The Jun Lozada Fever and Remembering EDSA 1

Today, the Philippines commemorated the EDSA 1 Revolution. It’s been 22 years now. If you are in your 30’s, certainly you have some recollections of EDSA 1. The noise barrage; People on the streets; nuns, priests, and military men. The yellow color signs; the “L” hand sign that signified the word “Laban” (fight.)
So, where were you those three days? If you were here today in Manila, you will see the same things, almost the same things. And you would experience first-hand the Jun Lozada fever. The every hour flash news is now worth the time watching as each day’s “what will happen next?” unfold. But still the news on TV is not enough to satisfy us, so we go to the internet to search for more information. There, we discover a lot of people really talking about it and even making fun of it in some sites.
The uploaded videos about Jun Lozada and the ZTE thing in the youtube.com are not all comic after all. There are some serious ones. I took notice of this one video with an original song. The message of the song is very timely. I hope you will be inspired also by it.

I DON’T LIKE HAIRCUTS

When was your last haircut? Mine was just a few hours ago. I like it very short so I won’t be coming back to the barber shop only in a few weeks. It’s because, even when I was young, I didn’t like haircuts. It’s uncomfortable and you feel itchy from the neck down just after your haircut. But it’s one of those things you can’t do without unless you stop growing your hair. But then again, I’d rather go through my regular haircuts (which is every 45 days), than be bald for life.


I have nothing against bald men but for me a person’s hair really adds to his or her overall individuality. It’s really unexplainable how one can change looks just by a simple haircut or change of hairstyle. I must also add that a regular haircut is essential in maintaining good grooming especially with men.
When I go out of the country, I would surely have my haircut first because haircut is quite expensive abroad. What I pay in an ordinary barber shop along the road in Manila is only about US $2 and in a mall or in an air-conditioned barber shop is about US $3 to $5 and sometimes it even has a free massage (ha ha ha..). It’s even cheaper in the provinces or countryside. If you are living or working in another country now, I am sure you know the big difference in the price. But don’t be stingy with getting your much needed haircut there. Maintaining your long hair can be more expensive as you will consume more hair shampoo and other hair needs plus more time consumed in grooming it.
If you are planning for a vacation, don’t get a haircut yet. Have your haircut here. It’s one of those less expensive things that you can do when you go back to Philippines.
You may also include in your list the dental visit, physical check-up and other medical-related tests as these are very expensive abroad. I think that’s a clean-cut advice and not just a kwentong barbero (barber’s hearsay story.)

Filipinos Are Like The Pinoy Adodo

Cooking is one of my hobbies. I thank my Tatay (father) who hails from Pampanga for teaching us how to cook Pinoy foods. Two nights ago, I was thinking of what I’d like to eat for dinner and I want something simple, easy to prepare and cook. And the best choice for that criteria is adobo (chicken or pork – I chose chicken this time.) But I want it tastier so I prepared it with gata (coconut milk.)
As we all know, adobo is claimed to be an authentic Pinoy food. It will definitely be on the top five lists of popular Pinoy foods. Adobo is a favorite choice for picnics, potlucks, or pambaon (packed food) because it lasts long or doesn’t spoil easily. And no matter how lowly adobo is, I consider it a Pinoy gourmet food - tasty and delicious.
Another thing about adobo is no matter how simple or basic its ingredients, somehow Maria’s adobo taste a little bit different from Virginia’s cooking. I have tasted a lot of adobos; some are saucy, others are dry or fried a bit, still others are spicy, a bit sour, salty, sweet, and some have black peppers and bay leaves; but they are all good. It’s such an easy recipe to cook that even a first-timer will be able to make it deliciously good.
As I was cooking it, I find adobo to be so Pinoy.
1. It’s simple, easy to prepare and cook – very much like a Filipino who is very friendly, easy to get along with and easy to please.
2. It’s a favorite bring-along food – a Pinoy is the life of a party; a storyteller; a comedian; an entertainer; always ready to give a helping hand; an asset rather than a liability; a Pinoy is a favorite friend to bring along with in trips or just plain shopping.
3. It doesn’t spoil easily – Filipino’s are very resilient, enduring, and patient and can easily blend with other cultures.
4. It’s tasty and delicious – Filipinos possess pleasing personality, God-fearing, peace-loving; they value friendship and family relationships, and they are one of the “Happiest People” of the world.
5. It comes in a variety of concoctions - Filipinos excel in many fields, there are engineers, architects, doctors, nurses, teachers, singers, artists (name it, we have it), and the many Filipino workers scattered around the globe which contribute much to the development and economy of many nations.
With this, we can say that adobo can possibly be a candidate as the Philippine’s national ulam (dish). Others on the list will be pancit, bistek, sinigang, paksiw, kare-kare, lechon, pinakbet, or menudo; but my vote will go to adobo.
We really enjoyed our chicken adobo with gata that night and if you haven’t cooked one yet, here’s how: First, I’m sure you have your own way of cooking the simple adobo recipe. Juts cook it and then when it’s done, pour the gata into it and boil for a minute or two. Add a little salt or soy sauce as you please. In this way, we are preserving your own way of cooking your adobo; we just added the coconut milk. Here’s a pic of our leftover which will still taste good a day after.

