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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Calaguas Island







(Pictures without the label "www.galapinoy" were sent by Remo through Alot. So they must have been taken by him. The rest were grabbed from www.galapinoy.com. Thanks.

It is really summer time. A lot of people are looking for alternative tourist destinations to the overcrowded and commercialized Bora.

Many people are interested to get more information about Calaguas group of Islands. Unfortunately, DPS members who are knowledgeable about the place rarely have access to computers and do not get to read our blogsite.

I got additional information and pictures from the web, but there are also original pictures taken by Remo which I am posting here.

Calaguas is a group of around 17 islands off the Pacific coast of Camarines Norte. It boasts of powdery white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters comparable to the best beaches in the world as can be seen from the pictures. If you are the adventurous type looking for virgin places to visit, this is it. The islands are unexplored and unspoiled. There are no commercial accommodations, no running water, and no toilets. You have to bring provisions and have to set up tents on the beaches. Those who have been there say that the residents are kind and hospitable fisherfolks.

The islands could be reached via a two-hour boat ride from the municipality of Vinzons. According to a visitor who wrote about his experiences in the blogsite Gala Pinoy, the ideal time to travel is between July to September. The sea can be very choppy from October to March. But with the weather becoming unpredictable due to climate change, there is a need to get accurate (??) weather forecasts if you're planning on a trip to the islands.

Camarines Norte is accessible by land from Manila. There are several air-con buses in the South bound terminal in Cubao, Quezon City near Ali Mall. There are buses which are very comfortable, with enough leg space, toilet facilities and which travel non-stop. I don't know the cost of fare now. It was still less than P1,000 when I last took the bus.

There is an advertisement by SEAIR in today's issue of Phil Daily Inquirer. It says there that there are trips to Daet every Tuesday and Friday. However, when I checked its website , the Daet trips are not yet listed. (Will check again).

I understand that we have at least two classmates whose families own some properties in Calaguas Islands. Lucky for them, a few years from now, the value would rise if there are developments made in the area. (Unfortunately, it may still take long. Tourism is not even in the investment priorities of the present provincial government). But instead of waiting, they can probably be the industry leaders. That would require a lot of capital investments though.

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Camarines Norte Series 2 - Elected Officials





For verification: Danilo Ibasco who appears as councilor in Sta. Elena and Talisay.



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Sunday, April 27, 2008

What's New Today?

I am posting the Commencement Speech of Bono (rock star of U2 fame) delivered in 2004 at the University of Pennsylvania. I got interested in this when I read Mareng Winnie’s column yesterday at the Philippine Daily Inquirer. (Mareng Winnie is Solita Monsod, former NEDA Director General during the time of Cory, a UP economics professor and media personality). She made reference to Bono’s speech when discussing the moral blind spot of hardcore landowner legislators who continue to oppose the agrarian reform program refusing to accept the results of independent impact assessments that it has benefited the poor, in spite of its implementation shortcomings.

It’s amazing how a rock star such as Bono could be a staunch activist in the fight against the unjust poverty in Africa. Bono said that every era has its defining struggle and the fate of Africa is one of them. He says that history will judge us by what we did or did not do. His transformation happened after the 1985 Live Aid Concert in Philadelphia (remember the song “We are the World”?). He went to Ethiopia with his wife after that concert and saw for himself Africans dying every day and felt that it was a stupid poverty when children die of hunger and AIDS in a world of plenty.

We are no Bono and neither have we pursued strong advocacies. But maybe, we can take a look at where we came from – Camarines Norte. Isn’t it lagging way behind in terms of development? I looked at its official website just to read the development vision, mission, and priorities. I didn’t see clear directions where the leaders want it to go. I remember Ed C. say that we should forget about the politicians, but we cannot. Unless there is a strong civil society group in the province, defining the development plans and priorities is left to the provincial and municipal development councils composed mainly of the elected officials (politicians. Please continue reading next page.


The website states that the investment priorities are projects that would go into pineapple production (dried, dehydrated, juice); pina fiber; fine jewelry; processed marine products (tuyo, tinapa, and daing); and production of native delicacies and pastries (kakanin). One cannot see what it is that would be the catalyst that could trigger “development”.

