star fruit

i dunno what is this exactly, if it's a fruit or a vegetable... all i know is that they look cute and artificial from afar

actually upclose they even look more artificial, like those plastic toy fruits... it was only when i actually touched this "star fruit" that i realized they're real.  you guys know what's the name of this fruit? if it is indeed a fruit

tomatoes

bountiful harvest

winner

details of a decorated house in lucban, quezon

this house is one of the winners in the competition at the pahiyas festival 2010

lucban longanisa

Longganisa Lucban is a garlicky slightly sour sausage that is quite similar to chorizo de bilbao, the famous garlic sausage from Spain. Learn how to prepare your own longanisa here

bright colors

Took this photo at Quezon during the Pahiyas Festival and just fits the august CDP theme day: bright colors. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

During the San Isidro Pahiyas Festival, each household tries to outdo each other in friendly competition as they vie for honor of recognizing their creativity.

Farmers show their bountiful produce such as chayote, radish, pepper and grains of rice. There are miniatures locally known as "ANOK", fruits, vegetables and longganisa. The handicraft manufacturer has his house decked with colorful buri/buntal hats, bags, placemats and others.

The most traditional and certainly the most attractive décor comes of course in the form of "KIPING" which are adorn and strung together to form all sorts of shapes, from chandelier called "ARANGYA" to huge flowers. Kiping is made from ground rice flour, shaped using "cabal" leaves or other leaf forms and colored in radiant red, fuschia, yellow, green and other bright shades. When kiping catches the light of the sun it turns into a veritable cascades of color.

The celebration is a form of thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest and in honor of the patron saint of farmers, San Isidro de Labrador. A procession of the image of San Isidro is planned long before the festival and it is said that houses along the route of the procession passes will be especially favored and blessed in the coming year. It is from this belief that the lavish decoration of the home began. After all, one must welcome the saint's blessings with rapture and gratitude.

manila, queen of the pacific

Watch how Manila looked like before the devastation of world war II. see how beautiful Manila was, i wish we could restore Manila back to its former glory.

Manila, Queen of the Pacific 1938

war crimes in manila

watch the atrocities made by the japanese imperial army to our beloved philippines during the world war ii, manila ravaged to nothing...but it gets me thinking as well that manila wouldnt have suffered this fate has it not been blindly loyal to the united states of america...

war crimes in manila part 1


war crimes in manila part 2


war crimes in manila part 3


war crimes in manila part 4

meet our new president: Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III

Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III

"I pledge to support the incoming president. I will do my part to help him institute the reforms needed to wipe out corruption and propel the country in the right direction. I will help him bring back the integrity of our government by setting an example for others with my own actions. I will advocate everything he does that I feel will better my country. If he strays from the path that he’s laid down for himself and from the promises he made that made me support him in the first place, I will be his biggest critic. I will speak out and strive to be heard. I will be the thorn in his side and I will be tireless. Mr. President-elect, now that you’ve given us hope and led us to the polls with your words and the promise to bring integrity, transparency, and honesty, I await your actions. Never forget those who believed in you."

Photo source: i forgot

vote now!

This is it! Rise and shine people we have a country to save. Go out and vote and please vote wisely. Be very vigilant and exercise your right to vote. The line in this first automated election is long and the waiting sucks, there's only one PCOS in our area with 5 precincts. Ugh but people please wait and cast your vote, the next 6 years of our lives depend on this.

wooohooo! just finished voting after 3 hours of waiting in line.

happy land

Happiness is a state of mind.

Waking up everyday to the stench and depressing situation and still able to smile at the world means something... makes you realize how lucky you are indeed... and the next time you feel like the world is unfair... think of these children and the lives they live everyday...

Had a chance to visit Payatas and Smokey Mountain with some bloggers that i really admire (Sidney, Dennis, Dodong, and Liza) and it's so sad to see how some of our fellow countrymen live...

Payatas is called the "Lupang Pangako" or the Promised Land but it is manila's dumpsite and is one of the cheap source of livelihood for one of the largest and poorest informal settlers in this jungle city

Smokey mountain is a large landfill in manila with over 2 million tons of waste, where people still live and earn their keep by picking garbage.. adults and children alike...

the way they live and the state they live in will make you cringe and cry not because of the stench and dirt but because of sadness... no one should live like this

 

I never intended to post street children and the depressing lives that some of our people live, but I also have to show you the other side of Manila, the site where others would prefer to look the other way...

But such is life... and i can only hope that posting these pictures here can help them... to let the people know how miserable and sad their life is...

And with hope that people not only see depression but hope especially with the coming elections... and i am begging my countrymen to please vote wisely...

it was journey that is sad and depressing...

they say that once in your life you'll encounter a place or people that will make an impact in your mind and can alter the way you see life...