tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578105137288022022024-03-21T21:20:26.092-07:00Filipino QuotesFilipino, Pinoy, Pinay: Quality Quotations. Sayings. Quips. Quotes. Famous lines. From Filipinos in the Philippines and Abroad; icons and then some. Famous quotes from famous foreign people on anything Filipino. Excerpts. Lines from books written by Filipino authors and others. Witticisms. Criticisms. Filipinisms. other -isms...adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-3471845909515227702009-02-02T13:42:00.000-08:002009-02-10T17:17:26.743-08:00Foreign Investors to PEZA and the Filipino Workers<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 34px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBeemt408SfhVl4Xklo1rOLp-mRYqtdFrto_oxcLThEJsmC0Qc7M9myUBGZAeLNrsmKxreLizgkTeFcoI78DrgenasR6PVx15EHCug7pZTD0ALQ5HKLpxNuyKtsK2dzSmO5Em7K0ZUGo/s400/phileconomic_zone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298363191778026514" border="0" /><br /><blockquote>"At Times when bureaucracy and municipal delays could have been critically damaging to our investment, PEZA has been a helpful hand in providing direction and assistance toward quick resolutions."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Craig Reines</span>, VP and General Manager for TeleTech Customer Care Management Phils, Inc.</div></blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>"People are our most important asset, T.I. believes the Philippines has an edge because of its pool of skilled workers, especially in semiconductors. PEZA is the best agency of government because of its investor friendly policies and vision."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Norberto Viera</span>, President, Texas Instruments (Phils.), Inc.</div></blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>"The work force is very good. They provide a lot of value-added to our customers."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Mike Petrucci</span>, President, Amkor Technology Phils.</div></blockquote><blockquote><br />"The Filipino worker is absolutely superb. The Filipino worker is very well educated, very eager to learn more and extremely fluent in English, and has a marvelous work ethics."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Steven Leece</span>, Managing Director, Moog Controls Corp.</div></blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 34px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiUacWgmA6xhOtFZSRBWC93L8rEMTb0sn04Krq2EDgj4BQlG4lV3G_sYblSm6BNMRSVgja9kUxZ1RU6R9BhYsjSnfNz5cfumUGZb9kdzjhV4rrT9SnxuzTfrkAz9UOHcoU8ps5zA0ekQ/s400/PEZA.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298362022774733474" border="0" /></div> <blockquote><br />"PEZA is the cleanest, most efficient and most supportive organization to foreign investors compared to all the other government investments organizations in Asia. PEZa never disappoints any investor. It is great advantage even to small business."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Norihiko Maeno</span>, President and CEO, Maeno Giken Inc</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">.<br /></div><br /><blockquote><br />"PEZA is the real business partner. Their professionalism assures investors of steadfast support more than we expected."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Yoshio Nagamine</span>, President, Terumo (Philippines) Corporation</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><br /><br /><blockquote>"The quality of workers in the Philippines is far better than that of Thailand and approximates that of Japanese workers at a fifth of the cost. About 80% of our workforce are women because they are better than men. I am happy that local schools produce very good engineers."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Masaaki Nagamine</span>, President, Fujitsu Computer Products Corporation of the Philippines</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><br /><br /><blockquote>"Everybody can speak English which is very good for us. There is also a culture of quality workers. THe biggest factor is logistics. The Philippines is the hub of Asia. We have direct shipping to America and Europe. PEZA has been very supportive!"<br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Masaaki Mukushi</span>, Former President, Toshiba Information Equipment Phils., Inc.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What is PEZA?</span></span><br /><br />The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)is a government corporation established through legislative enactment known as “The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995.”<br /><br />PEZA is an investment promotion agency and a government owned corporation, attached to the Department of Trade & Industry.<br /><br />PEZA grants fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to developers of economic zones, export producers, and I.T. service exporters.<br /><br />PEZA offers ready-to-occupy locations to foreign investors who are export producers or IT service exporters in world class and environment friendly Economic Zones and I.T. Parks / Buildings.adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-52850239629365817732009-01-05T02:18:00.001-08:002009-01-05T02:34:44.330-08:00George W. Bush on Filipinos and Philippine-Americans<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y3xqdvQhzMjqbBW19j0zCofLRhF-P4BdjbACRFRVu-EOtFsGOUh3SE6shARhaRed3YJiV-vCK8ymfDOxoYT1T2T9Os0h4ZpJhi6qsNaYwdJaSYzyce1T_9c8j9_7aYu8u7AhY8wY6gA/s400/gloriaarroyo_georgebush.jpg" alt="Gloria Arroyo with George W. Bush" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286593723542397762" border="0" /><br /><blockquote>"I want to tell you how proud I am to be the President of a nation that -- in which there's a lot of Philippine-Americans. They love America and they love their heritage. And I reminded the President that I am reminded of the great talent of the -- of our Philippine-Americans when I eat dinner at the White House.<br /><br />And the chef is a great person and a really good cook, by the way, Madam President."<div style="text-align: right;"> - <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">George W. Bush</span> in a <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080624.html">meeting</a> with Pres. Gloria Arroyo<br />at the White House on June 24, 2008<br /></div></blockquote><br /><br />-Of all the possible "small talk" comments a United States President could utter to another person similar to his stature- a Philippine President, George W. Bush came up with the stupidest blabber ever! While the statement sounded 'harmless' reading from the <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080624.html">entire transcript</a> of what transpired from that meeting, I feel a <span style="font-weight: bold;">little bit</span> slighted and offended by this comment bordering on racism, and belittling.<br /><br />Don't your minions of staff brief you about who you're meeting and tell you about the country he/she represents prior to the meet? You are reminded of our great talent every time you eat dinner at the White House? How patronizing! Please. Sorry soon to-be- former Mr. President Bush, I did not get the joke!<br /><br />George Bush made the comment in reference to Cristeta "Cris" Comerford who was <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/images/20050814-1_p19824-29-515h.html">named White House chef</a> in August of 2005 and who still serves as the White House chef to this day! (We will find out if the Obama's will keep Miss Comerford in the White house. We certainly hope so!)