lakbayera trips

> viagra in your soda

2008-07-04T09:54:00.009+08:00

on the first day of july, an email from a cousin doctor came in, reporting on something i simply couldn't resist sharing with you:

"Pfizer Corp. announced today that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one. Obviously, we can no longer call this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names of 'cocktails', 'highballs' and just a good old-fashioned 'stiff drink'. Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of: MOUNT & DO!

"Thought for the day: There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them. If you don't sent this to five old friends right away, there will be five fewer people laughing in the world!"

well, how's that after a looooong vacation from blogging!!!

keep smiling and laughing. :-)

> first pregnant man, could he be half-filipino?

2008-04-05T07:38:00.028+08:00

"pregnant man" made headline news recently, eventually grabbing the number 1 spot of top yahoo searches.

people reacted and dismissed the pregnant man to be an april fool's day joke. some said he was a hoax out to monetize his unique condition of "infanticipation".

but the world's first pregnant man, thomas beatie, has proven via oprah's show that he is for real.

thomas beatie, 34 from oregon (usa) and married to nancy, declared: I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy.... (read more at the huffington post, one of the first sources of the news, and yahoo news where i first read the story.) before tranferring to oregon, he actively advocated gay rights in hawaii.

but it seems thomas is not the first man to get pregnant. mirror.co.uk reports a certain matt rice who sired a son in 1999.

but what really intrigued and triggered me to stop my housework this saturday morning, do some investigation and write this post is thomas beatie's origins, photos and former name.

he was born and raised in hawaii where citizens/migrants of filipino ancestry are a-plenty. he definitely looks asian. his original legal name is tracy lagondino which sounds very filipino.

i flipped the pages of our philippine phone directory. there is no lagondino. but there are 3 listed as lagundino.

the first minute of the first of the 5 part video of oprah's interview confirms that his father is asian. could he be a half-filipino?

watch the rest of the interview:
video 2/5
video 3/5
video 4/5
video 5/5

oprah described thomas' choice as "a new definition of what diversity means for everybody." thomas declared at oprah's show: "Love makes a family. That's all that matters."

often times, i would say how i wish man and woman were created with the same ability to impregnate and get pregnant. both can have the option to decide on "who will get pregnant this time?". thus both can experience how to breastfeed and care for the baby besides gaining weight, getting those stretchmarks all over the belly, having pre- and post natal blues, being perceived as unsexy etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseum. if that were so, we MIGHT have more balanced and harmonious man-woman relationships and thus happier marriages.

what d'ya think?

(blogger's note: yesterday, i got a comment on this post saying the filipino channel reported thomas is a filipino. this monday morning, i saw the abs-cbn north america bureau news in the network's local channel in manila, reporting that wife nancy confirmed that thomas' father is indeed a filipino. nancy refused to name the father and reveal what part of the philippines he is from. -- 4/7/08)

> today, 8 to 9pm, earth hour

2008-03-29T07:31:00.004+08:00

let the light of love for mother earth shine as we turn the lights off at 8pm!

> problogger: are you one? take the test

2008-03-23T07:01:00.006+08:00

this morning, i checked out luilakbayera's neighborhood blog posts in blogcatalog. and look, what i discovered -- a problogger test. thanks to duckeldanny.

i took the test. and lo and behold! whoa! poor me, i scored only 30%. a long, long way to go to be considered a problogger if the test is an accurate basis.

but test or no test, i admit i am not a problogger nor am i yet a competent blogger. but i'm learning. :)

> LIGHTS OFF on earth hour 2008, 8pm, march 29

2008-03-22T06:56:00.014+08:00

"Turning the lights off for Earth Hour is a great first step, but if you really want to "see a difference, then make Earth Hour part of your everyday life."
read more here. you may also want to sign up for earth hour here.

> is blogging a slacker job? -- an ongoing study

2008-03-19T12:52:00.023+08:00

i have much to learn on how to be a good blogger and an interesting writer. thus, i invest some time to learn the ropes by reading posts of the more established bloggers. one of them, connie veneracion, maintains several blogs like the mommy journal s, where i first read the post about the recent column of the controversial malu fernandez on blogging.

i felt i had to leave a comment after reading connie's post and so i wrote: "...what got me was this: '…blogging…is a slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect' -- which triggers me to start a research on bloggers by reading their “about me” sections as an initial step to know if malu f’s statement has any basis. (i am more sociologically inclined so i would reserve the loneliness research to psychologists.) subjects will be the top pinoy and filipino-descent bloggers as listed in Technorati’s Philippine Top 100 Blogs which i read in yugatech’s blog."

