Sinigang Nation

Most Pinoy Facebook users are overseas?

2011-03-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Surprising new data seems to indicate that Filipinos, despite having the fifth largest Facebook population in the world, seem to be accessing the site from outside the country —or at least are playing things safe online.

Social media metrics company Socialbakers.com recently launched Facebook city statistics as part of its monitoring service, adding a higher level of granularity to its continued monitoring of Facebook statistics per country.

"Besides monitoring Facebook users on continents and in all countries around the world, we have decided to take this monitoring one step further and monitor Facebook users in selected world cities as well," Facebakers said on its blog.

Yet, despite being the eleventh largest city in the world and the capital of the fifth dominant country on Facebook, Manila does not figure anywhere on the Socialbakers list. Nor does any other Philippine city.

Overseas —or just cautious?

These surprising statistics seem to indicate that the majority of Filipinos who use Facebook are located overseas —or at least have not indicated their current city or hometown in their Facebook profiles.

Although Facebook allows users to post information about their location to their public profiles, these details are not required to join the social networking site.

In fact, the Philippine National Police (PNP) last year warned parents to monitor their kids' Facebook usage, urging users of the social networking site to limit the amount of personal information that they post online.

Manila didn't make it

Over the past year, Socialbakers statistics have charted the meteoric rise of the Philippines into Facebook's fifth largest user worldwide, with over 22.6 million registered Filipino Facebook users to date.

However, the release of city-specific data from Socialbakers shows a surprising development: none of the Philippines' cities —not even Manila, the country's capital and the eleventh most populous city in the world, according to Worldatlas.com— made it to the entire list of 120 cities.

Not surprisingly, ten of the 20 largest cities in the world can be found on the list. These include Jakarta, Indonesia (Rank 1 on Socialbakers); Mexico City, Mexico (3); London, the UK (4); Buenos Aires, Argentina (6); New York City, USA (14); Sao Paolo, Brazil (15); Los Angeles, USA (17); Mumbai, India (18); Delhi, India (36); and Calcutta, India (79).

Alternatives to Facebook

Other countries not on the Socialbakers list —including Tokyo, Japan, and Seoul, South Korea, the world's most populous cities— can be accounted for as having their own alternative social networks to Facebook.

Japan, for instance, uses Mixi, while South Korea employs Cyworld. China, for its part, has QQ Zone, and Russia has VKontakte.

On the other hand, the United States —which boasts the largest number of Facebook users in the world— has 21 cities on the Socialbakers list. Indonesia, the second largest country on Facebook, has three cities on the list. Third- and fourth-placers the UK and Turkey have four and five cities on the list, respectively. — GMA News

PTBP: Marlon Stöckinger, Filipino-Swiss racing driver

2011-03-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Marlon Alexander Stöckinger (born April 4, 1991 in Manila) is a Filipino-Swiss racing driver, currently racing for Atech Garnd Prix in the 2010 Formula Renault UK season. He is the first Filipino to win a formula race in Europe. Stöckinger is the 2006 Asian Karting Champion, 2007 Philippine Rotax Max Champion and the 2008 Formula BMW Pacific Scholarship Winner.

Stöckinger was born in Manila, Philippines. He is the son of a Swiss businessman and racing enthusiast, Tom Stöckinger, and a Filipina, Egin San Pedro; he grew up in the Philippines until he was 17, and then went to Europe to pursue a racing career.

Racing Career

Prior to joining the Formula Renault series, Stöckinger won titles and honors from international derbies such as the Formula BMW Pacific 2008 Championships, the Senior Rotax Max World Finals 2007, the Asian Karting Championship 2006, the Junior Rotax Max-World Finals 2005 and the Philippine Shell Super Karting Series 2002. He participated at the 2008 Formula BMW Europe season- the championship's maiden season after the merger of the British and German series - as a guest driver, racing at the Hungaroring (21st and 23rd place), Valencia Street Circuit (15th and 23rd place) and at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (20th and 21st).

