Pala-isip

Jeeploma - A Moving Artwork by Paul Taladtad

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 22:53:00 +0000

"Jeeploma" by Paul Taladtad

The above painting is the Grand Prize winner of the recently concluded 32nd DPC-PLDT Visual Arts Competition. The artwork is entitled "Jeeploma" with the description "Jeeploma is consist of two different word, jeep and deploma(sic), which depict the hard working of our jeepney driver in order finish the study of his children."

The theme of this years competition is "Pinoy Pride" and what else would bring a Pinoy more pride than to see their children graduate from University.

This artwork is quite moving since Jeepney drivers are not known to make a lot of money. This painting show how, through hard work, a Jeepney driver was able to raise this children and pay for their college education.

This work was created by Paul Taladtad, 24, a third-year Fine Arts student at the Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP). His work will be featured on the covers of the 2018-2019 DPC Yellow Pages and PLDT White Pages in Metro Manila.

3 Cost Effective Ways to Solve Metro Manila's Traffic Problem

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 08:19:00 +0000

The Facebook page of ANC 24/7 is asking for its reader's suggestion on how to solve Metro Manila's traffic problem.

This got me thinking, "what is the best way to solve Metro Manila's traffic problem?" It's easy to make suggestions, what's hard is the implementation and the cost of implementation. So what is the the best way to solve Metro Manila's traffic problem and the most cost effective solution?

Punitive Fines

Add caption

First of all, any implementation will definitely cost money, a lot of money. The cause of the traffic mess is the people themselves so it's only right that those causing the traffic problem should be fined and the fine should hurt. That way, the fines will pay for the cost of enforcing the law.

The fines should start at P500 and goes up every week if you don't pay it within 15 days. To enforce this and prevent people from ignoring the fine. It will be tied to their driver's license or car registration. They cannot renew their driver's license or car registration until the fine is paid.

Driver Education

Driver education is the most important aspect in solving Metro Manila's traffic mess. Right now, getting a driver's license involves taking a written exam and an actual driving test. When I took my exam, there was no book or a brochure given to me to study about Philippine traffic rules and regulation. I was just given the exam papers and question booklet and told to answer it.

I knew some rules from watching American TV so I was able to answer some of the question. But I didn't really need to know much because the exam booklet I was given had the answered circled in pencil. I had one mistake in the exam.

The next step is to take an actual driving test. I was led to an owner type jeep which is the driving test vehicle and the examiner was sitting there relaxing. I was going to drive it but the examiner told me to just give him P50 "pang kape" and he passed me. This was obviously a long time ago since they don't as for P50 anymore, I believe it's more like P200 to P500 now.

I think it's time we do a complete driver re-education

Clear the street

Photo courtesy of shankar s. and no modifications were done with the image

Clearing up the streets by removing old vehicles, clearing the sidewalks of vendors and obstructions like Barangay Halls, parked cars, squatters and extension of business establishments would open up the space for more usable roads. It would be best if the local government can give them a place they can legally sell. This helps clean up the streets and provide vendors a place to do business without being harassed by corrupt policemen.

Currently, sidewalk vendors block entire sidewalks which extends to the street where pedestrians are forced to walk along the road creating hazard and slows down motorist.

Add to this mess are private cars parked on the sidewalks and some sidewalks become extension of their home when they build their gate or their gardens.

I've also seen business put all their stocks on the sidewalks in front of their store effectively making the sidewalk unusable.

Clearing up the streets would probably add 5 to 10% more road capacity.

In Conclusion

These are just 3 cost effective ways to solve Metro Manila's traffic problem. There are other solutions like having better road signs, redesigning the traffic light system, eliminating the color coding scheme, phasing out jeepneys and tricycles, etc. But those solutions take more time and money to implement. The suggestions above can be quickly implemented and cost can be offset by fines and fees paid by motorists.

What are your suggestions for solving Metro Manila's traffic problem? Share them in the comments!

Did you like this post? If so, you may want to see what Manila use to look like in Manila - The Most Beautiful City in Asia 1950's to the mid 1970's.

Le Chazz, AJ and Iya Stand-Up Comedy in Vienna

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 07:00:00 +0000

Here is another stand-up act by Le Chazz, AJ and Iya in Vienna.

What Is Boastful? Laughtrip with Le Chazz, Iya and AJ

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 07:00:00 +0000

Le Chazz, AJ and Iyah is a popular stand-up comedy trio in the Philippines. Check out their act at a comedy bar.