<br /><br />As for this thoughtless comment, George W. Bush will truly leave a mark on this blog. Talk about leaving a lasting impression!adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-26435016235736180342009-01-01T22:05:00.001-08:002009-01-01T22:09:47.309-08:00Welcome 2009!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHybdrHV8K7VYZ_9cv8wZY2JnN3DnDXG_kgfjx99vSqWSDTgxAkFX0LHuVFFH5qUaBDEGLr2F1jYSc8k7ty23pDpESTre6R4A0VK2llWEjQBAmh85gVf7GS9UCGTOb-m1-3MBOoC7_YpU/s1600-h/newyear.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHybdrHV8K7VYZ_9cv8wZY2JnN3DnDXG_kgfjx99vSqWSDTgxAkFX0LHuVFFH5qUaBDEGLr2F1jYSc8k7ty23pDpESTre6R4A0VK2llWEjQBAmh85gVf7GS9UCGTOb-m1-3MBOoC7_YpU/s400/newyear.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286573703925815090" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:130%;">May this year be better than the last...<br />May this year give us a little peace of mind...<br /> a little bit of hope,<br /> a little bit of optimism,<br /> a little bit of faith- more than last year...<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Happy peaceful new year to us all!</span></span></blockquote>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-81402691681301011452008-12-07T00:57:00.000-08:002008-12-07T01:06:40.236-08:00Manny Pacquiao on his Fight with Oscar De La Hoya<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0vNfai5q6NojurW57qBkDCZwh3OzBP3lwGWnxIUsKXfVZqp5V5fV4kb2Kp6BSD_S-HMcPlDU-WR2y-gnM9Z0Pk-jhfZFHuCaFuO2Wd3NlOqVgU_29VdNKB3yf9OHouMWnIvwnmI1K3A/s1600-h/manny_pacquiao.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0vNfai5q6NojurW57qBkDCZwh3OzBP3lwGWnxIUsKXfVZqp5V5fV4kb2Kp6BSD_S-HMcPlDU-WR2y-gnM9Z0Pk-jhfZFHuCaFuO2Wd3NlOqVgU_29VdNKB3yf9OHouMWnIvwnmI1K3A/s400/manny_pacquiao.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276970120951910994" border="0" /></a><blockquote>"Ang bawat suntok na aking bibitawan ay may bigat ng 90 milyong Pilipino sa buong mundo, kasama na rin ang ilan pang milyong katao na sumusuporta sa akin bilang isang kampeon sa ibabaw ng ring.<br /><br />Excited na ako na maipakita ko ang tapang, lakas at bilis ng isang mandirigmang Pilipino gaya ng ipinakita ng aking mga ninuno simula pa kay Lapu-Lapu ng Mactan. Maganda ang aking pakiramdam, maayos at malinaw ang aking pag-iisip at higit sa lahat, naniniwala ako na ang mahal na Panginoong Diyos ay nasa aking tabi palagi kaya Siya na ang magbibigay sa akin ng tagumpay sa araw na ito. Kasama ko sa araw na ito ang lahat ng mga magigiting na Pilipino na nagtanggol at lumaban upang lahat tayo ay lumaya at mamuhay ng tahimik. Kasabay ko ang lahat ng mga kababayan kong nagmamahal sa bayan."</blockquote><blockquote>"This is the fight of my life, this is the biggest challenge in my boxing career, and I know that if I emerge victorious in this battle, all of us will reap the blessings and we will share all the glory."</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote>-<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Manny Pacquiao</span>, December 6, 2008 on the day<br />of his big fight with Oscar De La Hoya</blockquote></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-26361767261875372262008-11-14T01:00:00.000-08:002008-11-14T01:09:40.661-08:00"From Now on, Call Them Expats, Not OFWs"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEias1QbX56nlauj4kHEFM_czGjC0gleyXaftG00tn-LyxDOy86JaTfDMwTm3EqY6AuZeQXTyrJsAdIXV_lzCANa_26cBovLDm_37YEKzua_qAZ2i2lEH9tGPQtIMzqCpjtXuHXH8oeH8SI/s1600-h/gloria_arroyo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 306px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEias1QbX56nlauj4kHEFM_czGjC0gleyXaftG00tn-LyxDOy86JaTfDMwTm3EqY6AuZeQXTyrJsAdIXV_lzCANa_26cBovLDm_37YEKzua_qAZ2i2lEH9tGPQtIMzqCpjtXuHXH8oeH8SI/s400/gloria_arroyo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268437476294698242" border="0" /></a><blockquote>“One very, very well-known and well-paid Filipino working overseas says that we should begin to call our overseas Filipinos expatriates, because the nature of their job is increasingly more on skilled professions. And they should be called expatriates because expatriates usually get higher pay than if you just call them workers,”…<br /></blockquote><blockquote> “The government and the people honor our overseas Filipinos, whether you call them OFWs, OCWs, or as Dante Ang likes to call them, Overseas Filipino Investors. And I agree that we should begin to call them expatriates rather than OFWs. But in any case, we honor them for their sacrifice and dedication to their work, their family and their nation.” …<br /><br /> “We welcome their contribution. But we are working towards the day when Filipinos no longer need to go abroad for a job. For the day that overseas work is just another career option and not the only choice they have to earn a living...”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo</span>, Speech, October 7, 2008</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-25318799167395359652008-10-10T03:02:00.000-07:002008-10-14T00:23:21.794-07:00What of Filipino Heroes for Filipinos and Fil-Ams in the United States?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592131220?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1592131220"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxMNCHk-z6YwqRwj4JDKd84NKbmdm7goypb0nBepONNFy39dN0sDB20wgCQiwc7cWhMiTfCx_kReDGQdjunN2ie1WLxwTfHNde041hG7W3r1yBVFpEFqYbvFgIU_B0nMov_HmiPdOw6c/s320/no_filipinos_book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255466648390844962" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592131220?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1592131220">Positively No Filipinos Allowed: Building Communities and Discourse (Asian American History & Culture)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1592131220" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /><br /></div><blockquote>"One hundred years later, Filipinos in the United States and Filipino Americans have every reason to ask what Rizal - along with the revolution he inadvertently inspired some seven thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean- has to do with student and academic communities in the United States today. They certainly won't appear in most classes on U.S. history, or Asian American OR U.S. ethnic studies for that matter. Why should Americans (even US minorities) concern themselves with FIlipino- or for that matter any extra- or anti- United States- nationalism? If anything, Filipino immigrants taking the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) exam might find more compelling reasons to know the importance of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. than the likes of Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, or Graciano Lopez Jaena- three Filipino intellectuals and publicists who wrote mostly in Spanish, had conflicting loyalties between mother Spain and their native Filipinas, and didn't have much of an opinion on the United States by the time they died in 1896.