In contrast, we can see the aggressive promotion of tourism in Camarines Sur. Last year, I made a comment which I posted here in our blogsite expressing my doubts as to the financial viability of the man-made Cam Sur Water Sports Complex located within the compound of the provincial capitol. I was wrong. It is now one of the popular destinations because of its wake boarding facilities. In addition, it is also promoting other sites such as the deer farm in Ocampo, Lake Buhi which has the smallest fish, dolphin watching in Ragay Gulf; rock climbing in Caramoan (it’s really a beautiful place, allegedly it’s the location site of the Survivor, French version, they say there’s a confidentiality clause in the contract, that’s why nobody from the local government or residents want to speak out), etc.

What about Cam Norte? A few years back, Bagasbas beach was touted as an ideal site for wind surfing. In fact, a nationwide competition was held there and it was featured on national television. But how does Bagasbas beach look now? One blogsite described it as “a long and beautiful beach, with good surf. However, it also has piles and piles of garbage and a seafront dominated by the most tatty and ruinous videoke bars and sari-sari stores in the northern hemisphere.” Calaguas Island in Vinzons and Apuao Beach Resort in Mercedes are said to be beautiful but nothing is being done by the provincial government. One doesn’t even see pictures of these in the Provincial Website, just a list of the tourist spots. By the way, La Consolacion College (our DPS) is also listed as a tourist spot?

Many of us, including me, do not know much about Camarines Norte now. We will do a continuing feature on the province to better understand it, and maybe have a clearer idea of what and how we can be of help. We will start today, with its geographic and demographic features, as well as the list of local government officials. It would have been very useful if beyond listing the names, we can have additional information, such as how many terms of office has the official served, the political affiliation (the magnitude of assistance that can be provided by the national government is certainly a function of how close the local executives are to PGMA).

The frequency and the level of details of our postings would vary depending on the availability of time that we have for research. Everyone is welcome though to contribute.

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Because We Can, We Must


Commencement Address by Bono, co-founder of DATA (Debt AIDS Trade Africa), and lead singer of U2, May 17, 2004.

Because We Can, We Must

My name is Bono and I am a rock star. Don't get me too excited because I use four letter words when I get excited. I'd just like to say to the parents, your children are safe, your country is safe, the FCC has taught me a lesson and the only four letter word I'm going to use today is P-E-N-N. Come to think of it 'Bono' is a four-letter word. The whole business of obscenity--I don't think there's anything certainly more unseemly than the sight of a rock star in academic robes. It's a bit like when people put their King Charles spaniels in little tartan sweats and hats. It's not natural, and it doesn't make the dog any smarter.
It's true we were here before with U2 and I would like to thank them for giving me a great life, as well as you. I've got a great rock and roll band that normally stand in the back when I'm talking to thousands of people in a football stadium and they were here with me, I think it was seven years ago. Actually then I was with some other sartorial problems. I was wearing a mirror-ball suit at the time and I emerged from a forty-foot high revolving lemon. It was sort of a cross between a space ship, a disco and a plastic fruit.
I guess it was at that point when your Trustees decided to give me their highest honor. Doctor of Laws, wow! I know it's an honor, and it really is an honor, but are you sure? Doctor of Law, all I can think about is the laws I've broken. Laws of nature, laws of physics, laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and on a memorable night in the late seventies, I think it was Newton's law of motion...sickness. No, it's true, my resume reads like a rap sheet. I have to come clean; I've broken a lot of laws, and the ones I haven't I've certainly thought about. I have sinned in thought, word, and deed. God forgive me. Actually God forgave me, but why would you? I'm here getting a doctorate, getting respectable, getting in the good graces of the powers that be, I hope it sends you students a powerful message: Crime does pay.
So I humbly accept the honor, keeping in mind the words of a British playwright, John Mortimer it was, "No brilliance is needed in the law. Nothing but common sense and relatively clean fingernails." Well at best I've got one of the two of those.

Please continue reading next page .....