How Elon Musk Built His Empire - [Infographic]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 06:44:00 +0000

This graphic was created by information designer Anna Vital, read her full article here.

Step by Step: How Elon Musk Built His Empire (by Anna Vital)

“The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. Tomorrow’s champions will not win by competing ruthlessly in today’s marketplace. They will escape competition altogether, because their businesses will be unique.” – Peter Thiel in “Zero to One”

In the book Zero to One, prominent entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shares his vision on what it takes to create an extraordinary company.

Specifically, Thiel believes that instead of making incremental upgrades to an existing product or service, a company must aim to do something completely new to avoid ruthless competition. While Thiel has worked with many impressive people over the years, Thiel points to Elon Musk as a particularly successful member of the Paypal Mafia that has gone “zero to one” many times.

THE RÉSUMÉ

At only the age of 44, just “some” of Musk’s successes include building the world’s first global online payments company (Paypal) and landing re-usable rockets on ocean platforms (SpaceX). He also co-founded SolarCity, which just closed a $338 million round for providing commercial solar and energy storage, and his electric car company Tesla now has 325,000 pre-orders for the Tesla Model 3, which is good for $14 billion in future revenues.

Meanwhile, in his spare time, Musk draws up plans for revolutionary transport systems, such as the Hyperloop and VTOL supersonic jet aircraft known as the Musk electric jet.

That’s going from zero to one at least a few separate times, with many years in his career left to come. How does Elon do it?

THE LIFE OF ELON MUSK

In the infographic and article from Funders and Founders, Vital highlights key circumstances, decisions, and results in Elon Musk’s life. Here are some of the key inflection points that helped him to build his massive empire.

Elon was born in South Africa to an engineer father and model mother on June 28, 1971.
Elon read 10 hours a day as a kid, and even read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.
At age 12, Elon sold his first video game that he coded for $500.
After being inspired by Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Elon decided that his new life mission would be to save humanity.
Leaves Stanford PhD program after two days to help found Zip2, which he started with a $28,000 loan from his father.
He later received proceeds of $22 million from the sale of Zip2 to Compaq, which he used to start X.com.
X.com merges with another online bank (Confinity) to form Paypal.
Elon gets ousted as CEO from Paypal while on his honeymoon, yet still invests more money in the company regardless.
He discovers that space rockets are artificially overpriced, and starts SpaceX to build his own rockets.
Elon gets $250 million from the sale of Paypal to Ebay.
Meets Tesla founders Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard, and introduces them to JB Straubel. Elon invests in Tesla.
After having three SpaceX rockets explode while approaching bankruptcy with Tesla, Elon takes action. He takes over as CEO of Tesla and raises an emergency fifth round of financing. Meanwhile, his fourth rocket launch with SpaceX succeeds and a $1.6B contract with NASA is signed.
Tesla goes public at $17 per share (it trades for ~$250/share today)
Elon announces reusable rockets that could make space flight 100x cheaper, and promises to also send humans to Mars by 2021-2031.
Elon publishes the Hyperloop design, starts building the Gigafactory, unveils the Powerwall, and eventually lands a rocket on an ocean platform.

What’s next?

Launching the Falcon Heavy rocket, starting Gigafactory production, selling the Model 3 electric car, and potentially landing on Mars are just some of the things on his future laundry list.

What Musk can actually accomplish in the future is anybody’s guess. We certainly won’t be betting against him.

Original graphic by: Funders and Founders

Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho: Ano ang nangyari kay Super Tekla?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 05:29:00 +0000

Araw-araw natin siyang kinagiliwan sa 'Wowowin,' ngunit naging maugong ang kaniyang pangalan sa social media nang biglang mawala si Super Tekla sa afternoon game show ng GMA. Ano nga ba ang nangyari sa stand-up comedian at host na kilala bilang si Romeo Librada sa tunay na buhay?

You Laugh, You Lose: Comedians Crack Jokes At Each Other While The Other Keeps a Straight Face

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 19:00:00 +0000

Two comedians tell dad jokes to each other. The first one to laugh loses. The one with the most points wins.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte Visits Protesters After Delivering His SONA

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 20:49:00 +0000

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte visits the rally being staged by the protesters and gives a brief message to the rallyists after delivering his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 24, 2017

President Duterte spoke to protesters about the Martial Law he issued as well as the recent attempt on his life when his Presidential Security Group (PSG) was ambushed and 4 PSG troops were wounded. He also discussed about the possibility of peace talks provided the other party commits to peace and stop the ambush or assassination attempt on his life.