<br /><br />Even if thousands of US-based Filipinos and Filipino Americans continue to commemorate Rizal's execution on Rizal Day (December 30), celebrated with food and formal dress everywhere from Alexandria to Detroit, how many of us know or care that del Pilar and Lopez Jaena died of poverty and tuberculosis (the same year Rizal died), neglected and forgotten by everyone, as a new generation of Filipino thinkers and revolutionaries braced itself for a war against the past and future empires of the Western world? And if we did know the history of those who inspired an entire generation to go to war against the superior arms and resources of that vast and powerful North American country, would we care?"<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Positively No Filipinos Allowed: Building Communities and Discourse (Asian American History & Culture) (Paperback) by </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">Antonio Tiongson (Editor), Ricardo Gutierrez (Editor), Edgardo Gutierrez (Editor)</span>, January 2006<br /></div></blockquote>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-66060322578930018912008-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:002008-09-07T21:25:44.423-07:00Trill and Mordent by Luisa Igloria<div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932339949?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1932339949"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHicolu1uWgTeMhzUZZ3TYRnZJrpTifZNwZp_AWS9EGzjpGfzPm-2LtLlA-inYxPnONU_MvMYSh5npggBjRyJc8EifkdHE9hl3dSvUM9B8NrE9e_aD1kYmRG3DQkLZQyIO5FQj9K4jMCY/s320/trill_mordent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243499318941586882" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932339949?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1932339949">Trill & Mordent</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1932339949" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /><br /></div><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">Accidentals are symbols that change the pitch<br />with just the slightest touch of dissonance<br /><br />in music— the flats, the sharps, the double<br />sharps’ spiked banners that appear sometimes once<br /><br />on a page, sometimes in a series. Ascending or descending<br />they become appoggiatura— trills or mordents. The trills<br /><br />are as random birdsong strewn over a field. The mordents<br />slip down, enough to remind me of their root in morbid<br /><br />things, in falling, in death. The French, too, remind us<br />how even in pleasure the body dies a little: la petite mort.<br /><br />The furtive kiss on the earlobe, the flick of a tongue<br />at the base of the throat— thin blade of a shudder that rises<br /><br />to the heart and nicks it like a wound, that attaches<br />like a shadow. It takes so little to upset the mechanism<br /><br />of everyday life, the rapid adjustment and tumbling of gears<br />from one set of teeth to another. As though the hand could choose<br /><br />without error, the composer made these precise marks on sheets<br />of music. They bristle like little reports, like explosions<br /><br />from the snout of a rifle angled through the window of a van,<br />aimed at any head smooth as the next one that steps<br /><br />out on a veranda, out of a building; that stoops<br />momentarily to tie a shoelace, to fumble for car keys.<br /><br />Now the news every day is filled with how little<br />it takes to ignite the blunt wick of fear.<br /><br />Late in the year, the body’s fat thickens like tallow.<br />Ungathered fruit redden and fall in the yard,<br /><br />and the afternoons descend a little faster toward night.<br />Who can blame the one who becomes tired of the brooding<br /><br />darkness, who wants to open the window and move<br />toward the leaves’ quick gesturings, to see what voice<br /><br />repeats her name in a way she has not heard<br />since childhood, to discover which room in her body<br /><br />houses the accidental sound of a tuning fork<br />struck and echoing in the middle of her life.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">- Trill and Mordent by <a href="http://luisaigloria.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Luisa Igloria</span></a>, September 2005<br /></div><br /></blockquote>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-73036972313093279502008-08-21T19:35:00.001-07:002008-08-21T19:42:14.408-07:00On the 22nd Death Anniversary of Ninoy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.pcij.org/edsa20/cory-aquino.html"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7uECh850slIKB0tWcvRCz86bPkA5zc8Z0qAYs3VvNe4LTnm8S9OSkwFqx4w-vYI7rCaUIPGaUGss7pqo-xH_Ucmb3hjb1nbNEFJ3rHVXTDNRp02hGEF6dgdZSWeiCklwK2uDYIzHkb0/s320/cory-aquino.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237166249699970418" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote>"Alam nyo po, tuwing ginugunita ang kamatayan ni Ninoy, naghahalo sa loob ko ang sari-saring damdamin.<br /><br />Sa isang dako, siyempre, nalulungkot ako, una, dahil wala na siya sa piling naming mag-anak at, pangalawa, dahil hanggang ngayon ay di pa natin natatanggap ang ganap na katarungan hinggil sa pagpaslang kay Ninoy.<br /><br />Sa kabilang dako, napapangiti ako dahil, tuwing sumasapit ang araw na ito, may pagkakataon akong bulungan muli ang aking palabirong asawa: “Ninoy, naisahan mo talaga ako!” Basta umakyat na lamang siya sa langit at pinaubaya niya sa akin di lamang ang pagpapalaki ng aming mga anak kundi pati na rin ang kanyang di-natapos na misyon para sa ating bayan.<br /><br />Higit sa lahat, napupuno ako ng galak at inspirasyon dahil sa araw na ito noong 1983 napukaw ang damdamin ng mga Pilipino—at ito’y unti-unting umuusbong bilang People Power."</blockquote><br /><br /><br /><blockquote>"Moving forward, I appeal to banks, corporations and foundations, civic organizations, religious groups and civil society, and all patriotic Filipinos to invest in our people especially those who in spite of their poverty continue to pursue enterprising ventures to confront their problems and difficulties. In memory of Ninoy’s martyrdom, I pledge to continue to promote People Power and harness our collective support for this key strategic endeavor in our common fight to eventually conquer poverty."</blockquote><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">- Speech delivered by former <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino</span>,<br />Manila Memorial Park. August 21, 2005<br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-36156516568716650012008-08-21T19:18:00.002-07:002008-08-21T19:30:14.178-07:00Ninoy Aquino: A Hero For All Seasons<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6aXTzHL9m_KRjxq4I5K2vRIEvvJAr1SgNloZst6Yrz1JNchQOXRZSnrcYArwVLl6Ln_qs7mW4_6_eiA8spBe5ZXOrKRfkg1WvnmllZLPtNfGI1Nsj7hc6RPh4piwqcV1HFKxr0C-Mb0/s1600-h/benigno_ninoyaquino.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 127px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6aXTzHL9m_KRjxq4I5K2vRIEvvJAr1SgNloZst6Yrz1JNchQOXRZSnrcYArwVLl6Ln_qs7mW4_6_eiA8spBe5ZXOrKRfkg1WvnmllZLPtNfGI1Nsj7hc6RPh4piwqcV1HFKxr0C-Mb0/s400/benigno_ninoyaquino.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237162705784986546" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote>"The shot reverberated throughout the country but instead of scaring the people with the awesome display of martial law power, it freed them from their lethargic acceptance of martial rule and roused them to a fever-pitch revulsion of it.