2009.
Singapore: EastCoastLife put up the banner and a separate post!
Norway: CultureSchock - Vote Earth!
France: A. at A Changing Life - Earth Hour 2009.
USA: Scarty at My Daily Life Experience - Earth Hour 2009 in Chicago.
Sweden: Lifecruiser - Earth Hour Stockholm City 2009.
Malaysia: Life Ramblings - Earth Hour 2009.
Philippines: FiliPina Jade - Do you think our planet is worth saving?

PhotoHunt#24 Hands

Hands that are always busy, that can do alot of things. Hands that create, protect, care and even tickle. Hands that love and hold, always warm and gentle. Hands that I miss.

March 28 is Earth Hour Day

I cannot stay longer facing the computer for days now. No thanks to my stubborn stiff neck. I had it since this Monday. So far, this has been the most difficult stiff neck I have ever had. The muscle spasm on my right neck just gets me gritting in pain sometimes. Coupled with intermittent throbbing headaches and the slight fever the other day (which freaked me out, by the way), this stiff neck episode disturbed the entries I planned to post here for this week. But, with stiff neck or not, this post is going to get out to encourage you people to participate tomorrow.

Manifestations of global warming are everywhere. Extreme changes of weather, higher frequencies and intensities of earthquakes, species extinction, drastic changes in agricultural yields are just some of the results of global warming. If we do not take action soon, it can be too late for us. Rich or poor nations are getting affected. So, this is not just for me or for you but for everybody.

There is so much to be done to arrest the results of global warming but tomorrow (March 28) at 830-930 in the evening, let us switch all the lights off. This is to help save the earth from global warming. The earth is slowly dying because of man’s carelessness and greed. It has given us life but we have been neglecting it terribly. With earth hour, we can at least let the earth rest even for just an hour from centuries of abuse and neglect.

Let us participate and encourage others to do so. We only have one earth.

Litratong Pinoy#44 Sapatos(Shoes)

Sa pamimili, mas gusto ko ang sapatos kaysa damit; at sa sapatos naman, mas gusto kong mamili nang sapatos na goma kaysa sa sapatos na pang-kaswal. Kasi, mas maraming gamit ang sapatos na goma. Pwdeng pang-ehersisyo, pampasyal at kung anu-ano pa.

Sapatos ko ito at nang mga kaibigan ko habang nagpapahinga sa paliparan ng Shanghai. Masasakit na ang mga paa sa kakalakad. Muntik ko na ngang hubarin iyong sa akin kaso lang, baka may mahimatay sa paligid.

Translation:
In buying, I prefer to buy shoes than to buy clothes; and with shoes, I like to buy rubber shoes than casual shoes. It is because rubber shoes are more versatile. They can be used for exercise, for sight-seeing and etc.

These are my shoes and my friends' while we were resting in the Shanghai Airport. Our feet were hurting after too much walking. I nearly took off my shoes but decided to keep it on in case somebody faints nearby.

PhotoHunt# 23 Yellow

As far as I can remember, the tight-fitting yellow jumpsuit is synonymous to the karate and kung fu icon, Bruce Lee. He wore it in his last known popular movie, Game of Death, before his untimely death.

This is a wax figure of Bruce Lee wearing that famous jumpsuit that we found in Madame Tussaud's wax museum in Victoria Peak, Hongkong.

This is my photohunt entry for this week. See more entries here.

What Were You Thinking, Nicole?

Yes, our justice system is slow and sometimes, prejudiced against the poor and common people and oh yes, sometimes one wonders if it’s really for the Filipino people and not for some “friendly” ally-country. Yes, there is something much to be desired from our supposed-lawmakers and law implementors but Nicole….

Why did you receive a measly P100,000.00 or the equivalent of $2,068.00 just to recant your statement against US serviceman and convicted rapist, Daniel Smith? How and why did you get to immigrate to the United States of America, the native land of your “rapist’? Have you not thought the repercussions of these actions not only in the case against Daniel Smith but also how these actions of yours be perceived by the international community, most especially, the US government?