HOW I MISS PHILIPPINE TV ADS!

When I’m away from home, I get to see TV programs from other countries. Usually I notice the TV ads and I can’t help but compare them with the Philippine TV ads. I would say that the Philippine TV ads are very creative and entertaining. And I have to say it’s because the artists and creators of these ads are very good.
Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of our TV ads that are so well created and produced that they serve for what they were created for – and that is for the viewers to remember them even after it’s no longer on broadcast or even after some years have passed.
Let me mention some unforgettable local ads. Will you remember these ones?

1. Rufina Patis – with its music lines saying “Ang patis Rufina’y, pampalinamnam… Rufina patis, Rufina Patis”
2. Caronia – the nail polish with a foreign language song but how it clicked.
3. Magnolia Ice Cream – and its monthly “Flavor of the Month” feature song.
4. Palmolive Soap - where two former classmates after some years saw each other while on escalators and the companion of one commented “Classmate mo ten years ago? Bakit mas mukha syang bata sa ‘yo?”
5. Mr. Clean – with Sylvia La Torre singing “Labadami..Labango”
6. Royal True Orange – and its claim of having real orange “pulp bits” in its softdrink.
7. 680 Home Appliances – “Why don’t you shop around with your friends..”

Here are some Philippine TV ads, 3 old ones and one recent. The first is superwheel soap, then, Baguio Oil, and Coke which featured Tito Vic & Joey. The last one is Fita ad. I’ve seen a lot of very good commercials, but this Fita ad is something I can’t forget for its very creative concept. Hope you enjoy these ads even if the video quality of the classic ads are not so good.

Can You Live Without TV?

Honestly, my answer to that is yes and no. That is because my addiction to TV viewing is seasonal. There are times when I really don't feel like watching TV, and there are times I would really rush for home just to catch my favorite evening shows. I could get hooked into a well-produced soap opera. Mind you, Philippine soap operas are getting better and better.. Thanks to Channels 2 and 7 for always coming up with very good TV programs.
I guess, I can survive without TV. I will die with no food and water but I won't die without TV. When I was a child, I liked watching cartoons (Popeye, Space Ghost, Mighty Mouse, Captain America..) , but we don't have TV. I go to our neighbor and sneak in their window to see those TV programs. Those were the days.
Unlike years ago when there were only a few TV channels, we now have cable TV that offers numerous TV broadcasts, local and international. This makes millions of people glued in their TV sets.
Are you a TV addict. Try to take this simply quiz and know if you are..

Can You Survive Without TV

Personality Quiz by Quibblo

Missing Those Philippine Child Games

One thing that a Pinoy really misses when he is overseas are the games we usually play on the streets of Metro Manila or even in towns in the provinces. Remember those days, just right after school, we go out and play with friends in the neighbors. And we have our favorite street games. Mine is Taguan (hide and seek), what’s yours? Before, our street games are so physical, which was good, because besides enjoying the game, we are unconsciously doing physical exercise. That’s why we are so tough and we don’t get sick easily as compared to children nowadays as their games are very electronic like computer games or hand-held electronic games.
So, do you recall playing these games?

1. Piko – where we try to outnumber the “bahay” (box spots) of our opponents.




2. Tumbang Preso (Hit the Can) – how many times have you become “bagoong” (or the prolonged “it”) in this game?


3. Agawang Base – where we catch the other’s teammates to become our captives.


4. Patintero – the maze-like game bounded by lines guarded by the opponents.




5. Holen or Jolens – tossing round marbles out of a small circled-area on the ground.


6. Teks (small comics or cartoons cards) – we buy these cards and play with them and we either lose or win all our cards to our opponents.


7. Goma or Rubber Bands – those colorful rubber bands that we braid, the longer the better.


8. Chinese Garter – a girl’s game where they jump over an elastic garter, although this game is rather very Filipino and did not originate from China.


9. Syato – the game with two sticks where the loser has to run and shout the word “Syato”; a good vocal exercise.


10. Luksong Tinik (Jump over the thorns) – how we jump as high as we could.

Other games : Jackstone, Langit Lupa (Heaven & Earth), Touch The Color, Bahay-Bahayan (Playing House), Sipa (Kick) and some others.

But like the games children play today, we sometimes get addicted to playing. My brothers were like that. They sometimes get hooked with playing resulting into lower grades in their school cards. How my father boiled my brother’s boxful of teks cards and made him drink the broth, yuck! Not only that, he buried his jolens on the ground somewhere and burned his braid of rubber bands.
I wonder what kind of games will the children be playing in the future? Why don’t we try teaching our children our old games? I’m sure they will enjoy them as much as we enjoyed them some years ago.