<br /><br />At Ninoy’s wake, thousands of people from all segments of society – the rich, the poor, men, women, and children – paid him their last respects. And 10 days later, more two million people walked 12 hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. beside his bier to escort him to his final resting place or watched from the sidewalks more in anger than in sadness at what they thought was a senseless sacrifice of the life of a man who was destined for greatness."</blockquote><br /><br /><br /><blockquote>"But was Ninoy a hero made or was he hero born?<br /><br />The question may sound academic but it has a bearing on whether or not Ninoy deserves the accolades that he has been receiving from our people since 1986 when martial law was finally uprooted from the land.<br /><br />Skeptics probably entertain the view that setting aside August 21 of every year is an example of an undue honor for the man who would be hero.<br /><br />I beg to disagree. It is not the setting aside of August 21 to commemorate the day of Ninoy’s assassination every year that makes him a hero. To belabour the point, it is rather the sum of his selfless deeds that makes him so and gives meaning to August 21 as a celebratory occasion for the people to remind ourselves of the meaning of his life and especially of his epic death."</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote><br />"Despite its inherently evil connotations, Ninoy’s assassination - as the Fates had decreed it – was, thus, a good thing for the Philippine society as a whole.<br /><br />For as the philosopher Jean Baudrillard asked, “What is a society without a heroic dimension?”<br /><br />Ninoy Aquino offered his life to answer the question and in the process proved the sceptics wrong. He also showed that he was right along with those of us who believed in our people: that indeed, the Filipino was worth dying for."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">-Privilege Statement of <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Sen. Nene Pimentel</span> at the Senate<br />August 13, 2008</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-86988367284004405782008-07-25T22:55:00.000-07:002008-08-21T19:43:59.502-07:00The Filipino-American Kitchen: Traditional Recipes, Contemporary Flavors<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804838364?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0804838364"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibq5sE-KrtbTBmxw_35xwBqGetWXR8zQ8hpeSZA1lR6QgebippR7p8Q7ukbJt-j0hBaqCQDjFh_WCkzUi3iA69PpWSYsBNDrO3hWfEALIKKnPVe34m-hkzSMTO2a7Xquyo9EhEcURbD4g/s320/Filipino-American_Kitchen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227199629302285458" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804838364?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0804838364">The Filipino-American Kitchen: Traditional Recipes, Contemporary Flavors</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0804838364" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" width="1" height="1" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><blockquote>"How do you prepare yourself and your kitchen for a Filipino meal? Naturally you start with the building blocks; the sauce, stocks, flavor bases that form the backbone of a cuisine... A Filipino meal is hardly complete without an array of potent and vibrant dipping sauces (<span style="font-style: italic;">sawsawan</span>), which add zest and balance to each bite..."<br /><br /></blockquote><blockquote>"Filipinos are vinegar junkies, in fact,vinegar tops the seasoning hierarchy as number three, after salt (soy or fish sauce are salt equivalents) and black pepper as a way of simultaneously flavoring and preserving many cooked and uncooked foods..."</blockquote><blockquote><br />"With over seven thousand islands making up the Philippine Archipelago, the seas surrounding the islands are the veins through which the lifeblood of the Philippines flows. It is only natural that seafood plays a primary role in the Filipino diet and is enjoyed with zeal and creativity..."</blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Jennifer M. Aranas</span> (Author), <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Brian Briggs</span> (Author), <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Michael Lande</span> (Author)<br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-82081126386465962008-07-18T13:58:00.000-07:002008-07-18T16:03:02.001-07:00Oscar B. Tan: "Like Wine in the River, Like Citizens of the World"<blockquote>"As for me, I come from the Philippines , a former American colony best known for Imelda Marcos’s shoe collection. I remember being a six-year old watching my parents walk out of our house to join the crowds gathering to depose the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and form human walls against tanks. I remember being a twenty-year old in a different crowd deposing a different but equally corrupt president."</blockquote><br /><blockquote>"I cannot deny that our generation’s issues will be complex, but I can guarantee that they will never be abstract, not after having a classmate who was an Israeli army drill sergeant, not after having a Chinese classmate with a Taiwanese girlfriend, nor after having a classmate chased by gunmen out of Afghanistan . In fact, when George W. Bush’s speechwriter visited, my Iranian classmate introduced himself, 'Hi, I’m from an Axis of Evil country.' "<br /></blockquote><br /><blockquote>"Friends, my most uplifting thought this year has been that the more we learn about each other, the more we realize that we are all alike, and the more we inspire each other to realize our most heartfelt yearnings."<br /><br /><br />"How do a mere 700 change the world, even with overpriced Harvard diplomas? Before a great battle in China ’s Spring and Autumn Period, the legendary King Gou Jian of Yue was presented with fine wine. He ordered his troops to stand beside a river, and poured the wine into it. He ordered them to drink from the river and share his gift. A bottle of wine cannot flavor a river, but the gesture so emboldened his army that they won a great victory. We of the Class of 2007 shall flavor this earth, whether we be vodka, wine, champagne, pisco sour, pina colada, caipirinha, tequila, sake, jagermeister, raki, Irish stout, Ugandan Warabi, or Philippine lambanog.<br /></blockquote><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Oscar Franklin Barcelona Tan</span>,<br />Harvard Law School 2007 Student Commencement Address<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">[ <a href="http://tataypepes.com/2008/07/like-wine-in-the-river-like-citizens-of-the-world/">Read the entire graduation speech</a>. ]<br /></div></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-90574378084105118722008-07-03T00:18:00.000-07:002008-08-21T19:44:51.304-07:00Philippines: a Quick guide to Customs and Etiquette (Culture Smart)<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857333179?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1857333179"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1-oTfivG8ASmK5i3MFTgrLtBQzSKoaXpovWy7LdkIVi3A7liJFqwaiNIW3me_ahOxi10-k6waSgKpc2bSTMoIrxejm8fh7L4SacwHDAqGqJHN5P_heAJA5G3D74n6rElH1t2NHmT1_Q/s400/culturesmart.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218685468398909058" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857333179?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1857333179">Philippines - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1857333179" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" width="1" height="1" /><br /></div><blockquote><br />"Filipinos don't need an excuse to have a party, but they welcome the opportunity to celebrate a variety of occassions, a number of which have come through American influence."