110th Philippine Independence Day

Happy 110th Philippine Independence Day to all Filipinos around the world.  This is the time of the year that reminds us that we are really indeed free.  But the question remains, are we really free in the strict sense of the word?

While I was working in Luanda, every June 12, Filipinos gather around in Viana at Jembas in commemorating the Philippine Independence as one community.  Our voices have been heard  through a patriotic program showcasing Filipino cultures and traditions.  Our presence indeed in the African continent has been marked off due to our beneficial contribution.  Dignitaries from different countries and VIPS of Angola are invited to our celebration and of course a message from our president commencing the program.

Now that I am here working in “mina”, I surely miss that annual event but we are hoping that we could join the other fellow Filipinos in other mining projects in observing the freedom day. 

LONG LIVE THE PHILIPPINES….

Were you born lucky?

According to the Chinese, the three great blessings in life are LUCK, PROSPERITY and LONGEVITY.  What is your birth year reveals in these blessings in your life today?  Our formative years are very much vital in our success of today.  Let me share to you this written message I recently read about the comparison and realization of the life of children of the past and the children of today.

First, some of us survived being born to mothers who did not have an OB-Gyne and drank San Miguel Beer while they carried us.

While pregnant, they took cold or cough medicine, ate isaw,and didn’t worry about diabetes.

Then after all that trauma, our baby cribs were made of hard wood covered with lead-based paints, pati na yung walker natin, matigas na kahoy din at wala pang gulong.  

We had no soft cushy cribs that play music, no disposable diapers (lampin lang), and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, nokneepads , sometimes wala pang preno yung bisikleta.

 As children, we would ride in hot un-airconditioned buses with wooden seats (yung JD bus na pula),or cars with no airconditioning & no seat belts (ngayon lahat may aircon na)

Riding on the back of a carabao on a breezy summer day was considered a treat.(ngayon hindi na nakakakita ng kalabaw ang mga bata)

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle purchased from 711 ( minsan straight from the faucet or poso)

We shared one soft drink bottle with four of our friends, and NO ONE actually died from this.Or contacted hepatitis.

We ate rice with star margarine, drank raw eggs straight from the shell, and drank sofdrinks with real sugar in it (hindi diet coke), but we weren’t sick or overweight kasi nga…….

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, and get back when the streetlights came on.Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso , habulan at taguan.

No one was able to reach us all day( di uso ang cellphone , walang beepers ). And yes, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our wooden trolleys(yung bearing ang gulong) or plywood slides out of scraps and then ride down the street, only to find out we forgot the brakes! After hitting the sidewalk or falling into a canal (seweage channel) a few times, we learned to solve the problem ourselves with our bare & dirty hands .

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 100 channels on cable, no DVD movies, no surround stereo, no IPOD’s, no cellphones, no computers, no Internet, no chat rooms, and no Friendsters. …… …WE HAD REAL FRIENDS and we went outside to actually talk and play with them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no stupid lawsuits from these accidents.The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words..masakit ba ? pero pag galit yung kalaro mo,,,,ang sasabihin sa iyo..beh buti nga !

We played marbles (jolens) in the dirt , washed our hands just a little and ate dirty ice cream & fish balls. we were not afraid of getting germs in our stomachs.

We had to live with homemade guns ” gawa sa kahoy, tinali ng rubberband , sumpit , tirador at kung ano ano pa na puedeng makasakitan. .pero masaya pa rin ang lahat.

We made up games with sticks ( syatong ), and cans ( tumbang preso )and although we were told they were dangerous, wala naman tayong binulag o napatay.paminsan minsan may nabubukulan lang.

We walked, rode bikes, or took tricycles to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them to jump out the window!

Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t pass had to learn to deal with the disappointment. Wala yang mga childhood depression at damaged self esteem ek-ek na yan. Ang pikon, talo.

Ang magulang ay nandoon lang para tignan kung ayos lang ang mga bata, hindi para makialam at makipag-away sa ibang parents.

