Realidades de la vida (Realities of life)

Me gustaría compartir con ustedes estas cómicas, pero verdaderas realidades de la vida y no agregar una sola palabra, pues todas son autoexplicativas.
Espero que se diviertan identificando la etapa(escena) o fase donde se encuentran y al mismo tiempo aceptando la realidad de ello.
¡Disfrute!

I would like to share with you this comical, yet true realities of life and will not add a single word as they are all self-explanatory.
I hope you will have fun identifying the stage or phase you are in and at the same time accepting the reality of it.
Enjoy!

More brainy issues than Kris-James brouhaha

James Yap and Kris Aquino

Drama, basketball, gossip.

These are the nonsensical combination of entertainments that make Filipinos tick.

Any entertainment genre that evokes sadness and sympathy almost always generates empathy from the viewing, hearing and reading public. Add Kris Aquino in there and Filipinos cry with her, which is what she does best.

Basketball is the Filipino’s favorite sport that makes people crazy rooting for their teams and players – their idols. One darling of the court is James Yap.

Mix the two personalities together and what you get is plenty of gossip for media to print that has been made a pastime for Filipinos.

Since they got married in 2005 and until today, after having separated in 2010, Kris and James’ marital woes continue to be a great fodder for Philippine media, much to the enjoyment and pleasure of gossip-hungry/gossip loving Filipinos.

But then can you blame media if it is what sells newspapers and what enlarges listeners and viewership?

The Chiz Escudero-HeartEvangelista issue is another no-brainer except that the man – a senator of the realm that feels more like a celebrity than a public servant – has presidential ambition that may not be good for the country and we should all be aware of his repulsive behavior before we all make the serious mistake of sending another Erap to Malacañang.

Since it is election season, we hope media could focus more on relevant, brainy issues relative to the interest of the nation involving the many problems – economic, environmental, social, educational, political, foreign relations, etc., – instead of highlighting lives of showbiz personalities that do not have an impact on the well being of this country.

Can we not all get serious for once and do things right with media publishing or reporting international news that matters to us and national events, especially that which concern words and deeds of candidates for national elective positions, so we may know who is doing and talking sense and can make this country move forward and who are those pretending to make a difference, but in reality are political mercenaries with shady characters, selfish interests and doubtful intentions.

Sen. Escudero’s notoriety

Sen. Chiz Escudero with fiancée actress Heart Evangelista

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero is very much in the news today for the wrong reasons.

His love affair with actress Heart Evangelista is getting some ominous flak from the latter’s parents that do not bode well for his political future.

Chiz may be doing well in surveys as a senatorial candidate for the mid-term elections in May 2013, but definitely the bickering he has with the parents of Heart – Cecile and Rey Ongpauco – is not helping paint a wholesome image of his persona.

The Ongpaucos do not approve the relationship that Chiz has with their daughter simply because they know the negative side of the senator – past and present – and all they want is to protect their youngest child whom they love so much.

Consider the following factors being mentioned as the reason why the brass senator is unacceptable to them:

1. Religious Reason: Chiz obviously has a personality defect. His wife, with whom he has two children, left him for reasons that have been the talk of Metro Manila. Chiz and his wife obtained a civil annulment. Thus, under the rules of the Catholic church to which my family belongs, Chiz is disqualified to remarry, unless he obtains a Church annulment.

2. Personality Problem: Chiz is surrounded by unsavory gossip which has already reached social media. The cause of his annulment and his peculiar habits are swirling over his head, and he has never bothered to explain himself. He projects himself as a wholesome candidate, but we know better. We challenge Chiz to stop dictating to our daughter. Stop hiding behind the skirts of Heart and stop using her as an armor to shield yourself from very serious questions about your character and personality.

3. Alcoholic: The first time Chiz visited our home, we saw that he was drunk and he smelled of alcohol. The second time he went to our family home, he was again drunk, carrying a bottle of red wine. During both visits, he hardly spoke a respectful word. He sat slumped in a chair with his legs spread outward. He has never formally asked for our daughter’s hand, or explained how he will support her and his wife at the same time.