</blockquote><br /><blockquote>"A Filipino's sense of self is derived from his or her family: "I am who I am because of my family; their success is my success, and my shame is their shame..." The Family (pamilya) is the most important social unit in the Philippines, a core value, and the ultimate safety net. A Filipino would find it almost impossible to refuse family requests or ignore family obligations."</blockquote><br /><blockquote>"Airports in the Philippines are always crowded with well-wishers so such extent that at Manila International Airport only passengers are allowed to enter the terminal. Employees prefer to incur the ire of their boss rather than miss going to the airport to say good-bye to a relative who is leaving the country to work abroad. it is a recognition of the sacrifice, a cementing of the relationship, a giving of face, and a tacit way of saying, "when I am in need, I may call on you."</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote>-Philippines - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!) by <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Graham Colin-Jones, Yvonne Colin-Jones</span>, Published in 2004 in Great Britain by Kuperard</blockquote></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-71523504297660274152008-06-24T23:56:00.000-07:002008-06-25T00:11:26.666-07:00The Filipino Writer in English<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.globalpinoy.com/ch/ch_nationalartists_sub.php?name=Francisco%20Arcellana&category=Literature"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPso-V3Tlwucufb8ho9armCr_UHXJZs5cxHKYfrnfmInSkmToU9D-ZRAsmhn_wvVNWFakKYNKuXHo1cSWR_XpPs3hVlD2nthNPd79nGEbVu-TfFSirIjzX5NWmp9J-wdOvLFL-cBw6iEk/s400/FranciscoArcellana.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215711930504631634" border="0" /></a><blockquote>(By the thirties) "The Filipino writer in English may be said to have mastered the language well enough to enable him to observe the life around him without the language interfering... he felt he had sufficient control of it to be able to look at his material with a clear vision, unobstructed by language only partially possessed."</blockquote><blockquote>"The writer is a writer exactly because he sees with language, not just with his eyes: only that has been which has been verbalized. The harsh truth is that the writer is a writer exactly because he lives with words: until experience is transfigured into words, it is not experience."</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote>-<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Francisco Arcellana</span>, Period of Emergence: The Short Story<br />Hailed as a National Artist of the Philippines for Literature in 1990.<br /></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This short biography is lifted from the: <a href="http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca/org-awards/literature/francisco_arcellana.php">Philippine National Commission For Culture and the Arts</a> (NCAA) website.<br /><br />Francisco Arcellana, writer, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher, is one of the most important progenitors of the modern Filipino short story in English. He pioneered the development of the short story as a lyrical prose-poetic form... Arcellana's published books are Selected Stories (1962), Poetry and Politics: The State of Original Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977), The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990).<br /><br />Some of his short stories are Frankie, The Man Who Would Be Poe, Death in a Factory, Lina, A Clown Remembers, Divided by Two, and his poems being The Other Woman, This Being the Third Poem This Poem is for Mathilda, To Touch You and I Touched Her, among others.<br /></div></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-56978257508076815622008-06-16T22:33:00.000-07:002008-06-16T23:22:53.236-07:00On Tubbataha Reef Marine Park<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tubbatahareef.org/main/gallery"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4feLP3OQ-zq-7tyN-E-voEbG97OdjBXU-NmpSBiHMR9L97UrGxRk0W-6HUmERp4Rcqbt_GstVpLyXyIQMrpjT1EVSMou9cbYV-zEgSAEwNDtr2KzA_BZci9KLrEC2o6FbUaez0S3kU0w/s320/tubbataha_reef.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212720262364122674" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Photography by: Stewart Sy</span><br /></div><blockquote><br />"The Tubbataha Reef Marine Park covers 33,200 ha, including the North and South Reefs. It is a unique example of an atoll reef with a very high density of marine species; the North Islet serveing as a nesting site for birds and marine turtles. The site is an excellent example of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100-m perpendicular wall, extensive lagoons and two coral islands."</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote>- <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/653"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">UNESCO</span></a>, 1993</blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In 7-07-2007, New Open World Foundation spearheaded a historic nature campaign to revive love of nature and heritage from all around the world and in doing so may bring forth peace in essence. The New 7 Wonder of the World has already been announced based from over 100 million votes worldwide.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuCfjtvevjqKoH8SkuJvtrl7-XIBofbxmPN0_4Om0tBZQFCkZ0vDoyfJUZ2fFbGgmzd4TgDgnvYivIG5Ktw-2LJRbhd18BVsJnkR2gYk6-Bwcl-S9jY5SGfnseti3i6M9ZSRV0SFVNeU/s1600-h/7wonders.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuCfjtvevjqKoH8SkuJvtrl7-XIBofbxmPN0_4Om0tBZQFCkZ0vDoyfJUZ2fFbGgmzd4TgDgnvYivIG5Ktw-2LJRbhd18BVsJnkR2gYk6-Bwcl-S9jY5SGfnseti3i6M9ZSRV0SFVNeU/s320/7wonders.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212728611657588274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/index/"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0cCdfachZWQWDd96PF8dcrTKHp6FMQAXFdpNJaiHHUgsjPxvgicbOgqXYq0vzgftFn1bMYWYIp8JqozH6jjg9AQOiLw6eYADOc7am2uooroDIVhXt1Q-uV7jxTVrH6Sd2KhMidbgaVo/s320/vote.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212731945374543202" border="0" /></a><br />The world is now looking for the <a href="http://www.new7wonders.com/classic/en/index/">New 7 Wonders of Nature</a> (N7W). As of June 17, 2008- The Tubbataha Reef ranks number 2 in the nominations and three more Philippine sites are included on the Top 10 namely: Chocolate hills, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and Mayon Volcano. However, the voting is still ongoing thru December 31,2008. Until such time, the panel will announce the Top 21 finalists.<br /><br />From January 2009 up to the Summer of 2010, a whole new voting will progress, then the announcement of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.<br /><br />To be on the list isn't easy. It's a long arduous process and since it is a dynamic live ranking, we are never too secure that the Philippines will be included on the Final 21 and into the final 7. That's why we strongly encourage everyone, every Filipino and Filipino at heart to vote for Tubbataha reef and the three other sites that are already on the Top 10. Help us spread the word! <a href="http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/">Pitch in your vote today</a>!