to start the research rolling, i googled for studies done about filipino bloggers and found posts in now what, cat? and filipino librarian. there might be more that i have not discovered yet. do you know of other researches? please tell me.

the findings of the said studies were limited to hits, gender, location, blog category, ranking, url/software used, update frequency, among others.

nowhere did i find any data about what the bloggers "do for a living or are busy with" to validated or invalidate that "blogging... is a slacker job." and this i will focus on.

as i said, i've chosen Technorati’s Philippine Top 100 Blogs to be a reference point of my pet study. however, the post says, "The current list may change on a daily basis and may not reflect the actual standings. This list will be updated as regularly as possible." i can't find the date when the list was published. so this leads me now to join the yugatech forums and ask for an updated version of the list, if any. i might just have missed the update when i reviewed the blog's archive.

i am serious about this study and i might in fact write the pinoy bloggers in the list in cases where there is lack of information about themselves.

it may take quite sometime for me though to finish the research as i am not lacking in other activities/work at home and outside the home. so bear with me, please.

> you tube and ken lee

2008-03-14T13:22:00.014+08:00

this ken lee video has been going around the net for sometime now.

Write-ups say the contestant, valentina hasan, joined the second season of the Bulgarian show "music idol", performing her version of mariah carey's song "without you".

watch her audition:

in arathbenedek's description of this video, which has reached more than 1.3 million views as of this writing, he tried to be kind when he wrote:

This video is not intended for any ethnic tensions or historical debates. It's just a laugh, so I implore everyone to ignore any irrelevant comments and not to engage in pointless discussions.

watch valentina's return as guest in the "music idol" show and listen to her "improved english":

ken lee tulibu dibu douchoo. english? so what! but can you beat her confidence. if only for that, don't you think she deserves our standing ovation? Brava, Valentina!

> int'l women's day -- a mimosa for you, girl!

2008-03-08T17:48:00.021+08:00

greetings to all women today!

much have been written about the celebration of the international women's day, and the plight and struggles of women worldwide.

today, let me just post this yellow mimosa flower i photoed march 8 of last year. the bunch was given to me by signora cristina fabris, an ex-boss while i was living in italy that time. it has been a practice especially in italy to give yellow mimosa to women during women's day.

a while ago, i googled about mimosa and found out that this yellow mimosa is from Acacia dealbata (Silver Wattle), which is not a true mimosa, says wikipedia.

i haven't seen such flower in the philippines. we have here a different mimosa though, the real one, i suppose. it's color is lavander not yellow. others call it touch-me-not or sensitive plant. in the philippines, we call it makahiya (the root word, hiya, means shy) since it's leaves fold inward or shrink when touched or exposed to heat.

i'm glad that the flowers given to women on international women's day are not of the makahiya variety. women these days no longer fold inward or shrink when handled the wrong way. they have learned to empower themselves and assert for what is fair, just and right.

auguri, donne!

> wikipedia online break up

2008-03-06T16:37:00.008+08:00

breaking up is hard to do especially when done online. hahaha!

> sick of e-guilt?

2008-03-05T09:57:00.011+08:00

blogger's N.B. -- readers of this post commented that they can't access the link or the url below. there was no problem when i tested the link or the url after publishing the post. this time, i checked it again. indeed, the link is kaput and nothing appears after copying and pasting the url. so sorry, guys!

got an e-mail this morning re "sick of e-guilt".

click here, or copy and paste http://info.org.il/irrelevant/may02-smilepop-soapbox4.swf and
enjoy the trip.

> performance level

2008-03-04T10:43:00.027+08:00

i've been wanting to have a vacation from domestic duties and go to my family's hometown in albay.

the mayon volcano photoed from the balcony of my cousin's house in bacacay, albay

last time i went was end of oct till after all soul's day of 2007 to bury my father's sister. (perhaps the aunt timed her passing away during that long vacation so that family members who live in manila could come for the funeral.)

i usually take the bus to albay, specifically cagsawa bus' night trip. but my older sister, who was to travel with me that time, prefers day trips so she could see the view along the way. so i grudgingly approved to do as she wanted despite the knowledge that i would be awake most of the time...and feel all the more the uneasiness of having to sit for long hours in a claustrophobic space... and couldn't even read as i can't do that on any moving vehicle except the big ones like planes, trains and ships.

anyway, bus trip from quezon city to albay takes 12 hours with 2 stopovers for meals and bladder breaks.

now while sorting and organizing my digital photo files for "burning", this rummaging search produces a shot taken during one bladder break (i've forgotten which restaurant but it must be somewhere in quezon province) on that particular trip in oct 2007. get ready --

yup, ladies, "performance level" is ... down and seated. :)