4. Illusions: According to Heart, Chiz has promised her that he will become President by 2016, and then she will be addressed as ‘First Lady.’ The staff of Chiz sometimes addresses him as Mr. President. This is pure seduction, because we believe Chiz does not stand any chance to become President or Vice-President, owing to his secret character.

Furthermore, he once boasted to Heart that he runs a lucrative law office, and that a multinational is poised to pay his law firm over P200 million a year for lawyering for the multinational. One more boast of Chiz is that he has already the guaranteed financial contribution of a businessman who has been listed among the ten billionaires of the Philippines, but who is under investigation by the Senate. Heart believes all these claims made by her boyfriend, without any evidence.

5. Opportunism: Chiz has virtually moved into the condo unit owned by Heart. He uses her Mercedes Benz at will, particularly during night time, indicative of her own disturbed personality. Heart encourages this behavior from Chiz, as she did with the rest of her prior boyfriends. She has been diagnosed as a needy personality, but she refuses psychiatric treatment.

6. Case vs. Chiz: Because of Heart’s naiveté, I have been compelled to act as her talent manager. We recently signed Heart’s contract with a certain TV channel. Now, Chiz is urging her to have my name removed as talent manager. All the acts of Chiz indicate that his public persona is far different from his real character. My husband and I are in the process of gathering evidence to prove that he is a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality, as suggested by a print columnist.”

Mrs. Ongpauco said they are planning to file a criminal complaint against Sen. Chiz Escudero: “a criminal case for libel, for claiming that he is caught in the middle of a family feud; when the truth is, Chiz is the very source of our family feud.”

What is truly lamentable is that Mrs. Ongpauco also made some unsavory remarks about her daughter, saying: “She does not have the mature mind of someone of that age. She still thinks like a young girl. She is easily swayed by people who prey on her insecurities and lack of confidence. Heart has personality problems, and Chiz, who is also suffering from his own personality problem, is doing his best to confuse her, to the extent of alienating her affections against us. Since he has inveigled Heart to take his side (which she has always done with all of her prior boyfriends, indicating how unstable she is) our family has decided to disown her scandalous behavior.”

To me, writing this blog is not about my interest in knowing how this brouhaha will end up. I really could care less. Every time I see the senator talk I am looking at somebody full of humbug and it almost always makes me puke.

My interest is knowing and letting the public be aware of who Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero is – he who is running for re-election and he who has not mince words about his ambition of running for the presidency sometime in the future – God forbids.

Between Escudero’s words and the Ongpaucos, I don’t even have to blink to say that the latter are more credible and humble, despite their wealth.

Jokes and realities

Sharing some  images of jokes and realities to enliven life once in a while.

Pacquiao’s heartrending defeat

Marquez knocks out Pacquiao in the 6th round

When everybody thought that a decisive win for Manny Pacquiao against Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth boxing encounter will boost the morale of people in Mindanao who are going through trying times after typhoon Pablo wrought havoc on them, what they got instead was another big let-down for their sense of being.

For that matter, the whole country is stunned at the heartrending defeat of Pacquiao whom Marquez sent crashing cold to the canvass by a wicked right.

More shocked, perhaps, was Pacquiao himself, who after being knocked down in the third round came back avenging in the succeeding rounds where on the fifth he caught Marquez with a left hook that sent the Mexican to the floor.

The haymaker that sent the boxer cum politician to la-la-land was so devastating that his body could be seen twitching as he lay face down.

It was a fight that everybody expected to see with both promising that it was going to be war – with the victor standing up.

“He got me good. That’s boxing,” Pacquiao said, admitting he got over confident. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”

But, this is definitely one loss that will do Pacquiao some good if he goes to a quiet place for soul-searching.

Soul-searching is defined as a penetrating examination of one’s motives, convictions, and attitudes.

Until he does this, his celebrity status will not allow him to have his feet planted firmly on the ground. His wealth and popularity is so overwhelming that he thinks what he says and does all the time is acceptable.

That Pacquiao has fallen into a trap set by crafty and exploitative politicians to join politics at the height of his boxing career only shows how naïve he is. Blame it to the honey-cured tongues of the politicians that are using him for their own selfish interest.