<br /></div><br /><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-27319937002209997582008-06-08T14:46:00.000-07:002008-06-08T15:26:08.588-07:00On Human Rights<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOPgEmdb-ee_rS1Tobz_1DMy-dnnyeKtJUnZxadG0K5_rpssae-4frs32JpSK7F4ti-pZQMkF2gi4UwRqlYryi10fa2uF6bveO6zk1Gystl1_8cx_7kSK_3TMdDAHqlhHaqAgZX6osaI/s1600-h/stop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOPgEmdb-ee_rS1Tobz_1DMy-dnnyeKtJUnZxadG0K5_rpssae-4frs32JpSK7F4ti-pZQMkF2gi4UwRqlYryi10fa2uF6bveO6zk1Gystl1_8cx_7kSK_3TMdDAHqlhHaqAgZX6osaI/s320/stop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209640057481785874" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote>"The Philippine human rights situation in 2005 can be characterized by the wanton use of repression and state terror by a scandal-rocked President desperately clinging to power in the face of the people's rejection."<br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">- <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://stopthekillings.org/stknpv1/?q=node/3">KARAPATAN</a></span><br /></div><br /><br /><br />"Human rights are highly mutable, kaleidoscopic even, and they depend for their special character on the character of the community which recognizes, enforces, and needs them to remain visible."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"></span><br /></div><blockquote><br />"In the Philippines, the concept of human rights can be said to be deeply rooted in its history and in the ever enriching and enriched culture of Filipino society."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Andres Cristobal Cruz</span>, Artist, Writer</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><br /></blockquote></div><blockquote></blockquote><br /></div><blockquote></blockquote></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-86492776314178199312008-06-03T12:59:00.000-07:002008-08-21T19:45:17.854-07:00The Tale of Juliet<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0973827904?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0973827904"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGxnurB2MoU3F_Jnbrr_86W0_P46WGae7gH867lH_oZxWf43DBVGkhJoFPQApZluT_20QCG79k8K1vlWJKBrYywjvFrU-7Zt3H1Q2eDhSW4ON9IOkGTNCOF6rf4wpsMMouHBhDhFjt6A/s320/tale_of_juliet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207749511014503922" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0973827904?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0973827904">The Tale of Juliet: You Have the Power to Change Your Life</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0973827904" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" width="1" height="1" /><br /></div><br /><blockquote>"It's amazing what happens when we pay attention to the opportunities presented to us in life... People come and go in our lives, but they all bring gifts, insights and hints about our higher purpose here on earth."</blockquote><blockquote>"I am so grateful that I had a humbling experience as a child, so that I now know that the strength of vision, a power of prayer, a burning desire and unwavering determination can change the course of one’s life. I am able to proudly tell the world that dreams do come true. Mine did, and yours can too."</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote>-<a href="http://www.thetaleofjuliet.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Jhet Torcelino-van Ruyven</span></a>, Author and motivational speaker<br /></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="style52"></span></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-60446038184769381872008-05-26T22:32:00.000-07:002008-08-21T19:45:42.051-07:00On Manila, Philippines<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1741042895?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1741042895"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZoA3MQOvR7aiMPmGduh_weZx8oXvCuercFdPiMKxhK9FhqHj2FD4abHA_4HPS9M5eJHZuvkheJjgN5B64GLNJGyYe__-Q-jMEUZ__DkjqfVPztTplP8wim1mpxrU-IaoyyUTJEbluqA/s400/philippines_lonelyplanet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204926802258006082" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1741042895?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1741042895">Philippines (Country Guide)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1741042895" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" width="1" height="1" /><br /></div><br /><blockquote>"It's a pity that Manila is often disparaged, as there's much more here to like. For one, all the adjectives often used to describe the Philippines- jovial, laid back, casual, corrupt, shambolic, earnest and more are on display here more than anywhere else in the country. It's a truly teeming metropolis that gets bigger each day, both in population, with people pouring in from the hinterlands, and size, as new developments in all directions swallow up villages and rice fields... Rather than seeing Manila as an amorphous mass, focus instead on enjoying its individual areas, and you will start to get a feel for the greater Manila which really is a sum of its parts."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Philippines (Country Guide)</span> a Lonely Planet Book by Chris Rowthorn, Greg Bloom, Michael Grosberg, Ryan Ver Berkmoes</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">Manila Population: about 14 million<br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-74979499420412483492008-05-23T17:42:00.000-07:002008-05-23T18:12:35.245-07:00Alex Tizon: On Being Prepared<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosJfPJFJwhDjRSsmi5UmvbN5q0tcsU5sno7ic1za0LypUvGchitPGG-4OUrsbuViQvzXaM4xxGkD14O3rVkSNLrqda9gnifes4K7Mri-GYiK1J0c1U2tBbnkxgIfwLVxBITsla7muqzY/s1600-h/alextizon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosJfPJFJwhDjRSsmi5UmvbN5q0tcsU5sno7ic1za0LypUvGchitPGG-4OUrsbuViQvzXaM4xxGkD14O3rVkSNLrqda9gnifes4K7Mri-GYiK1J0c1U2tBbnkxgIfwLVxBITsla7muqzY/s400/alextizon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203745866640232498" border="0" /></a><blockquote><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">"It pays to be prepared, to be as good as you can be in your field, because you never know when luck or opportunity or grace or whatever you want to call it may come knocking. It pays to be up to the task of answering the call in full riot gear -- that is, fully prepared."<br /></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">-<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Tomas Alex Tizon</span>, Filipino-American Journalist</span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">"</span><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Tomas Alex Tizon, a national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, a staff writer at The Seattle Times, a stringer for Newsweek and a contributor to "60 Minutes." </span><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">At the Seattle Times, he and two colleagues won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in investigative journalism for a five-part series on fraud in the federal Indian housing program. He worked as lead writer on a series about the Washington, D.C., sniper that was a 2003 Pulitzer finalist in deadline reporting."