But no, I never went to college, I've slept in some strange places, but the library wasn't one of them. I studied rock and roll and I grew up in Dublin in the '70s, music was an alarm bell for me, it woke me up to the world. I was 17 when I first saw The Clash, and it just sounded like revolution. The Clash were like, "This is a public service announcement--with guitars." I was the kid in the crowd who took it at face value. Later I learned that a lot of the rebels were in it for the T-shirt. They'd wear the boots but they wouldn't march. They'd smash bottles on their heads but they wouldn't go to something more painful like a town hall meeting. By the way I felt like that myself until recently.
I didn't expect change to come so slow, so agonizingly slow. I didn't realize that the biggest obstacle to political and social progress wasn't the Free Masons, or the Establishment, or the boot heal of whatever you consider 'the Man' to be, it was something much more subtle. As the Provost just referred to, a combination of our own indifference and the Kafkaesque labyrinth of 'no's you encounter as people vanish down the corridors of bureaucracy.
So for better or worse that was my education. I came away with a clear sense of the difference music could make in my own life, in other peoples' lives if I did my job right. Which if you're a singer in a rock band means avoiding the obvious pitfalls like, say, a mullet hairdo. If anyone here doesn't know what a mullet is by the way your education's certainly not complete, I'd ask for your money back. For a lead singer like me, a mullet is, I would suggest, arguably more dangerous than a drug problem. Yes, I had a mullet in the '80s.
Now this is the point where the members of the faculty start smiling uncomfortably and thinking maybe they should have offered me the honorary bachelors degree instead of the full blown doctorate, (he should have been the bachelor's one, he's talking about mullets and stuff). If they're asking what on earth I'm doing here, I think it's a fair question. What am I doing here? More to the point: what are you doing here? Because if you don't mind me saying so this is a strange ending to an Ivy League education. Four years in these historic halls thinking great thoughts and now you're sitting in a stadium better suited for football listening to an Irish rock star give a speech that is so far mostly about himself. What are you doing here?
Actually I saw something in the paper last week about Kermit the Frog giving a commencement address somewhere. One of the students was complaining, "I worked my ass off for four years to be addressed by a sock?" You have worked your ass off for this. For four years you've been buying, trading, and selling, everything you've got in this marketplace of ideas. The intellectual hustle. Your pockets are full, even if your parents' are empty, and now you've got to figure out what to spend it on.
Well, the going rate for change is not cheap. Big ideas are expensive. The University has had its share of big ideas. Benjamin Franklin had a few, so did Justice Brennen and in my opinion so does Judith Rodin. What a gorgeous girl. They all knew that if you're gonna be good at your word if you're gonna live up to your ideals and your education, its' gonna cost you.
So my question I suppose is: What's the big idea? What's your big idea? What are you willing to spend your moral capital, your intellectual capital, your cash, your sweat equity in pursuing outside of the walls of the University of Pennsylvania?
There's a truly great Irish poet his name is Brendan Kennelly, and he has this epic poem called the Book of Judas, and there's a line in that poem that never leaves my mind, it says: "If you want to serve the age, betray it." What does that mean to betray the age?
Well to me betraying the age means exposing its conceits, it's foibles; it's phony moral certitudes. It means telling the secrets of the age and facing harsher truths.
Every age has its massive moral blind spots. We might not see them, but our children will. Slavery was one of them and the people who best served that age were the ones who called it as it was--which was ungodly and inhuman. Ben Franklin called it what it was when he became president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.
Segregation. There was another one. America sees this now but it took a civil rights movement to betray their age. And 50 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court betrayed the age May 17, 1954, Brown vs. Board of Education came down and put the lie to the idea that separate can ever really be equal. Amen to that.
Fast forward 50 years. May 17, 2004. What are the ideas right now worth betraying? What are the lies we tell ourselves now? What are the blind spots of our age? What's worth spending your post-Penn lives trying to do or undo? It might be something simple.
It might be something as simple as our deep down refusal to believe that every human life has equal worth. Could that be it? Could that be it? Each of you will probably have your own answer, but for me that is it. And for me the proving ground has been Africa.