I don't ever recall any previous Philippine President facing protesters like this, Duterte is really one of a kind.

Manila Mayor Joseph "Erap" Estrada's Manila Bay Clean-Up Drive is a Joke

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 09:00:00 +0000

Manila Mayor Joseph "Erap" Estrada initiated a clean-up drive of Manila Bay where he and other officials are seen riding on a boat with fishing nets to clean up the garbage in the water. What happened however was that the particular part of the water where they were was sort of clean. So for publicity, he had his people throw garbage from another boat into the water so there's garbage for him and his officials to clean-up during their photo op.

There's even people in the water to spread the garbage to make it look "nicer" on the photo.

Watch the bopols (stupid in Filipino) move of a Filipino politician.

It's amazing what politicians do for publicity. Do you have any photos or videos of bopol moves your politicians?

Baylor University Men's Choir Sings Da Coconut Nut by Filipino Composer Ryan Cayabyab

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 04:54:00 +0000

The Baylor University Men's Choir flying on Emirates Airlines gave an impromptu performance of "Da Coconut Nut" composed by Filipino musician Ryan Cayabyab on their flight home from Kenya.

Singing and dancing, the 75-member of the Baylor University Men's Choir performed Ryan Cayabyab's song "Da Coconut Nut" to the delight of the passengers and crew.

"Da Coconut Nut" was popularized by Ryan Cayabyab's group Smokey Mountain back in the 1990's. The choral arrangement of the song has become popular and performed by choirs around the world. The video posted by Emirates on Facebook has been viewed over 2.5 million times.

It's a really great performance and I checked out their actual performance of "Da Coconut Nut" on Youtube. It's not very clear but it's great nonetheless.

If you're curious, here is the original version of the song "Da Coconut Nut" by Smokey Mountain

What did you think of the Baylor University Men's Choir's performance?

Chinese Advice to 50-Year Olds and Older

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 19:00:00 +0000

(Translated from Chinese)

Chinese Advice to 50-Year Olds and Older

Because none of us have many years to live, and we can’t take along anything when we go, so we don’t have to be too thrifty…

Spend the money that should be spent, enjoy what should be enjoyed, donate what you are able to donate, but don’t leave all to your children or grandchildren, for you don’t want them to become parasites who are waiting for the day you will die!!

Don’t worry about what will happen after we are gone, because when we return to dust, we will feel nothing about praises or criticisms. The time to enjoy the worldly life and your hard earned wealth will be over!

Don’t worry too much about your children, for children will have their own destiny and should find their own way. Don’t be your children’s slave. Care for them, love them, give them gifts but also enjoy your money while you can. Life should have more to it than working from the cradle to the grave!!

Don’t expect too much from your children. Caring children, though caring, would be too busy with their jobs and commitments to render much help.

Uncaring children may fight over your assets even when you are still alive, and wish for your early demise so they can inherit your properties and wealth.

Your children take for granted that they are rightful heirs to your wealth; but that you have no claims to their money.

50-year old like you, don’t trade in your health for wealth by working yourself to an early grave anymore… Because your money may not be able to buy back your health…

When to stop making money, and how much is enough (hundred thousands, million, ten million)?

Out of thousand hectares of good farm land, you can consume only three quarts (of rice) daily; out of a thousand mansions, you only need eight square meters of space to rest at night.

So, as long as you have enough food and enough money to spend, that is good enough. You should live happily. Every family has its own problems. Just do not compare with others for fame and social status and see whose children are doing better, etc., but challenge others for happiness, health, enjoyment, quality of life and longevity…

Don’t worry about things that you can’t change because it doesn’t help and it may spoil your health.

You have to create your own well-being and find your own place of happiness. As long as you are in good mood and good health, think about happy things, do happy things daily and have fun in doing, then you will pass your time happily every day.

One day passes without happiness, you will lose one day.
One day passes with happiness, and then you gain one day.

In good spirit, sickness will cure; in a happy spirit, sickness will cure faster; in high and happy spirits; sickness will never come.

With good mood, suitable amount of exercise, always in the sun, variety of foods, reasonable amount of vitamin and mineral intake, hopefully you will live another 20 or 30 years of healthy life of pleasure.