<br /></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">-<a href="http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/narrative/digest/resources/bios/tizon-ta.html">Nieman Narrative Digest</a></span></div></blockquote></div><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/narrative/digest/resources/bios/tizon-ta.html"></a></span><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-12520193763040549112008-05-20T11:52:00.000-07:002008-05-20T12:03:54.227-07:00Banaue Rice Terraces: Eight Wonder of the World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHr4V42dFpmXQufEr9bmRoyauZC6MD720GDohs6sWZO9S46U0LGp_zXjymlwwxT5kxy2JbaF0SxA0f9HivB-KZawfliHX-RZ7Hag_gJ0wK0XINeUsk7taR75fRHMVZZSEp4uh99Qiz-0U/s1600-h/Banaue_Rice_Terraces.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHr4V42dFpmXQufEr9bmRoyauZC6MD720GDohs6sWZO9S46U0LGp_zXjymlwwxT5kxy2JbaF0SxA0f9HivB-KZawfliHX-RZ7Hag_gJ0wK0XINeUsk7taR75fRHMVZZSEp4uh99Qiz-0U/s400/Banaue_Rice_Terraces.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202537247885462418" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote>"For 2,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountains. The fruit of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and the environment."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization</span> <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/722/">(UNESCO)</a> World Heritage, 1995</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><br />Update: Since 2001, it has been on the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=86">DANGER</a> list of <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?CID=182#Article11.4">UNESCO</a>.adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-31242348851551576352008-05-18T13:28:00.000-07:002008-08-21T19:50:41.976-07:00On Returning "Home"<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/029595695X?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=029595695X"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZnw-KoTt2e_gKehVjUrFcPR3WpV2HveBaK9KkNAW3qSFbZmFpzd4NWFEzDZn7lwb1N6BP_sLR2h848x9_Z1fw2J1tuj_PFR3jSyMSgYT0UTd-E0oX_4yngMBx23FfblRldERO5_0NmpY/s320/scentofapples.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201818446453771122" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/029595695X?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=029595695X">Scent of Apples: A Collection of Stories</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=029595695X" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" width="1" height="1" /><br /></div><blockquote>"All exiles want to go home. Many of the old Filipinos in the United States, never return, but in their imagination they make the journey a thousand times, taking the slowest boats because in their dreamworld time is not as urgent as actual time passing, quicker than arrow, kneading their flesh, crying on their bones. Some fool themselves into thinking theirs is a voluntary exile, but it is not. The ones who stay here to die know this best."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Bienvenido N. Santos</span>, Author, (Preface: Scent of Apples, 1997)<br /></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-36484185142435189272008-05-17T16:30:00.000-07:002008-07-03T00:27:40.870-07:00With Emphasis on the Word "Foreign"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBR90AFkxOAUv_7sPDbUf_-HkI0HDg7pS-YVOEBabYr9z10W2diDhtfTbkRSP2OrK2gy_5hGtaW6SHn7qwq7AeFV87MKpni71-XB2muB0oCx3nG2QWZcqED41y0c8U4wvphclMa2i6z0/s1600-h/heyjoe.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBR90AFkxOAUv_7sPDbUf_-HkI0HDg7pS-YVOEBabYr9z10W2diDhtfTbkRSP2OrK2gy_5hGtaW6SHn7qwq7AeFV87MKpni71-XB2muB0oCx3nG2QWZcqED41y0c8U4wvphclMa2i6z0/s400/heyjoe.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201508225260948322" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote>"It never fails. One minute I'm cruising along thinking everything in the Philippines is "normal." Normal as in, it's just like where I come from; the fancy cars, the cable TV, the modern malls, the English speaking populace, the English language newspapers, the proliferation of American schlock like fast food joints and cheesy Hollywood action movies. I'm lulled into a sense of complacency, of thinking that I'm back home living a life no different than I used to in the boring suburban bedroom community of Allentown, Pennsylvania where I grew up. Then, like a snap of the fingers, something comes up, bites me in the butt and says in a deep authoritative voice, "Yessiree son, you are definitely in a third world country, a very foreign land, with emphasis squarely on the word "foreign!"</blockquote> <div style="text-align: right;"><blockquote>- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Ted Lerner</span>, Columnist, media personality (an American who has made the Philippines his home since 1994)</blockquote></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=3935508093&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr&npa=1" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-20780349193936483712008-05-13T01:12:00.000-07:002008-08-21T19:46:24.670-07:00Carlos P. Romulo: I Walk With Heroes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000EEUHW?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000EEUHW"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_j2AlNeuqCBM1z7mdjJQABtmnQVTD0oYpTwqIWjI-Aei30VISpt3YjDPvUejK53qystvpARABU8sLFtP5t5U9LMLi2p7aOf9a0Mv2LdFSFdYeWSwcnznatOGnLCeR_F29BLctgRlx6mk/s200/walkwithheroes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199911425139772210" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000EEUHW?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000EEUHW">I Walked With Heroes</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000EEUHW" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" width="1" height="1" /><br /></div><blockquote>"Other lives may find their happiest moments infiltrated with tragedy, and their proudest touched with comedy."</blockquote> <div style="text-align: center;">------ o ------<br /></div><blockquote>"Let us teach our people again to be proud that they are Filipinos. Let us teach them to realize anew that being a Filipino means having as rich and noble a heritage of language, culture, patriotism and heroic deeds as any nation on earth. Let us teach a steadfast faith in Divine Providence, a stable family institution, the unhampered enjoyment of civil liberties, the advantages of constitutional government, the potentials of a rich and spacious land." </blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">------ o ------<br /></div><blockquote>"A strengthened national spirit can provide the motive power to rise our people from the depths and... pour new life and vigor in the national system.<br /></blockquote><blockquote>The reinvigoration of the national spirit must take place in the grass roots, in every city, town and barrio in the Philippines, and it must start among our own people... To be a worthy citizen of the world one must first prove himself to be a good Filipino."</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">------ o ------<br /></div><blockquote>"Our world is constantly in change and the great change is always toward freedom. When we speak of freedom we speak of equality. Nations will rise and fall but equality remains the ideal."<br /></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">------ o ------</div><blockquote>"I am a molecule adrift in a mighty ocean, but I see in my life the molecules struggling for its full place. I have seen my struggle duplicated a billion fold, not only in the Philippines, but in Asia and Africa, yes, even here in America. The universal aim is to achieve respect for the entire human race, not for the dominant few."