Africa makes a mockery of what we say, at least what I say, about equality and questions our pieties and our commitments because there's no way to look at what's happening over there and it's effect on all of us and conclude that we actually consider Africans as our equals before God. There is no chance.
An amazing event happened here in Philadelphia in 1985--Live Aid--that whole We Are The World phenomenon the concert that happened here. Well after that concert I went to Ethiopia with my wife, Ali. We were there for a month and an extraordinary thing happened to me. We used to wake up in the morning and the mist would be lifting we'd see thousands and thousands of people who'd been walking all night to our food station were we were working. One man--I was standing outside talking to the translator--had this beautiful boy and he was saying to me in Amharic, I think it was, I said I can't understand what he's saying, and this nurse who spoke English and Amharic said to me, he's saying will you take his son. He's saying please take his son, he would be a great son for you. I was looking puzzled and he said, "You must take my son because if you don't take my son, my son will surely die. If you take him he will go back to Ireland and get an education." Probably like the ones we're talking about today. I had to say no, that was the rules there and I walked away from that man, I've never really walked away from it. But I think about that boy and that man and that's when I started this journey that's brought me here into this stadium.
Because at that moment I became the worst scourge on God's green earth, a rock star with a cause. Christ! Except it isn't the cause. Seven thousand Africans dying every day of preventable, treatable disease like AIDS? That's not a cause, that's an emergency. And when the disease gets out of control because most of the population live on less than one dollar a day? That's not a cause, that's an emergency. And when resentment builds because of unfair trade rules and the burden of unfair debt, that are debts by the way that keep Africans poor? That's not a cause, that's an emergency. So--We Are The World, Live Aid, start me off it was an extraordinary thing and really that event was about charity. But 20 years on I'm not that interested in charity. I'm interested in justice. There's a difference. Africa needs justice as much as it needs charity.
Equality for Africa is a big idea. It's a big expensive idea. I see the Wharton graduates now getting out the math on the back of their programs, numbers are intimidating aren't they, but not to you! But the scale of the suffering and the scope of the commitment they often numb us into a kind of indifference. Wishing for the end to AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa is like wishing that gravity didn't make things so damn heavy. We can wish it, but what the hell can we do about it?
Well, more than we think. We can't fix every problem--corruption, natural calamities are part of the picture here--but the ones we can we must. The debt burden, as I say, unfair trade, as I say, sharing our knowledge, the intellectual copyright for lifesaving drugs in a crisis, we can do that. And because we can, we must. Because we can, we must. Amen.
This is the straight truth, the righteous truth. It's not a theory, it's a fact. The fact is that this generation--yours, my generation--that can look at the poverty, we're the first generation that can look at poverty and disease, look across the ocean to Africa and say with a straight face, we can be the first to end this sort of stupid extreme poverty, where in the world of plenty, a child can die for lack of food in it's belly. We can be the first generation. It might take a while, but we can be that generation that says no to stupid poverty. It's a fact, the economists confirm it. It's an expensive fact but, cheaper than say the Marshall Plan that saved Europe from communism and fascism. And cheaper I would argue than fighting wave after wave of terrorism's new recruits. That's the economics department over there, very good.
It's a fact. So why aren't we pumping our fists in the air and cheering about it? Well probably because when we admit we can do something about it, we've got to do something about it. For the first time in history we have the know how, we have the cash, we have the lifesaving drugs, but do we have the will?
Yesterday, here in Philadelphia, at the Liberty Bell, I met a lot of Americans who do have the will. From arch-religious conservatives to young secular radicals, I just felt an incredible overpowering sense that this was possible. We're calling it the ONE campaign, to put an end to AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. They believe we can do it, so do I.
I really, really do believe it. I just want you to know, I think this is obvious, but I'm not really going in for the warm fuzzy feeling thing, I'm not a hippy, I do not have flowers in my hair, I come from punk rock, The Clash wore army boots not Birkenstocks. I believe America can do this! I believe that this generation can do this. In fact I want to hear an argument about why we shouldn't.