 

That generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, creative thinkers and successful professionals ever! They are the CEO’s, Engineers, Doctors and Military Generals of today.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had failure, success, and responsibility. We learned from our mistakes the hard way.

You might want to share this with others who’ve had the luck to grow up as real kids. We were lucky indeed.

And if you like, pass this message to your kids too, so they will know how brave their parents were.

It kind of makes you wanna go out and climb a tree, doesn’t it?!

 Now, come to think of it, I really agree from what has been said here.  The children of today are very dependent on the easy way of life like technology.  The children of the past used their initiatives from what resources they have even how little or deficient it is to carry out their needs.  My question now is, where you born lucky? where do you belong? From the past or the present?

An Angel and a Demon in each other’s company?

Have you thought of an angel and a demon in concurrence?  This could be a saintly occurrence,   I hope so for there will be no sins and estrangement from God.  Can this be possible?  Yes….it is possible - but only in boob tube.   Take a look at the latest TV commercial ad of Coca-Cola.  I love their concept of an angel and a demon drinking in unison.  Coke has hit the  nail on its head, a very suited commercial for the hot summer.  They impressed me and I sent the people behind this concept my sincerest congratulations. 

 

 

By the way the song accompanied the TV ad is entitled “Ang Sarap Dito” by a Pinoy superband named Project 1.  Why is it that we, men always equate to a demon?  Is that true to all?  Are we really that bad? Sometimes but not all the time I guess :-)

Malembe’s Song Pick of the Month - June

Every beginning of each month, Malembe is featuring a song from his playlist.  What a nice way to the start the month with a music - the language of us all.

My song pick for this month of June is SOMEDAY by David Gates.  I thought of selecting a song from the decade I was born, the 70’s.  I am sure that most of you have heard of “Bread”.  David Gates is one of the band members of this popular group in the 1970s.  I am always fascinated with light rock songs, soft rock as they say it.  It has a melodic harmony, pleasing to the ear with its harmonious sound.  Here is the video of that song.  Enjoy.

Other hits of David Gates that I like are “I Can’t Find The Words To Say Goodbye”, “Make It With You”, “Diary”, “The Guitar Man”, “Aubrey”, “Lost Without Your Love”, “Everything I Own”, “Goodbye Girl”.  These are always in my repertoire in our “Saturday Night Braii Magic Sing Session” :-)

 SOMEDAY

Love me
Forget about tomorrow now and love me
There’s time enough to borrow from another day
So just for now
Let’s touch and do the things
that drive my cares away

Hold me
Forget the world outside tonight and hold me
And by the flickering candle light
Our love will glow
And then we’ll share the words
and feelings no one else will
ever know

We should never end
Hand in hand we’ll walk the night forever
But if it can’t be so
There’s one more thing I need before I go

Just kiss me
And tell me when I’m gone how much you miss me
Forget the lonely in between
And then someday
We’ll open up our eyes and see the
world we thought so far away
Someday, someday

Face that only a mother can love!

There is apparently an outbreak or an epidemic that bumped off the mina of Camissombo.  What have we done to deserve this?  These are the faces that arduously worked to increase the production of diamonds - the diamonds that they say precious as a gem.  Do you think with what is happening with us right now, do we still have a face to deal with our day to day work life? 

Now you judge, can love be possible for a face like this? or this is the only face that a mother can only love?  A friend of mine sounded out that even our own mothers refuse to accept our human existence.

Calling all plastic surgeons to please help with our current predicament, don’t tell me doc that these are hopeless cases, this will test your ability of your chosen profession.  Do it please! prove to the world that we still have a life to live. 

Even myself did not escape from this virus, just for you to know the extent of its devastation, I cannot post my picture here.  Now, I thought to myself, can I still sing and believe in the song of Louis Armstrong ” What a Wonderful World”?