Above all, learn to cherish the goodness around… and FRIENDS… They all make you feel young and “wanted”… without them you may surely feel lost!!

Wishing you all the best.

Remembering Voltes V and the 1970s Japanese Robot Cartoons

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 00:16:00 +0000

If you grew up in the late 70s, you probably got your daily dose of afternoon cartoons like the very popular Voltes V, Diamos, Mekanda Robot, U.F.O. Grendaizer and of course Mazinger Z.

These Japanese Robot Cartoons more popular known as Mecha were the daily cartoon fix of kids of the time.

The cartoons are shown Monday to Friday at 6pm and I remember I couldn't wait to get home from school to watch these cartoons. I would not do any homework when I got home until I finish watching these shows.

In fact, they were so popular and their storyline about good vs. evil was so compelling that former President Marcos banned them altogether for fear that it could lead people to be influenced to start a revolt against him.

It worked against him in the end when those young people who never care about martial law before started learning about what it was and learned the horrors of martial law. They in turn saw the Marcos regime as the evil forces of these robot shows which eventually led to the People Power revolt in 1986 which toppled the Marcos regime.

I have to admit, my beef about Marcos and martial law is pretty shallow. Unlike other people who are angry about martial law because they were tortured or know of someone being kidnapped or tortured. None of this happened to me or my friends nor do we know anyone who suffered because of martial law.

In fact, we couldn't care less about it. Not until these shows were cancelled. That's when we hated Marcos. I told you it was shallow. But what would you expect for someone who was 8 years old at the time?

Anyway, here are the daily schedule and synopsis of the shows.

Mekanda Robot - Mondays

Mechander Robot is more popularly known in the Philippines as Mekanda Robot.

The story of Mekanda Robot is about the Doron Empire which came from the Ganymede system went to Earth to conquer it. Earth defenses were no match for the Doron Empire and in just a matter of days, 95% of Earth fell under Doron Occupation.

Doctor Shikishima, a brilliant scientist, places his last hopes for Earth in a robot (Mechander Robo) that he has created. The robot as was the style of the time was to have a jet or ships to dock with the actual robot to activate it.

Three command jets - Mekanda-1, Mekanda-2 and Mekanda-3 - combine to form one larger jet known as Mekanda Max, which then would dock at the back of Mechander Robo.

Some of the trademark weapons include spiked shields, missile pod forearms, chest flame throwers and missiles shaped like sharks. Halfway through the series, Mekanda Robo is severely damaged, but is rebuilt as four component ships combining to form the robot before docking with Mekanda Max.

The production company was plagued with bankruptcy issues, so the main sponsors forced the studios to reuse footage from old episodes to patch newer episodes without redrawing new animation. The final episode was merely a complete recap of the series.

The series only had 35 episodes that were 25 minutes each. Here is the opening intro of Mekanda Robot.

Daimos - Tuesdays

Daimos is probably the most famous of the five robot shows next to Voltes V. Daimos is the third installment of the Robot Romance Trilogy which consists of Combattler V and Voltes V.

The story of Daimos is about Earth being invaded by a race of winged humanoid called the Brahmins after their world home world was destroyed. The survivors of the planet Brahmin head towards Earth to negotiate the purchase of land for emigration. However, during the negotiations, the leader of the Brahmin, Leon is assassinated by his second in command, Olvan and the delegation from Earth was framed for the murder. Professor Hartford of the Earth delegation is shot and killed.

Shortly after, the Brahmins began invading Earth led by King Leon's son Prince Ulrich who has hatred for all Earthlings because of his father's death.

Earth is outmatched but they have hope in the transforming super-robot, Daimos and its pilot, Richard Hartford the son of Professor Hartford. Richard is a Karate black-belt and champion.

But problems arise when Richard meets a mysterious girl named Erika and falls in love. Later, he found out that she is the Princess of the Brahmin and is the sister of the leader of the invaders, Prince Ulrich.

The story of Daimos is a story of love and of two different people who found out later that their enemies are not all evil.

The Daimos series had a total of 44 episodes. There was also a movie with the pivotal episodes strung together titled Starbirds and was released in the US.