> stand up for truth, justice and change but be home at 8pm

2008-03-01T17:55:00.037+08:00

i thanked that my friend gilleth and i finished not too late in the afternoon of feb 29. we were invited by a de la salle u prof to read excerpts from 2 plays for the arts congress in dlsu. (pity us! the organizers could have just used a classroom for the arts congress. the huge yuchengco theatre seemed empty with less than 50 in the audience.) why, oh, why did they have to push through with this event. most of de la salle's students, teachers and even brothers would probably be in ayala, makati!

and that interfaith rally (vs corruption, zte-nbn lies and cover-ups, arroyo and administration) in ayala corner paseo de roxas was where this "makibaka, 'wag matakot" veteran wanted to be.

i hurriedly bid gilleth goodbye, and LRTied and MRTied (rode the 2 train lines) to buendia station. i hailed a jeep and got down at the corner of paseo de roxas-buendia. good that while still in dlsu, i changed into my lakbayera mode outfit -- jeans, mojo sandals and backpack. I was ready for the not so short walk from that corner to the other end of paseo near ayala, where i was to meet the hubby. it was almost 6pm when i reached our meet place.

"Let's walk closer to the crowd near the stage," i urged the hubby who readily led the way. yup, nearer so we could feel the energy of the rally and take some interesting shots.

"makikiraan lang po," as we excused and squeezed through the crowd. everytime we could find more-or-less our own space to occupy, i took photos as we chanted with the crowd or listened to speeches, thankfully short.

here are some photos of the feb 29 rally as we got nearer the stage. pov: moving towards the intersection of paseo de roxas and ayala ave.

excuse us, please!

banners galore! there were more banners, of course.
but they had to be folded/furled so those at the back could see the stage.

tell me, is that the exit to ayala ave?

kaya pala nawawala ang walis sa bahay nyo, eh!

message in the bottles -- Peace!

Need i say more?

j. lo with a phalanx of nuns behind him.

j. lo bravely states his stand for truth, justice and change

oops!

the head

at half past 7pm, we left a still huge crowd, with people who just left work still joining in. permit allowed the rally until 8pm. the protest action peacefully ended at 9.

but we had to rush home. we were tired and hungry and... and...and. fortunately, way home was unbelievably traffic-free! and fortunately, we were just on time to catch american idol's elimination night at 8pm! yeepee! ramiele malubay is still in!

> Pain and meditation-killers

2008-02-24T16:50:00.020+08:00

while having a massage before lunch today (please concentrate on my shoulders and my feet, ha....) and the bedmate was watching quiapo "dibidi" of old episodes of grey's anatomy, i hear lines from the show's character, disrupting my massage meditation. character says,

"pain has a reason."

"pain is there to tell us something."

"pain is bad but no pain is better."

leche! pahingi nga ng painkiller!!!!!
(darn! please give me a painkiller!!!!!)

> Senior citizen bloggers inspire me

2008-02-24T13:47:00.011+08:00

again, while going over computer files, i finally read usatoday.com's news item re "senior citizen bloggers defy stereotype"

(my apologies to usatoday.com -- still don't know what to do to create a link to the source's webpage with the story. ergo, i am copying and pasting the article in full. anybody out there who can help me do the linking stuff?) here goes:

Posted 11/6/2005 7:42 PM

Senior citizen bloggers defy stereotypes
By Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press

CHICAGO — Forget shuffleboard, needlepoint, and bingo. Web logs, usually considered the domain of alienated adolescents and home for screeds from middle-aged pundits, are gaining a foothold as a new leisure-time option for senior citizens.

There's Dad's Tomato Garden Journal, Dogwalk Musings, and, of course, the Oldest Living Blogger.

"It's too easy to sit in your own cave and let the world go by, eh?" said Vancouver's Ray Sutton, the 73-year-old Oldest Living Blogger. "It keeps the old head working a little bit so you're not just sitting there gawking at TV."

Web logs, or blogs, are online journals where people post entries on topics that interest them. They may offer links to other websites, photos and opportunities for readers to comment.

Bloggers say their hobby keeps them thinking about current events, makes them friends to strangers around the globe and gives them a voice in a society that often neglects the wisdom of the elderly.

"It brings out the best in me," said Boston-area blogger Millie Garfield, 80, who writes My Mom's Blog. "My life would be dull without it."

Three percent of online seniors have created a blog and 17% have read someone else's blog, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Compare that to online 18- to 29-year-olds. Thirteen percent of them have created blogs and 32% have read someone else's blog, according to the Pew data.

Joe Jenett, a Detroit-area Web designer who has been tracking the age of bloggers for a personal project called the Ageless Project, said he has noticed more older bloggers in the past two years.