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

(George Weiss / Bob Thiele)

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shakin’ hands, sayin’ “How do you do?”
They’re really saying “I love you”

I hear babies cryin’, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Oh yeah

Unlimited free text?

We are fond of text messaging not only because it is easy and convenient but also it is relatively cheaper than voice calling.  I think Filipinos are the number 1 users of text messaging in the whole world.  Now, when unlimited text messaging is free of charge, this can be hugely beneficial to many.  With the skyrocketing prices of our daily basic needs and almost everything has its costs, their move to absolve us from paying for every text message we send is quite a help in minifying our daily expenses. 

It is in the news I heard just today in ABS CBN that there is a move to implement a free text messaging but the communication networks like Globe, Smart, Sun Cellular have no say yet on this proposal.  Although allowing free unlimited text seems to be promising, we have to see the other side of the story too - the communication networks, the technical possibility of this plan.  There are drawbacks on this too.  I could just imagine allowing consumers to send text messages at no cost at all could smashed the mobile phone networks for some reasons.  One of which is the capacity limitations, this would lead to system crashes as they will encounter insupportable and massive text inputs.  This necessitate an enhancement and improvements on their system requirements just to accommodate huge influx of text messages.  For this, it entails an additional expenses for the networks.  I believe too that networks potential profitabilty will then be a history if this will be implemented.  Another obvious disadvantage of a no-cost-texting is principally consumers will be flooded by irritating promotional text messages.  People will surely receive messages every minute of every day even when you are sleeping.

I would wish too text messaging is free but we have to check the reality too.  Networks should be honest and explain their side on this move so as not to give false hopes to their consumers.  Nothing in this world is free and no one should benefit at the expense of others.

Steven Purugganan - 2008 WSSA World Sport Stacking Champion

I have never known this kind of thing exists - cup stacking!  it is actually a sport.  Wait till you watch the video below and you will understand what I am talking about.  Watch it - its worth it and you will be amazed. You will think that the video was being played fastforward, you won’t believe it!

Cup Stacker Steven Purugganan, the 10-year-old World Champion and record holder, as seen on ESPN visits The Kellogg Krew on 94.7 WMAS FM Springfield, MA

Video of Steven in 2008 WSSA World Sport Stacking Champion with amazing world record of 6.21seconds

 What is then a cup stacking?  See below info about this sport from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page :

Sport stacking (formerly known as cup stacking and commonly known as speed stacking) is an individual and team activity played using plastic cups. It originated in the early 1980s at a southern California boys and girls’ club and received national attention in 1990 on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The sport was invented by Wayne Godinet. He was the man who invented the first formations and gave the name to the Cup stack (Karango Cup Stack). Shortly thereafter Godinet formed a group called Cupstack. Later he worked together with the physical education teacher Bob Fox. Early competitions were held in 1998 in Oceanside, California and Denver, Colorado. Later Bob fox developed the sport and invented new formations and competitons, he also invented the annual World Sport Stacking Championships and founded Speed Stacks.

Participants of sport stacking upstack and downstack cups in pre-determined sequences, competing against the clock or another player. Sequences are usually pyramids of three, six, or ten cups. Proponents of the sport say participants learn teamwork, cooperation, ambidexterity and hand-eye coordination.

Tournaments are governed by the World Sport Stacking Association. In 2004, the WSSA changed the activity’s name from cup stacking to sport stacking in an attempt to give it “immediate identification as a competitive sport.”

2008 WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships

  • Cycle Champion: Steven Purugganan, 10, time 6.21 sec, New World Record
  • 3-6-3 Champion: Steven Purugganan, 10, time 2.34 sec
  • 3-3-3 Champion: Steven Purugganan, 10, time 1.86 sec, New World Record
  • Doubles Cycle: Timo Reuhl & David Wolf, time 7.65 sec, New World Record
  • Timed 3-6-3 Relay: TeaM2 Germany, time 13.19 sec, New World Record
  • Team 6-12-6 Champions: Chris Patterson & Reece Gregory, Australia, time 10.34sec. Australian record.