Mazinger Z - Wednesdays

Mazinger Z is an enormous super robot, constructed with a fictitious metal called Super-Alloy Z which is forged from a new element (Japanium) mined from a reservoir found only in the sediment of Mt. Fuji, in Japan. Mazinger Z was built by Professor Juzo Kabuto as a secret weapon against the forces of evil, represented in the series by the Mechanical Beasts of Dr. Hell.

Dr. Hell was the German member of a Japanese archeological team, which discovered ruins of a lost pre-Grecian civilization on an island named Bardos; the civilization was loosely based on the ancient Mycenae, and was called the Mycéne Empire in the series. One of their findings was that the Mycene used an army of steel titans about 20 meters in height. Finding prototypes of those titans underground which could be remote-controlled and realizing their immense power on the battlefield, Dr. Hell goes insane and has all the other scientists of his research team killed except for Professor Kabuto, who manages to escape.

Professor Kabuto goes back to Japan and attempts to warn the world of its imminent danger. Meanwhile, Dr. Hell establishes his headquarters on a mobile island, and plans to use the Mechanical Beasts to become the new ruler of the world. To counter this, Kabuto constructs Mazinger Z and manages to finish it just before being killed by a bomb planted by Hell's right-hand person, Baron Ashura, a half-man, half-woman. As he lays dying, he manages to inform his grandson Kouji Kabuto about the robot and its use. Kouji becomes the robot's pilot, and from that point on battles both the continuous mechanical monsters, and the sinister henchmen sent by Doctor Hell.

Of all the Japanese robot cartoons shown, Mazinger Z is probably the most violent and edgy of them all. The hero, Kouji Kabuto is completely different from the typical main character of the time as he was hot-blooded, impulsive, bratty, reckless and usually over-confident to the point of arrogance rather than heroic.

Believing he can beat anyone with the Mazinger, he often got himself into trouble several times during fights with Dr. Hell, which often gets him into several arguments with Sayaka.

Part of the reason it was edgy was the inclusion of the robot Aprhodite piloted by Sayaka Yumi. The robot was original built for geologic research. As a result, it lacked weapons and offensive capabilities. It was later outfitted with the Oppai Missile System allowing breast-like Photo Missiles to be shot out of the chest area.

Mazinger Z was not as popular as Daimos or Voltes V in the Philippines due to the storyline. However, Mazinger Z was one of the highest rated anime series of all time in Japan and spawned several sequels and version. When Mazinger Z was destroyed, a new robot was immediately introduced to succeed it called Great Mazinger.

A sequel in another storyline introduced Grendizer where Kouji Kabuto was included as a supporting character.

Mazinger Z had a total of 92 episodes originally aired in Japan from 1972 to 1974.

UFO Grendizer - Thursdays

UFO Grendizer is the third entry of the Mazinger trilogy.

The story of UFO Grendizer is the Vega homeworld has become unstable due to the exploitation of Vegatron, a powerful radioactive ore. Seeking to expand his militaristic empire and find a substitute planet to settle upon, the ruthless King Vega unleashes his armies—composed of flying saucers and giant robotic monsters—and turns first against neighbors such as Fleed, a highly advanced but peaceful world.

However, instead of successfully invading Fleed, their invasion turns Fleed into a radioactive wasteland killing everyone. The only known survivor of the royal family, the Crown Prince Duke Fleed stole Grendizer usaing a Spazer to escape to Earth.

Duke is adopted by scientist Dr. Genzo Umon, as his own son and is renamed Daisuke Umon. Working on a ranch with his friend Hikaru Makiba and her family, they get a visit from space travel student Koji Kabuto who then goes to meet a swarm of UFOs that have been appearing around Japan, unaware that UFOs are the Vegan Empire. Duke saves Koji with Grendizer and begins a long battle against the Vegan Empire with Koji, Hikaru, and Duke's lost sister Maria Fleed joining him.

UFO Grendizer had a total of 74 episodes and was broadcast on Japanese television from October 5, 1975 to February 27, 1977.

Voltes V - Fridays

Voltes V is the second part of the Robot Romance Trilogy which included Combattler V and Daimos.

The story of Voltes V is that an armada of horned humanoid called the Boazanians invade Earth with the launch of their "Beast Fighers" all over the world. Unbeknownst to them, one of their own (Professor Ned Armstrong) fled to Earth before the invasion and built Voltes V.

Voltes V is no doubt the most popular of all the Japanese robot cartoons. Nothing captured a child's imagination more than Voltes V. What's not to love about this cartoon? Before there were Transformers, this is really the first robot that we saw transform from vehicles to a robot. Nothing excites kids more than when they say "Let's volt...in!"