Nicole..Nicole…where is your shame? You felt guilty, you said. You felt guilty that you may have falsely encouraged the poor, sex-starved US serviceman in thinking that you want more than drinking and seductive dancing from him. But Nicole, you should have known that in going public with your accusations, you were going against something big. You knew that. Your lawyers made sure you knew that. Several groups that helped you along the way knew that but you were steadfast with your convictions. They all believed you. We all did. We all stood behind you. We rallied and prayed for you. The courts of law studied, evaluated, debated your case thoroughly before coming up with the decision, and all the while you were steadfast with what you said and now…

You made us all look like fools. Worse, you just confirmed the accusations of a lot of Americans who did not know better that a lot of Filipinos are dollar-crazed, American visa-hungry people. You could have chosen any country like Italy where your brother is supposed to be.

Where in the world was your dignity? I read somewhere that we went to the same college. Oh boy, you just made our school a huge disfavor for that action.

What were you thinking, Suzette Nicolas. I am sorry to tell, that is one huge stupidity and disfavor you did for your country and your countrymen.

Good luck to your endeavors in the land of milk and honey. I heard, life’s tougher there now than here in the Philippines.

Litratong Pinoy#43 Paboritong Alahas(Favorite Jewelry)

Kung ang ibang tao hindi pwdeng umalis ng bahay na hindi puno ng alahas ang katawan, ako naman ay puwedeng relo lang ang suot. Minsan, nakakalimutan ko pa. Kung nakakapagsuot naman, eto ang lagi kong suot. Regalo sa akin ng aming kompanya para sa sampung taon serbisyo.

Transmittal:
If some people cannot go out of the house without wearing a lot of jewelries, wearing a watch is good enough for me. I even sometimes forget to wear one but when I do, this is the watch I usually wear. A gift from our company after 10 years of service.

Ang kuwintas na ito ay mahalaga sa akin dahil na rin sa kanyang pinanggalingan. Miminsan ko lang itong gamitin dahil sa takot kong baka mawala.

Transmittal:

This necklace is precious to me because of where it has come from. I do not use it often as I am afraid of losing it.

Vision On The Education Development Of The Philippines

4.Professionalized educational system and minimized politics inside the educational structure. The educational structure of our country is beset with so much political tentacles that reports revealed that our educational system is one of the most messy and corrupt department in the government.


5.Lesser brain drain. Our country is losing a lot of money spending millions and millions for the education of its people when a lot of them migrate to other countries spending their most productive years in their host countries. Programs should be implemented that will strictly require people to spend (especially those who graduated as government scholars) at least 5 productive years in the country before being allowed to go and work abroad.


6.Bilingual educational system and better love of our country to be incalculated early in the minds of young children. No country will ever develop properly with lesser love of its own heritage. Unfortunately, colonial mentality is so ingrained in our psyche that we are willing to lose learning our native tongue in favor of acquiring American or British slang for better opportunities to work abroad. Our Asian neighbor-countries were able to rise up as giant world economies using their native tongues, why can’t we?


7.Better access to education. This is not only thru the government’s free education from elementary to high school level but also thru the help of the private sector by providing more scholarship programs or easier study-now-pay-later schemes that will help pay for the tuition fees.


8.Better population control. For such a small country, we are on the top 20 of world’s most populated countries which is not only draining our resources but also exacerbate the decline of our educational system. While this is a touchy issue due to the Church’s intervention on the population control programs of the government, I believe that the government should not stop in continuing with their programs.


Education in the Philippines has so much issues to be tackled with but I believe that to be able to achieve better education quality, Filipinos should work hand in hand for the future generation .

Vision On The Education Development Of The Philippines

It is almost at the end of the school year again and hotter days are starting to lord it over again. For the newly graduates of this year, life outside school is starting. It is common knowledge that better education facilitates better opportunities in life.