I know idealism is not playing on the radio right now, you don't see it on TV, irony is on heavy rotation, the knowingness, the smirk, the tired joke. I've tried them all out but I'll tell you this, outside this campus--and even inside it--idealism is under siege beset by materialism, narcissism and all the other isms of indifference. Baggism, Shaggism. Raggism. Notism, graduationism, chismism, I don't know. Where's John Lennon when you need him.
But I don't want to make you cop to idealism, not in front of your parents, or your younger siblings. But what about Americanism? Will you cop to that at least? It's not everywhere in fashion these days, Americanism. Not very big in Europe, truth be told. No less on Ivy League college campuses. But it all depends on your definition of Americanism.
Me, I'm in love with this country called America. I'm a huge fan of America, I'm one of those annoying fans, you know the ones that read the CD notes and follow you into bathrooms and ask you all kinds of annoying questions about why you didn't live up to thatÅ .
I'm that kind of fan. I read the Declaration of Independence and I've read the Constitution of the United States, and they are some liner notes, dude. As I said yesterday I made my pilgrimage to Independence Hall, and I love America because America is not just a country, it's an idea. You see my country, Ireland, is a great country, but it's not an idea. America is an idea, but it's an idea that brings with it some baggage, like power brings responsibility. It's an idea that brings with it equality, but equality even though it's the highest calling, is the hardest to reach. The idea that anything is possible, that's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America. It's like hey, look there's the moon up there, lets take a walk on it, bring back a piece of it. That's the kind of America that I'm a fan of.
In 1771 your founder Mr. Franklin spent three months in Ireland and Scotland to look at the relationship they had with England to see if this could be a model for America, whether America should follow their example and remain a part of the British Empire.
Franklin was deeply, deeply distressed by what he saw. In Ireland he saw how England had put a stranglehold on Irish trade, how absentee English landlords exploited Irish tenant farmers and how those farmers in Franklin's words "lived in retched hovels of mud and straw, were clothed in rags and subsisted chiefly on potatoes." Not exactly the American dream...
So instead of Ireland becoming a model for America, America became a model for Ireland in our own struggle for independence.
When the potatoes ran out, millions of Irish men, women and children packed their bags got on a boat and showed up right here. And we're still doing it. We're not even starving anymore, loads of potatoes. In fact if there's any Irish out there, I've breaking news from Dublin, the potato famine is over you can come home now. But why are we still showing up? Because we love the idea of America.
We love the crackle and the hustle, we love the spirit that gives the finger to fate, the spirit that says there's no hurdle we can't clear and no problem we can't fix. (sound of helicopter) Oh, here comes the Brits, only joking. No problem we can't fix. So what's the problem that we want to apply all this energy and intellect to?
Every era has its defining struggle and the fate of Africa is one of ours. It's not the only one, but in the history books it's easily going to make the top five, what we did or what we did not do. It's a proving ground, as I said earlier, for the idea of equality. But whether it's this or something else, I hope you'll pick a fight and get in it. Get your boots dirty, get rough, steel your courage with a final drink there at Smoky Joe's, one last primal scream and go.
Sing the melody line you hear in your own head, remember, you don't owe anybody any explanations, you don't owe your parents any explanations, you don't owe your professors any explanations. You know I used to think the future was solid or fixed, something you inherited like an old building that you move into when the previous generation moves out or gets chased out.
But it's not. The future is not fixed, it's fluid. You can build your own building, or hut or condo, whatever; this is the metaphor part of the speech by the way.
But my point is that the world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape. Now if I were a folksinger I'd immediately launch into "If I Had a Hammer" right now get you all singing and swaying. But as I say I come from punk rock, so I'd rather have the bloody hammer right here in my fist.
That's what this degree of yours is, a blunt instrument. So go forth and build something with it. Remember what John Adams said about Ben Franklin, "He does not hesitate at our boldest Measures but rather seems to think us too irresolute."
Well this is the time for bold measures. This is the country, and you are the generation. Thank you.