Voltes V is a story of love of family which resonates closely to the Filipino people. The Armstrong children (Steve, Big Bert and Little Jon) never wavered in looking for their father and the struggles to save Earth from the Boazanians.

The big surprise was when it was revealed that the main antagonist, Prince Zardoz is actually the half-brother of the Armstrong brothers.

The theme song to Voltes V is well known to everyone in the Philippines. Even though no one probably spoke Japanese at that time, a lot of people can sing the song in Japanese

Here is the English version of the theme song.

The ending song is also one of the best anime songs ever.

Fans of the series got a real treat when Horie Mmitsuko, sang the Voltes V theme song live in 2000.

Because of its popularity, Voltes V has embedded itself in the Filipino pop culture. You can see them in art, songs and TV shows referencing Voltes V.

There's even a parody of the song by Tito, Vic and Joey.

Did you like this post? If you did, share it with your friends.

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox Has A Message for Donald Trump

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 17:41:00 +0000

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox posted a video on Youtube addressed to Donald Trump about building a wall on the US-Mexico border and it's kind of funny.

ISIS Attack Resorts World Manila

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 23:21:00 +0000

Resorts World Manila, a massive leisure and casino complex near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is in lockdown after reports of explosion and gunfire. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack and at least 25 people have been reported injured from the attack.

Police however said there was no indication the attack was terror-related but rather a brutal casino chips robbery.

Here is report from RT.

Here is the report from CNN.

CNN Fires Kathy Griffin After "Sick" Stunt Aimed At President Trump

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 May 2017 22:24:00 +0000

CNN has fired Kathy Griffin after her gruesome anti-Trump photo shoot. Kathy Griffin is the co-host of CNN's annual New Year's Eve Program.

The photo was taken by celebrity photographer Tyler Shields who is known for provocative photos features Griffin holding a blood-soaked head of President Trump.

Donald Trump Jr. of course was not amused and raged tweeted

Disgusting but not surprising. This is the left today. They consider this acceptable. Imagine a conservative did this to Obama as POTUS? https://t.co/QdghcbIjS7
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 30, 2017

And of course, President Trump also reacted about the photograph this morning.

Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2017

This is the photo at Kathy Griffin took.

Kathy Griffin has since apologized for the photo taken by provocative celebrity photographer Tyler Shields.

"I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far," she said in a video posted to Instagram late Tuesday. "I made a mistake and I was wrong."

I am sorry. I went too far. I was wrong.
A post shared by Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) on May 30, 2017 at 4:53pm PDT

It's very popular to hate on Trump nowadays and there is nothing wrong if you have an opposing view with his policies. But whether you like him or not, he's still the President of the United States and I think he should be afforded a level of respect by the office he holds.

The Pentagon Was Shocked At What President Trump Told President Duterte

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 May 2017 23:42:00 +0000

U.S. President Donald Trump called Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on April 29, 2017 and their conversation revolved around the problem with North Korea and with Kim Jong Un's nuclear ambition.

Pentagon officials however are in shock after a transcript of their conversation was released on May 23, 2017. Pentagon officials are very careful about discussing the movement of their submarines as is it their military's belief that their stealth is the key to their mission.

In their conversation, President Trump told President Duterte that the U.S. has two nuclear submarines in the area. Trump said: "We have two submarines -- the best in the world -- we have two nuclear submarines -- no that we want to use them at all."

They also talked about China and how China is the key to keeping North Korea in check. Duterte said he will call China's President Xi Jinping. Duterte told Trump: "I will try to make a call to President Xi Jinping and I will try to tell him if we will remain to be peaceful, China has the card. The other option is a nuclear blast which is not good for everybody."

Near the end of their conversation, Trump told Duterte: "Please call China and tell them we are all counting on China. Tell the President -- we became friends for two days -- he was great".

In the same conversation, Trump also congratulated Duterte for his "unbelievable job on the drug problem". What a great job PRRD was doing and Trump wanted to congratulate him on that.

Their conversation ended with Trump saying he is planning to visit the Philippines, hopefully sometime in November and President Trump invited President Duterte to visit him at the Oval Office.

Latest Stats on Philippine President Duterte's War on Drugs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 May 2017 23:31:00 +0000

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) recently released the latest stats on their Anti-Drug campaign. They are using the hashtag #RealNumbersPH to show that President Duterte's War on Drugs is effective in reducing the number of crimes.