Every time Pacquiao is interviewed about his role as a congressman, he always gives a standard answer, which is that he joined politics because he wants to help his countrymen.

There is no doubt he can help, but is this the best and meaningful way he can help the Filipino people?

Pacquiao is a gifted boxer and athlete, but one can’t say that he is a gifted lawmaker.

Pacquiao can be a sports czar in this country and nobody will question his motive, conviction and attitude. Perhaps, with his support, commitment and leadership, sports in this country will excel.

It is not belittling Pacquiao’s educational attainment, for I understand very much his poor beginnings, and I also admire his determination to learn so he can do his best, but entering politics will not make him a learned person. On the contrary it is one corrupting business he got himself involved.

Reminds me instead of what Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said before the students of Far Eastern University that those who are “not educated for voting” are choosing from those who are “not educated for serving.”

Because Pacquiao thinks he is being lionized by the world, that his word now carries weight and he is manifesting it by his new-found religiosity and faith healing performances. He seems to be competing now with Pastor Apollo Quiboloy who claims he is the anointed son of God.

Pacquiao, therefore, should stop being many things to many people, showbiz personality, included.

Pacquiao should start realizing now that he is not gifted in anything else, but boxing.

But, with his heartrending loss against Marquez, even that is put to question now.

Finding his feet back planted on the ground will, no doubt, make Pacquiao concentrate on what he does best for himself and for the Filipino people.

Human toe-garnished cocktail called Sourtoe

 

A man relishing his Sourtoe drink

I had been around long enough and, growing in the Philippines, drank quite a variety of indigenous poor man’s drink that leaves unpleasant, stinky, repulsive taste in your mouth, but I would probably go on drinking these locally, crudely and cheaply manufactured beverages than take a swig of an imported concoction of a drink called Sourtoe, which has as its main attraction a garnishment of a real human toe!

Well, you might think that this anatomical approach of a drink is just a creation – and, yes, it is indeed, because there is a story behind it.

The cocktail, popularly known as Sourtoe, is said to be a remnant of a tradition that continues to this day in a little bar called the Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City at Canada’s Yukon Territory, where a drink is served garnished with a human toe.

The story goes that in 1973, a river boat captain, named Capt. Dick, found a severed big toe preserved in a jar of pickles. During a drunken night with friends, Capt. Dick invented the drink by dropping the toe into a beer glass full of champagne, and coining the accompanying rhyme: “You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow. But the lips have gotta touch the toe.” Ugh!

Today, they say, for only $5, Sourdough Saloon patrons can have a toe added to any alcoholic beverage of their choice.

The question now is: After all these years, are we still talking about the same toe?

Well, not anymore. What happened is that after it had touched around 725 pairs of lips, an overenthusiastic patron accidentally swallowed the original toe in 1980. Since then, replacement toes have come and gone, with locals donating their own digits. One “came by way of a lawn mower accident.”

But, not to worry with hygiene. The toes are pickled in medical alcohol for months then placed in dry salts, so ”there is no issue with the toe,” says Patricia Living, communications director for Yukon Health and Social Services.

Witnesses say that sometimes when the lips touched the toe, vomiting or gagging ensues.  Well, I wouldn’t doubt it.

Writing this is already an ordeal to me!

Amazing young conductor

Would like to share with you this time videos of an this amazing young conductor. Whether Edward Yudenich  is 7 or 8 years old, he is simply a phenomenon that anybody would just like to hug him. I am sure this will keep you glued to your seat and wonder about his brilliance and how he could inspire other talented kids.

Much ado about ‘a little Filipino’ quip by actress

American actress Lucy Liu

I do not understand why some Filipinos are losing sleep over a remark made by “Charlie’s Angels” actress Lucy Liu about the color of our skin during her appearance on “The Late Night Show with David Letterman” last October 11.

When Letterman asked Liu, if she enjoys running indoors or outdoors, she answered, “I run in a machine. It is easier for me. Also, if I get really dark, I’ll start to look a little Filipino. It wouldn’t match.”

So what makes her answer repulsive that it is even described by some as racist?

Why begrudge Liu for her remarks when she is no different from many of our Filipino men and women, and even the third gender, who can’t wait to buy skin whitening products that abound in the market today and internally or externally use it to appear fair-skinned?