Posted 5/19/04
From Almanac between issues, May 19, 2004 (http:///www.upenn.edu/almanac/between/2004/commence-b.html)

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Camarines Norte - Series 1


Location

Located on the northeastern coast of the Bicol Peninsula, which forms the southeastern section of Luzon; Between Mt. Cadig-Labo Mountain Ranges and Pacific Ocean at 122 -20 to 123 -50' east longitude and 13 -5 to 14 -20' north latitude; Bounded on the north by Lamon Bay and Pacific Ocean, northwest by Quezon Province and in the southeast by san Miguel Bay and the adjoining province of Camarines Sur.

Land Area - 232,007 hectares

Population
As of Aug 2007: 513,785
(Cam Norte is the second smallest province in Bicol in terms of population. Camarines Sur is the largest with 1,693,821 and Catanduanes, the smallest with 232,757).

From Year 2000 to 2007, however, Cam Norte had the highest population growth rate among the six provinces of Bicol at 1.57%, higher than the regional average of 1.23% but lower than the national average of 2.04%. (Data from the National Statistics Office)

Land Cover
• Riceland - 5.17%
• Barren/Sand - 0.53%
• Brush/Wood/Coconut - 47.67%
• Built-Up - 1.03%
• Coconut - 17.77%
• .Fishpond - 1.23%
• Grass - 1.83%
• Mangrove - 1.38%
• Old Growth Forest - 6.00%
• Residual Forest - 16.39%
• Water - 0.69%

Economic Activities (The information here is too general. We will try to get more details in the succeeding posts).

Agriculture-related (farming, fishing, hunting and forestry);
Industry-related (mining, quarrying, manufacturing, construction) and
services-related (wholesale and retail trade, hotel and restaurants; transportation, communication and storage, final intermediation, real estate, education, health, social work and other community, social and personal services).

Major Commodities
Pineapple, palay, corn, coconut, abaca, banana, cacao, calamansi, coffee, mango, papaya; fishery and meat products.

Annual Poverty Threshold Per Capita

Poverty threshold refers to the minimum amount that is necessary to be able to satisfy the requirements for food and other basic necessities. Per capita threshold refers to the amount per person that is required.


2006

Overall P14,298/per person/year or P39/person/day

Urban P17,704/per person/year or P48/person/day

Rural P13,691/per person/year or P38/person/day

2007

Overall P15,440/per person/year or P42/person/day

Urban P18,418/per person/year or P50/person/day

Rural P14,415/per person/year or P39/person/day

Poverty Incidence among Families

2000 52.7% of the families

2003 46.1% of the families

Camarines Norte is second to Masbate in terms of poverty incidence in Bicol.

National Average Poverty Incidence

2000 - 27.5%

2003 - 24.4%


Source of Income and Poverty Incidence data: National Statistical Coordination Board

(Note: The List of provincial and municipal officials will be posted tomorrow).


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Friday, April 25, 2008

GOOD NEWS: RECYCLING MARKET AT SM SUPERMALLS



Here's a good news to all Metro Manila residents.

Every First Saturday of the Month, from 8 AM to 2 PM, there is a Recycling Market or Waste Market Day at all SM Supermalls Open Parking space.

You can just come and bring all your trash and junk and exchange them for useful items and cash. This event is sponsored by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the SM Group of Companies, in partnership with the Philippine Business for the Environment.

What can you trade or sell at the waste market?

Items you can trade:

  • Scrap paper and cardboard - for bathroom tissue, table napkins, bond paper and notebooks.
  • Empty ink and toner cartridge - for quality remanufactured ones
  • Plastic bottles and plastic scraps - for plastic household items like hangers, basins and pails
  • Used lead batteries (from cars, UPS and voltage regulators) - for car check-up coupons

Items you can sell:

  • Used PET bottles (containers of softdrinks and mineral water bottles)
  • Aluminum and tin cans
  • Junk electrical appliance, specially computer monitors

Items you can just drop off:

  • Polystyrene
  • Styrofoam
  • Junk cellphones and cellphone batteries
So, for the remaining months of the year, remember the following dates:

May 3 June 7 July 5
August 2 September 6 October 4
November 1 December 6

This project is in support of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. The act calls for “practical applications of environmentally sound techniques of waste minimization such as segregation, recycling, resource recovery, re-use and composting.

For more information, you may contact the administration of the SM Supermall nearest you.

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Flash Report: LESS PEOPLE ARE GETTING HUNGRY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Ayon sa Social Weather Station, mas konti raw ang nagugutom ngayon keysa nang magsimula si GMA. Kung noon 5 out of 10 ang gutom, ngayon 3 na lang..........

........ PATAY NA PO, iyong 7!!!!!!!

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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Dedicated to Class 67 ladies and honorary members

This is dedicated to the ladies of dps-class 67, and honorary members, Marie and Ineng. They have all been very silent lately... must be very busy. Take a few minutes break and enjoy this post.

Now send this to all the remarkable women you know, as well as to any understanding good- natured, fun kinda guys you might be lucky enough to know !!!!!!!!!!