Part of the stats they released is to address the question about EJK or extra-judicial killing.

But before we go to the details. Let's look at PDEA's stats about illegal drugs in the Philippines.

There are an estimated 4 million drug users in the country and the Philippine illegal drug market is estimated to be a P120 Billion industry.

Of those 4 million users, 1,266,966 have surrendered. This is estimated to be 26.45% of the total drug market. 88,940 of those who surrendered are drug pushers. Reducing the number of drug users and pushers have resulted in a 28.57% reduction in crime from July 2016 to March 2017.

Here are the stats showing they seized 1,645 kilos of shabu from July 1, 2016 to April 20, 2017. Almost a fourfold increase compared to 2015. The stats for 2017 is showing a lot less and I'm assuming this is due to less drugs on the streets and not because they stopped their campaign.

The value of the drug seized by PDEA is a staggering P14.49 billion.

The price of shabu has gone up by more than 100% during President Duterte's administration due to the number of shabus seized cutting off the supply. The price of shabu has also gone up because it's now riskier to be a drug pusher, so it just the pushers will require a higher prices for the increased risk of being caught.

The police have conducted 53,503 operations and arrested 64,917 people. During their anti-drug operation, 2,692 have died.

Now the real question on everyone's mind is, how many of those killed where EJKs or Extra-Judicial Killings?

According to PDEA, there were 9,432 homicide cases being investigated. 1,187 or 19.6% of those homicides are drug-related and have already been investigated. 1,894 or 20.1% of those are non-drug related and 5,691 or 60.3% are still under investigation.

So, was there really EJKs? According to PDEA, those cases are still under investigation.

So now the question is, is Duterte's War on Drugs effective?

According to PDEA and the Sept 2016 SWS survey. 54% are very satisfied with the Duterte Administration's war on drugs and 30 are somewhat satisfactory.

This rating is probably due the the reduction in the number of crimes in the Philippines where there was a decrease of 11% in crime volume according to the states by the Philippine National Police or PNP.

The PNP also reported a 28.57% decrease in index crime.

If you're wondering why there's a difference in the number above and below. Crime volume is the total number of crime during the period measured.

The Philippine Statistics Authority defines index crimes as: crimes which are sufficiently significant and which occur with sufficient regularity to be meaningful." Included in this category are murder, homicide, robbery, theft, carnapping, and physical injury.

Non-index crimes are those that involve violations of special laws and ordinances.

The Duterte administration realizes that the illegal drug situation in the Philippines is also a public health problem. The Department of Health (DOH) have accredited 48 drug abuse and treatment rehabilitation centers across the country. Out of the 1,266,966 who surrendered, 10,500 have been rehabilitated and ready to go back to society.

The plan going forward is to have an inter-agency committee on the anti-drug campaign.

I'm pretty sure there will be supporters and detractors on the stats posted by PDEA. As with any government stats, you have to take everything with a grain of salt. It is up to you to be vigilant about these numbers and make sure they are correct.

Fire at Yakimix SM Mall of Asia (MOA)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 May 2017 18:03:00 +0000

There was a fire at Yakimix at SM Mall of Asia (MOA) yesterday at around 5:45pm.

Not much detail on how the fire started, but there were reports of a few people getting injured. The best thing to remember in an emergency is not to panic and clear the area immediately so other people are able to get out safely.

Filipino Children Risking Their Lives In Underwater Gold Mines

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 May 2017 04:52:00 +0000

I just saw this documentary about illegal gold mining in the Philippines using children to look for gold in underwater gold mines. Children breathe underwater using only a thin pipe connected to an air compressor. They go as deep as 30 feet underwater, surrounded by rock in the pitch black darkness of the water.

"I'm afraid, if the earth collapses, I will get buried underneath" says the teenager.

Watch how they risk their lives to earn earn P500 to P1,000 a day.

AlDub Eat Bulaga (from Day 1 to Day 9)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 20:23:00 +0000

I've been a little out of touch with what's happening lately. I guess AlDub is a thing right now.

Most Creative Dirty Ice Cream Server Ever!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 00:01:00 +0000

I've bought a lot of dirty ice cream before, but this is the first time I've seen a vendor serve it like this.