Even if hell freezes, Liu, with her family name and the features she has, could never deny that she belongs to the yellow race – the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Burmese, Tibetans – those belonging to the Mongolian race. She may claim gazillion times that she is American, but her looks will always tell her tale.

Filipinos maybe Asians, but I definitely disagree that we belong to the yellow race, unless all of us start developing jaundice!

The only problem with Liu is that she forgot there is such a race as brown race or the Malay race.

It was easier for her to remember the name Filipino than the word brown to describe skin color. It just goes to show that we are all over and known for our complexion.

I don’t think she really meant to defame Filipinos as people with that seemingly scathing remark of being ‘a little Filipino’, if she was to run outdoors and get tanned. In fact, I am pretty sure she also forgot the word ‘tan’ to describe her color tone if and when the sun catches her stepping out to run.

“I am so sorry that my comment was taken out of context, as I would never insult another group or ethnicity,” the actress said when asked to comment about her controversial statement as Letterman’s guest on October 11.

So there you go.

I am sure Liu understands who she is and from whence she comes from. Her apology sounds sincere, too.

So let it be, for crying out loud.

Stop import-export of dolphins

 

It is encouraging to know that Judge Bernelito Fernandez of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court responded favorably to a petition filed by environment and animal welfare groups against the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to stop the re-export of 25 Solomon Island dolphins to Singapore, which are now being held in Ocean Adventure Park in Subic, Philippines.

The group that included the Earth Island Institute (EII)-Philippines, Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Compassion and Responsibility to Animals (CARA) Welfare Philippines, Dolphins Love Freedom Network, Save Philippine Seas, Save Freedom Island Movement, Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, and other activist individuals, pleaded instead that the government return the dolphins back to their home in the Solomon Islands or releasing the dolphins back to their natural habitat.

To the delight of the animal rights advocates, the Judge Fernandez even went a step farther by including in its temporary protection order the ban of importing additional dolphins into the country.

I think this is a very rational and humane decision by the judge that will sit well not only to the group championing animal rights, but more especially to the gentle and highly intelligent creatures of the sea that are caught and contained in a limited space for business and entertainment purposes.

According to reports, since 2008, a total of 25 wild-caught dolphins have been imported by Resorts World Singapore (RWS) into the Philippines from the Solomon Islands despite scientific reports from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) showing that the harvest of wild dolphins from the Solomon Islands may not be sustainable and could further endanger the local population of dolphins in the island nation.

Despite being informed about these scientific studies and the IUCN reports, dolphins were imported into the country several times in 2008, 2009 & 2011.

Petitioners said the re-export of dolphins was in violation of the Wildlife Act (RA 9147) and the commitments of the country under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Treaty. The treaty aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Said dolphins were brought to Ocean Adventure, Subic for training and kept under tight security while the marine park in Singapore is under construction.

 

Cebu’s fabulous dancing inmates

 

For nothing else significant and controversial to write about at the moment, I would just like to share some videos with those who haven’t seen it yet or haven’t even heard yet about Cebu’s dancing inmates. They are truly fabulous, as they are unconventional, coming from a rehabilitation center.

What used to be a program conceptualized by former prison chief, Byron Garcia, of helping inmates stay physically fit and mentally alert, of re-creating the inmates and re-directing their ways in life towards the good instead of being busy conceiving trouble, became also, surprisingly, an outlet, a venue of show-casing their latent talents.

It may have surprised them no end that the world started accepting and acclaiming their dancing prowess. It was something novel for the world to see.

The country’s tourism department has considered Cebu’s dancing inmates from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC)as one of the most unique tourist attractions in the county and in the world.

I will be sharing with you the last two performances of the world-renowned dancing inmates that have gone viral in the internet.

The first video was performed in 2010 after Michael Jackson’s ‘This is it’ music video. Dancing with them were Jackson’s long-time choreographer Travis Payne and dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid.

The second and latest was performed on a rainy day on September 2012. It is called “Gangnam Style” by Park Jae Sang, better known as PSY, a popular recording artist in South Korea.

“Gangnam Style” has been highly praised for its catchy beat and Psy’s humorous dance moves.