I don’ t know why, but I have so much interest in the way the Philippine education development is going. Perhaps, it’s because I grew up with my parents giving so much importance in education more than wealth or sometimes, even more than health. Or perhaps, it’s because when I was younger, I wanted to be a teacher; and now, I still find it a noble profession even if the current perception of the most of the present generation of Filipinos think otherwise. Thus, it is with a lot of trepidation for me to see the current state of the education in the Philippines.

What is education for me? What are my visions on its development?

The word “education” is derived from the Latin word “educare” which means to nurture, to raise. For me, education goes beyond learning or teaching something but instead, it is about having or developing knowledge, positive wisdom and judgment that helps facilitate the full realization of an individual. Education is considered the great equalizer. For an individual who has a better educational background will have better opportunities in his/her life compared to an individual with lesser educational background. For a country to develop properly, its population’s educational demographics contribute a lot in its economy.

A lot of people consider the education development in the Philippines on the decline compared to our Asian contemporaries which is a surprise considering that Philippines was on the top 5 among Asian countries during the 1950-1960s as well as having a population with higher literacy rate and higher English proficiency.

My vision for education development in the Philippines are:

1. More ladderized courses that will facilitate the students’ early earning power opportunities. Ladderized courses in technical and vocational courses have already been started by the government but there should be more courses to be offered in the future. Ladderized educational program will have lesser waiting period time as students will graduate early (6 mos to 2 years) compared to the usual 4-year courses and can earn early which will contribute to the our country’s economy development.

2. More technical and vocational courses that will address the mismatch of the students’ acquired skills upon graduation to the available job opportunities. A country does not need all the accountants and managers but it will also need people who has the skills to build, to operate, to invent and to manufacture, etc.

3. Increasing the teachers’ proficiency and qualifications thru mandatory required graduate studies, trainings and seminars that will help contribute in a better quality of teaching.

...to continue...

PhotoHunt#22 Four

Four wobbly-legs follow mother carabao (water buffalo) in a ricefield in Siargao, Surigao.

This is my entry for:

For more photohunters, go here.

Honest Scrap Award

I got this tag from fairywinkle sometime ago and I have to apologize for posting this a little bit too late. Sorry, sorry..i have been too busy but I really like this tag though.

Honest Scrap Award Rules:

In sum, choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design to pass on this award/tag. list at least ten honest things about yourself.

1. I easily gets bored with malls that is why if a lot of people find Mall of Asia (MOA) exciting, I find it boring. I have yet to see some unique things in MOA that I have not yet seen in other malls.

2. From my friends, I expect them to be more honest and straightforward to me than talk behind my back and pretend like there is nothing wrong going on. Each time they do that, I feel betrayed.

3. I would like to do skydiving and scuba diving someday.

4. My constant wish for my country and countrymen, more discipline and free of bad politicians.

5. I keep thinking that if every Filipino exchange their texting time to more reading time, our country and our people could have done much better than its neighboring countries.

6. I worry more about my parents now than before.

7. I used to keep a journal since I was in elementary but stopped years ago when I got too busy with work. I am thinking of getting back to it again.

8. I have tons and tons of picture albums. Yes, I have some of my pictures in CDs, thumb drives, and hard disk; but I like to flip over the albums better than stare at the monitor.

9. I hate it when people expect something from me but they cannot and/or will not expect it from themselves. Where is fairness in that?

10. I wish I can do volunteer work as soon as possible, as often as I can.

Passing this fun award to:
Cee
Earthlingorgeous
G's Mirage
Libay
Alf
Janeth Vicy
Pchi

Litratong Pinoy#42 Blusa/Polo

May nabasa ako noon na patungkol sa isang matandang obserbasyon ng isang dayuhang Espanyol tungkol sa nakita niyang kaugalian ng ating mga ninuno noong kapanahunan ng Espanyol sa ating bansa. Ang sabi niya, ang mga katutubo raw ay tila walang kahihiyan sa pagpapakita ng kanilang maselang parte ng katawan at bagkus pa’y nakikihalubilo pa sa kapwa na halos wala o kokonti lang ang saplot, gaya ng isang inang nagpapasuso sa anak na walang suot na blusa o takip sa dibdib:

Translation:
I read something about an old observation of a Spanish about our ancestors’ ways during the Spanish period in our country. He said, the natives seem to have no shame in showing off their sensitive parts of the body and even mingle with less or no clothes on, just like this breastfeeding mother who has no blouse or cover over her chest:

O di kaya ng isang lalaking mandirigma na nakabahag at may telang nakasampay lang sa dibdib:

Translation:
Or this native warrior who is only on g-string with a strip of cloth hanging across his body:

Para sa maobserbang dayuhan, isa itong palatandaan ng kakulangan ng kultura at kaalaman ng ating mg aninuno. Ngunit sino ba ang mas may tamang kultura at kaalaman, ang ating mga ninunong may wala o simpleng pananamit at mapayapang pamumuhay o ang mga dayuhang nakialam at sumakop sa ating bayan?

Translation:
For the observant foreigner, this was a sign of lack of culture and knowledge of our ancestors. But who has the right culture and knowledge, our ancestors who wore no or simple clothes and lived peacefully or foreigners who conquered and messed up our country?

Dog vs. Superheroes

I watched both Marley and Me and the Watchmen this past weekend. The former I had so much fun watching and the latter, it was so boring that the almost 3-hour playing time was such a stretch. It actually made me wish I brought a pitcherful of coffee to keep me awake.

Marley and Me was based on the best-selling autobiographical book of John Grogan about their family dog, Marley. The movie has a lot of heart and laughs; I cannot help but feel so touched at the end of the movie.

On the other hand, the Watchmen are about superheroes burdened with human flaws and weaknesses, I wondered if they were really superheroes at all. I went in expecting a lot, even with the human flaws and such but I did not bargain getting bored with it because this is one superhero movie that action scenes are rather limited that those superheroes could have been just on their way to a costume ball party.

So, if you are looking not to get bored, go for the dog instead of the superheroes to save your day. After all, dogs are man’s best friends. Have fun with Marley!

PhotoHunt#21 Space

Batanes has wide space, some are used as communal pastureland they call “payaman” but some space are just idle. Nevertheless, the place is really beautiful.

Located at the northernmost part of the Philippines, Batanes Islands is almost untouched by urban development, a really good thing. Here are some pictures I took during our visit:

This is part of "payaman", communal pastureland in Batanes.

Grasslands as far as your eyes can see.

This is my entry for:

For more photohunters, go here.

Litratong Pinoy#41 Bag

Yehey! Meron akong bagong bag. Isa siyang backpack. Ang tagal kong naghanap at buti nalang may “sale” sa isang tindahan sa SM Davao. Dahil hindi ako mahilig sa mga kilalang pangalan na mga gamit, nahirapan akong maghanap. Kaya, kahit nagtitipid dahil kailangan ko na rin ay binili ko na. Samsonite siya at kumpara sa orihinal na presyo, nakatipid po ang lola ninyo. Para sa laptop ko kasi at tingin ko, matibay dahil “rubber” ang ilalim. Sulit talaga.

Translation:
Yay! I have a new bag. It is a backpack. It took me a long time to find it and it was a good thing that there was a sale in one of the stores in SM Davao. Because I am not much into well-known brands, it was difficult for me to find the bag that I want to. That is why I bought the bag even if I was trying to be thrifty. It is a Samsonite and compared to the original price, it was really a good buy. It is for my laptop and I think, it is durable because it has rubber lining under the bag. It was all worth it.

You Are Never Too Old...

...to start a hobby or to start learning something new. This was proven by this old Chinese lady we saw in the Kowloon Park, Hongkong.



We were sightseeing and taking pictures with our point and shoot digicams when we saw her. She looked so intent while eyeing the flamingos by the pond but didn't mind her until woaaaah!! we saw her intimidating and professional-looking camera; so, we gave her ample space while teasing each other that this grandma made our point and shoots like little toys:)