Flower Dirty Ice Cream
Most creative dirty ice cream server ever! Why it's called "dirty ice cream" - http://www.wheninmanila.com/the-dirty-dozen-top-12-must-try-street-foods-in-manila/What's your favorite street food?Video by Vrenilyn Villaflor. Submit your stories and be read by our millions of followers - http://WhenInManila.com/contribute~~ When In Manila
Posted by When In Manila on Saturday, March 21, 2015

OK, just to be clear, dirty ice cream is not really “dirty.” The reason it's called "Dirty Ice Cream" is because the way the street cart it comes in looks like. The vendors also push these ice cream carts by foot over long distances and serves the ice cream without gloves, soap or hand sanitizers, So you really don't know if their hands are clean when they hold the ice cream cone and scoop us the ice cream.

However, despite their appearance, these ice cream carts carry the most delicious, sweetest treat for a hot day in the Philippines.

Dirty ice cream usually comes in Cheese, Ube and Chocolate flavors. It has a unique and distinct flavor that you really have to experience!

Mayweather - Pacquiao: At Last

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 17:20:00 +0000

An inside look at the six-year journey to the most anticipated fight of the modern era. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao happens Saturday, May 2 live on pay-per-view beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT

Potential New Pyramid Scam in the Philippines - One Lightning Corporation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 18:53:00 +0000

The Securities and Exchange Commission just came out with a memo saying that it did not issue a secondary license to One Lightning and its affiliates to publicly offer or sell securities or solicit investments from the public.

One Lightning Corporation has been very active in promoting its business with several members showing how much money they got back on their investment.

As with any Multi-Level Marketing company, the first thing to look into if it is legitimate is the business model and how they make money and how you are paid. If you are paid from recruiting people into the business, it's a pyramid scheme.

Here's the business presentation of One Lightning Corporation. Their whole premise is that the reason they can give a big payout is because they share 70% of the profit of the company to distributors.

Here is a presentation by the President of the company Kenji Ito.

Here's a video presentation that explains why they think it's a scam.

Is One Lightning Corporation a scam? From what I heard so far, it looks like it is. Their business model reminds me of the other pyramid scams in the 1990s and 2000s like Multi-Tel, Tibayan Group and G. Cosmos. But, I could be wrong.

While it is enticing to try to make a lot of money quickly, it is also important to make sure you are not just throwing money away. Sometimes, slow and sure is better. Remember, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

Street Kids in Chinatown Makes Up Their Own Lion Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 20:18:00 +0000

A couple of street kids in Chinatown puts together some cloth and wood and made up their own lion to do their lion dance. Listen to the kid playing the drum on a can. Sounds really really good.

Sen. Miriam Santiago Jokes: The Unofficial Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 19:26:00 +0000

Para sa mga naaaliw sa mga banat at patawa ni Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, narito ang collection ng mga jokes, pick-up lines, banat sa mga politicians (kagaya niya) at ilang mga quotes ng Senadora na hinango mula sa iba’t ibang sulok ng internet.

RANDOM JOKES
Anong blood type ang pwedeng motto? B-positive.

—oOo—
Matalinong babae + Matalinong lalaki = Romance
Matalinong lalaki + Bobong babae = Affair
Matalinong babae + Bobong lalaki = Kasal
Bobong lalaki + Bobong babae = Sexually Transmitted Disease

—oOo—
Gusto mo bang trabaho?

Meron sa PLDT, 10,000 pesos per day. Ikaw yung dialtone.
Meron sa DPWH, 10, 000 pesos per day. Ikaw yung speedbump.
Meron sa post office, 10,000 pesos per day. Didilaan mo lahat ng stamps.
—oOo—
A young boy asked his Dad, what is the difference between confident and confidential?

The father said, you’re my son. Confident ako doon. Yung best friend mo sa school, anak ko rin yun. Yun ang confidential.

—oOo—
Five tips for a happy man’s life

1) Have a girl to help you at work
2) Have a girl to take care of you and to love you
3) Have a girl who can make you laugh
4) Have a girl who spoils you
5) Siguraduhin na hindi magkakilala and apat na babae na yun

—oOo—
In a swimming pool:

Classmate 1 – I’m sure lulutang ka
Classmate 2 – Bakit dahil payat ako?
Classmate 1 – Hindi, dahil plastic ka

—oOo—
Use “anyone” in a sentence.
“Nasaan na kayo? Bakit ninyo ako anyone?”

For more, click on this link