</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">------ o ------<br /></div><blockquote>"We inch forward like worms dragging in the dust. But the spark is within us all. I have seen it everywhere in our world and I have seen its recognition increase. The worth of the human soul is undergoing a new evaluation, and not by color or creed... I have known heroes old and young, I have seen them live and die. I know more in the process of growing, and their young brave face are lifted in hope. When the world looks dark we must remember them, for we have need of them always, and by their lives they make the rest of our human race worth-while."</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">------ o ------<br /></div><blockquote>"There is always promise of the interesting tomorrow."</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">------ o ------</div><blockquote>"All in all, it is a good life we are living, in a good world filled with good friends."</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Carlos P. Romulo</span> (14 January 1899-15 December 1985), Filipino Diplomat, politician, author, Pulitzer Prize winner; excerpts from the autobiographical book <span style="font-style: italic;">I walked with Heroes</span>, 1961<br /></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-185881378198799992008-05-12T11:15:00.000-07:002008-08-21T19:49:59.569-07:00On Maximo M. Kalaw, The Case for the Filipinos<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000863YU4?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000863YU4"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3UqDh9L_Udp_sOkzjyCh82Y9CKNB5r-pf3NPpmBgLPFF64jQD82oPWJiWGZjZDR_Tz5F-ime88PNy1S6Fjs6hsqcLvbkSqTIRvcY1MWELdV-mp8BNyEL_6dAac3bKQJd-OYBNMxHTMQ/s200/maximokalaw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199678637912328994" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000863YU4?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000863YU4">The Case for the Filipinos</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwxa0ac2-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000863YU4" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;" border="0" width="1" height="1" /><br /></div><blockquote>"Maximo M. Kalaw was born at Lipa, Batangas Province, Philippine Islands, in 1891. He attended the public schools of his native town, and later came to Manila where he entered the University of the Philippines. He is distinctly a product of the American system of education established in the Islands. In his second year at the University of the Philippines, he became editor-in- chief of the " The College Folio "— the University magazine. His management of this journal exhibited such marked ability as to attract attention.<br /><br />He came with the writer to Washington in 1911 as private secretary and manager of "The Filipino People" devoted to the cause of Philippine independence. He has, therefore, been connected with the Philippine independence movement in the United States for five years. He was graduated in law at Georgetown University in 1914.<br /><br />In 1912 he addressed the annual session of the Lake Mohonk Conference of the Indian and Other Dependent Peoples, Mohonk Lake, New York, and his presentation of the cause of his people elicited such favorable attention as to call forth favorable comment even from the opposition newspapers.<br /><br />The " Boston Transcript," one of the most persistent enemies of Philippine freedom, had this to say of Mr. Kalaw's speech:"</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>"This youth delivered an oration — it was not a speech — of such force and beauty of expression as has seldom fallen upon the ears of a Mohonk audience. He advocated independence for his people; he said they were all for it; he complimented our work and sacrifices, but he craved that boon of liberty. At the conclusion of his speech the applause was long continued. In contrast with the ' set speeches ' of many American travelers in the Islands this effort of the native orator carried refreshing frankness and force. Certainly, if the Islands can furnish such men to plead for them, the day of their liberty is not far distant."</blockquote></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">President Manuel L. Quezon</span>, Introduction, The Case for the Filipinos, 1916</div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><blockquote></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">--------- 0 --------<br /></div><blockquote>To my comrades, the rising generation of Filipinos, who, though beneficiaries of an alien government, have nobly kept faith with their forefathers.<br /><div style="text-align: right;">-<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Maximo M. Kalaw</span>, Author and Lawyer,<br />(Dedication page) The Case for the Filipinos, 1916</div></blockquote>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-19798335717944968622008-05-10T21:15:00.000-07:002008-05-10T21:49:47.895-07:00On Nationalism<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TBY36rjDLCCURaZ1Oeo03gYQXwmtV0bigKCY2bRmhCfRmHQYXQpHkeARxWdEvSULV4-NlSg8JAIzRN9mKPJdFZ4MgBP_LNYD9q2bsr2stPjjMo0HbtHRxECYjQYOxfXmPnMc1MEZQs0/s1600-h/Ninoy_Aquino.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TBY36rjDLCCURaZ1Oeo03gYQXwmtV0bigKCY2bRmhCfRmHQYXQpHkeARxWdEvSULV4-NlSg8JAIzRN9mKPJdFZ4MgBP_LNYD9q2bsr2stPjjMo0HbtHRxECYjQYOxfXmPnMc1MEZQs0/s200/Ninoy_Aquino.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198977783245385474" border="0" /></a><blockquote>"We must transcend our petty selves, forget our hurts and bitterness, cast aside thought of revenge, and let sanity, reason, and above all, love of country prevail during our gravest hour."</blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.</span>, Senator and modern day Filipino hero (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983)<br /></div></blockquote>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-857810513728802202.post-43763833176383321352008-05-09T12:15:00.000-07:002008-05-09T12:27:12.418-07:00On Jeepneys<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lLTQSBNycR0fEtBNly5F-W6TnrWiP1BD-16rFnWW2X7m9OFjjoy1dMvP-EsOQAoSV6kBVp4lIpopdznwpO2TkXvDVItBXHkCLqH269U6rbjZQLyGx4Sx9hHKPzHvjRpFK3VusBk1ezw/s1600-h/michael_palin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lLTQSBNycR0fEtBNly5F-W6TnrWiP1BD-16rFnWW2X7m9OFjjoy1dMvP-EsOQAoSV6kBVp4lIpopdznwpO2TkXvDVItBXHkCLqH269U6rbjZQLyGx4Sx9hHKPzHvjRpFK3VusBk1ezw/s200/michael_palin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198461291953204978" border="0" /></a></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">"You don't have to be long in the country to appreciate that the jeepney expresses the Filipino spirit: emotional, exuberant and celebratory, endearing and unwary."<br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">- <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Michael Palin</span>, English comedian, Travel Author, Actor, Writer</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;">photo credit: <a href="http://viewimages.com">View Images.com</a></span><br /></div></div>adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00094581522642383972noreply@blogger.com0