BEHIND A SUCCESSFUL WOMAN
IS HERSELF

A WOMAN IS LIKE A TEA BAG...
YOU DON'T KNOW HOW STRONG
SHE IS UNTIL YOU PUT HER
IN HOT WATER


I HAVE YET TO HEAR A MAN
ASK FOR ADVICE ON HOW
TO COMBINE MARRIAGE
AND A CAREER



COFFEE, C HOCOLATE, MEN.
SOME THINGS ARE JUST
BETTER RICH



I 'M OUT OF ESTROGEN
And I HAVE A GUN


WARNING: I HAVE AN ATTITUDE
AND I KNOW HOW
TO USE IT



O F COURSE I DON'T LOOK BUSY...
I DID IT RIGHT
THE FIRST TIME



D O NOT START WITH ME.
YOU WILL NOT WIN

A LL STRESSED OUT
AND NO ONE
TO CHOKE




And last but not least:

IF YOU WANT BREAKFAST IN BED,
SLEEP IN THE KITCHEN




Send this to your friends
and brighten their day!

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Health Alert: Heart Attacks



I got this from my mailbox and thought it would be good to share with you, especially since at our age, we really have to take extra care of our health. Drinking cold water is already a habit, I didn't know that it's bad. I haven't tried drinking warm water, instead. I don't know if this and the other information in this article are medically proven and I hope that our classmates in health-related occupations like Fechie and Marybeth, (Dra. Yoly and Dra. Linda, do not access our blog) can confirm these.

Heart Attacks And Drinking Warm Water


This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your meal, but about Heart Attacks . The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals, not cold water, maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating.

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.


Common Symptoms Of Heart Attack...
A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting . Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line . You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive. A cardiologist says if everyone who reads this message sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life. Read this & Send to a friend. It could save a life. So, please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about. (There are no medical experts cited, so we can not really say that these info are medically proven).

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Sunday, April 20, 2008

PETA, An Irrelevant Advocacy in the Philippines




No, I’m not promoting the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). On the contrary, I think it’s an inappropriate, irrelevant, and a misplaced advocacy in a third world country such as the Philippines.

Last Friday, three women, an American, Canadian, and a Filipino, with only lettuce leaves covering their private parts, demonstrated outside the Quiapo Church at noon, carrying placards which said “SAVE THE PLANET, GO VEGETARIAN.”; “ILIGTAS ANG MUNDO, MAGING VEGETARIAN”. Of course, they attracted the noonday crowd who were ready to eat the lettuce, and more…. These women and their support group should have been hauled right into the prison cell. Why, choose Quiapo church of all places? Whom were they trying to convince to become vegetarians, the masses in Plaza Miranda? Many are in fact going hungry and wouldn’t mind eating “animals” or “plants”, whichever would be available at affordable prices.

PETA is a first world invention, an advocacy which is being exported to third world countries and unfortunately, since it is a well-funded campaign, there are willing partners even here in the Philippines.

I’m not sure if I’m being the odd man out here, but I read their campaign statements and found them weird and inappropriate where there are many food-poor people.

Take this one, PETA believes that animals ... are capable of suffering and have an interest in leading their own lives; therefore, they are not ours to use — for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation, or any other reason.”

Then they have this campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken. PETA claims that “more than 850 million chickens are killed every year for KFC. They are crammed into sheds, mutilated, suffer from broken wings and legs, and are often still completely conscious when their throats are slit and they are dunked into tanks of scalding-hot water. We need your help to persuade KFC to implement real animal welfare standards and stop this hideous cruelty.

Well, our partner NGO in Gingoog provides micro-financing to women’s groups that raise chicken which they sell to Sr. Pedro, a popular chicken-barbecue stand (similar to Andoks) with several branches in Cagayan de Oro City. I don’t think Sr. Pedro puts the chicken to sleep before slaughtering them! And I don’t think the women feel that they are violating the chicken’s rights!

There is nothing wrong with promoting vegetarianism but to compare pigs in livestock farms to the “Jews in concentration camps during the Holocaust” is absurd. There are more important advocacies than this. Rather than focusing on the animals, put the people’s rights first! People have the right not to go hungry. If they want to promote vegetarianism, then promote crop and vegetable production. Start with the advocacy for a more equitable access to the land, prohibition against the conversion of prime agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses. Or promote various recipes using malunggay, talbos kamote, and tokwa that can provide cheap but nutritious food to the majority of the people.