 

For a complete information about Sport Stacking, kindly click this link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupstacking

Who is Steven Purugganan?   Is his family name familiar or it’s like a Pinoy sounding surname?  Yes…he is PINOY indeed.  Another illustration to be proud of as a Filipino.  After the success of Charice Pempengco, Madonna Decena, Ramielle Malubay, Charlie Green etc, yet another Pinoy made it to the top and had stunned the world.   Steven Purugganan is a pure blooded 10 year old Pinoy from Longmeadow, Massachussetts who is 2008 WSSA World Sport Stacking champion.

Amazing, awesome - astig! that fast - I can imagine how he cleans their dishes with that pace :-)  Well now if you heard of cup stacking, chances are you heard of Purugganan!

 

 

And the ‘American Idol’ winner is……DAVID

Your guess is as good as mine…David Cook grabbed the title of American Idol for Season 7.  Congratulations David.  I am from the very start your fan and have you pictured out victorous over the other contestants. 

Even though the 17 year old David Archuleta was showered with high praises from the judges, the American voters decided otherwise.   David Cook brought home the bacon.  “Time of My Life” is the final song he sang that won the annual Idol songwriting competition and with that song, it closes out the season seven.

The Verdict - Time of my Life

I Still Haven’t Found What I Am Looking For

Dream Big

The World I Know

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

This is a song actually popularized by Roberta Flack and most of you might not be familiar with this song.  There are a lot of versions to this song - the likes of Celine Dion, Johnny Cash, George Michael, Leona Lewis and our very own Regine Velasquez to name a few.  But the abridged and shortened song version of American Idol’s David Cook is what I personally find enjoyable.  The idea of a guy singing a female song is not easy but he was able to pulled it off.  This song is by the way featured in the movie ”The Bachelor”  with Chris O’Donnell and Renee Zelwegger.  I just want to share with you his version of the song and the lyrics of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”. 

 

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the empty skies, my love,
To the dark and the empty skies.

The first time ever I kissed your mouth
And felt your heart beat close to mine
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command, my love
That was there at my command.

And the first time ever I lay with you
I felt your heart so close to mine
And I knew our joy would fill the earth
And last till the end of time my love
It would last till the end of time my love

The first time ever I saw your face, your face,
your face, your face

Based on my readings, this song was written by Ewan McColl in 1957 for his wife Peggy Seeger.  Read more about this, click this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Time_Ever_I_Saw_Your_Face

 

can’t you smile for once?

Tawa naman dyan!

Kumpare 1:Pards!Ano una mong tinitingnan kapag nakakasalubong ka ng sexy girl?

Kumpare2:Una kong tinitingnan ay ang mata ng misis ko ****,alam mo namang sobra selosa non!!

 

May 1 mangyan pumasok sa jollibee…
Mangyan: Pabili ng pulot…
Tindera: walang pulot dito!
Mangyan: kayabangan mo! ang laki laki nung bubuyog sa labas…

 

 

Kung ikaw ay may “putok”,
wag mong ikahiya….

taas noo mo itong ipagmalaki…

dahil “pinagpawisan” mo ‘to….

 

 

Sabi ng loro sa 3 Madreng nagdaan,
“asul, itim, pula!”
nagulat ang 3 Madre kasi yun ang mga kulay ng panty nila..
Kinabukasan,
nagdaan ulit ang 3 Madre.
Sabi ng Loro,
“dilaw, puti, berde!”
Tama na naman ang Loro sa mga kulay ng kanilang panty.
Nang sumunod na araw, di na nagpanty ang 3 Madre.
Sabi ng Loro,
“Kulot! Kulubot! Panot!”

 

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away,
but if the DOCTOR is cute,
you can forget about the fruit!”
hehehe..

In a pet shop…
Customer talking to a parrot…

Customer: hoy! can you talk ha?!… bobo!!!
Parrot: yes i can!!!… ikaw?! can you fly ha?