"Isn't that phenomenal? And their writing is vibrant," Jenett said. "The Web is diverse and it breaks across generational lines."

Jenett and others noted that sites such as Blogger.com give step-by-step instructions and free hosting, making it simpler to self-publish on the Web.

"It's easy to start one if you can connect dots," said former Jesuit priest and retired newspaperman Jim Bowman, 73, of Oak Park, Ill. Bowman writes four regular blogs: one on happenings in his city, one a catchall for his opinions, one on religion and one offering feedback on Chicago newspapers.

A recent post from his newspaper blog praised the Chicago Tribune's front page stories on the White Sox World Series games:

"It's been a lovely thing, to see copy so clean and substantive enough to make E.B. White and his mentor William Strunk Jr. stand up in their graves and say Yippee," Bowman wrote.

Bowman once had eight separate blogs, but has let some lapse. The blog topics he doesn't keep up with anymore include ideas for sermons, Chicago history and condominium life.

"Like any other hobby, you've got to make sure it doesn't take over," he said.

Mari Meehan, 64, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, has been blogging since July. It's given her a voice in her small resort town where, as a relative newcomer, she felt rebuffed in her efforts to get involved.

Inspired by other local bloggers she'd found on The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) newspaper's website, Meehan discovered it was easy to get started.

"If you can read, you can do it," she said. She titled her blog Dogwalk Musings and based it on the premise that she would write about her thoughts during morning walks with her St. Bernard, Bacchus. Her posts range from nature sightings of a kildeer's nest with four eggs to rants about local and national politics.

When readers started mentioning Dogwalk Musings as one of their favorites on a newspaper columnist's blog, Meehan said she felt compelled to post every day.

But now she's backing off. "Lots of times, I'll walk away from it for three or four days," Meehan said. "I'm not going to let it take over."

Response from blog readers does keep many older bloggers returning to their keyboards day after day. If they skip a day, readers will e-mail the older bloggers, asking if they're sick.

In the two years since 92-year-old Ray White started Dad's Tomato Garden Journal, the blog has been viewed more than 45,000 times. Some of those who click on the site are regular readers who know they can rely on White six days a week.

A recent post, with its original punctuation:

"How is everything going this morning with you, cheer up because today is Friday and most of you know what you can do in the morning, pull up that cover and go back to sleep for a little while. But we do have to get going for today. You know all about the coffee and tea at Dad's house, it's ready and the door is always unlocked. Let's go out there and do a good job today and then we will be able to smile when we head for home this afternoon."

White's daughter, Mary White, said the blog keeps her father interested in life. When his computer is broken, "he's just like a different person," she said. "He's sad."

The blog connects Ray White with friends he's never met in England, Portugal, Germany, Canada and all 50 states, he said.

He's continually surprised by the response.

"You'd be surprised how many questions I get during the tomato season," he said. "There's always somebody having a problem. I try to answer all those questions....

"It's just like one big family."

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

before i started this blogging "thingie", i feared i might be branded a latecomer or a gaya-gaya, puto-maya (translation: copycat). i doubted and felt i must be jumping on the bandwagon, er, no, crawling to get into the bandwagon would be more accurate, i guess.

reading, however, about the blogging "genarians" has inspired/moved me tremendously to carry on with this endeavor. well, who wouldn't be after visiting Dad's Tomato Garden Journal (how do i make a link? -- help me, please!) and "meeting" tomato grower ray s. white who at 94+ (america's oldest blogger) has been blogging the last four years and telling us that "time is so precious--don't waste it."

yes, virginia (whoever you are, virginia), at 54, i am positive that time is so precious and i don't have much time in the world (do i with less than 50 more years to go?). and so, let me blog on.

> Lakbayera's bwena mano: pontius pilate, lies, greed and goethe

2008-02-22T16:34:00.014+08:00

while sorting/deleting/organizing old computer files, i stumbled upon goethe’s advice which i saved from a page in www.tzuchi.org. amidst all the “washing of hands ala pontius pilate”, lies and greed, i find peace and tranquillity while meditating upon these…Nine Requisites for Contented Living by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Health enough to make work a pleasure.
Wealth enough to support your needs.
Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them.
Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them.
Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished.
Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor.
Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others.
Faith enough to make real the things of God.
Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.

be that as it may, ito pa rin ang tingin ko: mahalagang patuloy na mamulat/ mag-organisa/ kumilos/ makibaka ang mga pilipino para matanggal ang ugat ng “systemic dysfunction” sa gubyerno’t lipunan. pero kasabay nito ay ang pagbabago sa sarili – sa isip, kalooban at gawa.

hindi lang daw tatlong "ismo" ang problema ng bayan. may isa pang "ismo" -- "tayomismo".