I wonder what the local PETA partners are getting?

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Friday, April 18, 2008

Things that Fely Jacobs and Efren Mago would learn if Bert Padrigon were a prolific writer

"I'll just give this a lick and a promise", my mother said as she quickly mopped up a spill on the floor without moving any of the furniture.

"What is that supposed to mean", I asked as in my young mind I envisioned someone licking the floor with his or her tongue.

"It means that I'm in a hurry and I'm busy canning tomatoes so I am going to just give it a lick with the mop and promise to come back and do the job right later.

"A lick and a promise" was just one of the many old phrases that I remember my mother, grandmother, and others using that they probably heard from the generations before them. With the passing of time, many old phrases become obsolete or even disappear. This is unfortunate because some of them are very appropriate and humorous.

Here is a list that I came up with that I remember my parents and grandparents using that we don't hear much anymore. Perhaps you have some memorable old phrases of your own that you could add to the list:

A Bone to Pick (someone who wants to discuss a disagreement) (a nose to pick kaya?.... i-dial sa telepono)

An Axe to Grind (Someone who has a hidden motive. This phrase is said to have originated from Benjamin Franklin who told a story about a devious man who asked how a grinding wheel worked. He ended up walking away with his axe sharpened free of charge)

A bad apple spoils the whole barrel (one corrupt person can cause all the others to go bad if you don't remove the bad one) (dito kamatis)

At sea (lost or not understanding something)

Bad Egg (Someone who was not a good person)

Barking at a knot (meaning that your efforts were as useless as a dog barking at a knot.)

Bee in your bonnet (To have an idea that won't let loose)

Been through the mill (had a rough time of it)

Between hay and grass (Not a child or an adult)

Blinky (Between sweet and sour acidophilus in milk)

Calaboose (a jail)

Cattywampus (Something that sits crooked such as a piece of furniture sitting at an angle)

Dicker (To barter or trade)

Feather In Your Cap (to accomplish a goal. This came from years ago in wartime when warriors might received a feather they would put in their cap for defeating an enemy)

Hold your horses (Be patient!) (aha... habaan mo ang pisi)

I reckon (I suppose) (pakiwari ko,.... anakin)

Jawing (Talking or arguing)

Kit and caboodle (The whole thing)

Madder than an old wet hen (really angry)

Needs taken down a notch or two (like notches in a belt usually a young person who thinks too highly of himself and needs a lesson)

No Spring Chicken (Not young anymore) (tayo ba ito?)

Persnickety (overly particular or snobbish) (kilala niyo ba ito?)

Pert-near (short for pretty near)

Pretty is as pretty does (your actions are more important than your looks)

Scalawag (a rascal or unprincipled person) (wala sa atin nito!)

Scarce as hen's teeth (something difficult to obtain)

Skedaddle (Get out of here quickly)

Sparking (courting)

Straight From the Horse's Mouth (privileged information from the one concerned) (nagsisipilyo ba ang kabayo, hhmmmmm...)

Stringing around, gallivanting around, or piddling (Not doing anything of value)

Sunday go to meetin' dress (The best dress you had)

We wash up real fine (is another goodie....)

Tie the Knot (to get married)

Too many irons in the fire (to be involved in too many things)

Tuckered out (tired and all worn out)

Under the weather (not feeling well this term came from going below deck on ships due to sea sickness thus you go below or under the weather)

Wearing your "best bib and tucker" (Being all dressed up)

You ain't the only duck in the pond (It's not all about you)

Well, if you hold your horses, I reckon I'll get this whole kit and caboodle done and sent off to you. Please don't be too persnickety and get a bee in your bonnet because I've been pretty tuckered out and at sea lately because I'm no spring chicken. I haven't been just stringin' around and I know I'm not the only duck in the pond, but I do have too many irons in the fire. I might just be barking at a knot, but I have tried to give this article more than just a lick and a promise.

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Sor Victorina de la Providencia, Mother Superior of Daet Parochial School

HS Solo Graduation Pictures

DPS Class67 HS Graduates, 40 Years After

This Day in History

Today's Birthday