Formula Renault

Stöckinger made his debut at the UK championship in 2009 at 18 years of age, joining other newcomers including Harry Tincknell, Matias Laine and Will Stevens. He arrived 20th on his debut at Brands Hatch and eventually finished 25th in the championship with 56 points. His best result was an eleventh place at round eight at Oulton Park.
The following season began at Thruxton on April 3, 2010 and will end on October 10 at Brands Hatch, after twenty rounds held in England, and for the first time since 2006, Scotland. After arriving 10th in his first race of the year, the Filipino-Swiss driver was able to finish third at Rockingham Motor Speedway, his best result ever in two seasons. At the Croft Circuit (round 8) he started from pole and finished the race first, becoming the first Filipino to have won a formula race in Europe. The performance was then followed by a second place in the same circuit, behind Lewis Williamson.

More updates from Marlon Stockinger's blog.

Toughest Place to be: Philippines

2011-02-28T02:45:00.000-08:00

BBC just recently featured a documentary about Philippines being the toughest place to drive a bus ( or should I say "any vehicle"). It shows Josh West, a seasoned London bus driver, where, with the help of pinoy driver Mang Rogelio Castro accepted the challenge of braving the chaotic streets of Manila driving a Jeepney. An inspiring story of two people with similar jobs but with different fate.

Here are the videos:

part 1/6

part 2/6

part 3/6

part 4/6

part 5/6

part 6/6

This proves the underlying pandemic poverty problem of the general Filipinos. One could see President Noynoy's stickers all over Mang Rogelio's jeepney and it would seem different President and Political stickers or logos have been poked out on his jeepney but one thing remains the same - the reality that 24 hours are not enough of Mang Rogelio's hardwork to bring enough and descent food unto his family's table. On a positive note, you can see a genuine heart and a viral optimism in Mang Rogelio despite all the hardships.

Happy Holiday!

2010-12-24T00:44:00.000-08:00

I am so excited as this is gonna be my first time to celebrate Christmas here in my new place in California. Nevertheless, I still miss alot of things that I used to enjoy in celebrating Pasko in the Philippines: I miss everything Christmas especially carolling and simbang gabi with puto bumbong or bibingka right after the mass. Honestly, nothing beats Christmas celebration in the Philippines and I know a lot of you who have experienced it will agree. Here's wishing everyone a Happy and Blessed Holiday! Maligayang Pasko and may we all be blessed!

Facebook CEO's former house is for rent

2010-12-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting post about renting Facebook CEO's former house:
============================================================
Feel like snooping around Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's house?

Well, now you can do it legally: The house that the social-networking boy wonder was renting near the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, Calif., is back on the market for the low, low price of $7,850 a month.
An ad on Craigslist boasts that the "gorgeous" four-bedroom, three-bath single-family home is in a "Prestigious location!" with "Charm and functionality!" It features a chef's kitchen with gas stove, a wood-burning fireplace and a huge family room "with the view of Kitchen." (That must be some kitchen!)
There was some confusion on Thursday about whether or not the house had already been leased but the owner of the property, Stan Wu, confirmed that the house, located at 2073 Princeton Street, is available. He wouldn't confirm that Zuckerberg was his most recent tenant, though it is well documented that the home was rented by Zuckerberg for the past few years. (He recently gave Oprah a tour.)
A newly renovated home like this is a rarity in this college town, known for its old homes that are split up and rented by several students at a time.
Realtor Anne Arjani with Keller Williams said $7,850 a month sounds a little high - most homes this size rent for around $5,000. Still, she said, it's conceivable the owner could get that much, given the size and prestige of Stanford - and all the wealth floating around in Silicon Valley.
The fact that the home had a famous former resident could make it even more attractive to some buyers.
"For some people, that could ring their bells," Arjani said.
She said some clients would look at it as good feng shui, or Vastu Shastra, as it's called in the Hindu culture.
"They think, ‘This was a prosperous place for someone so it could be a prosperous place for me,'" she said.
So far it hasn't been good luck for the owner: The property is currently worth about $1.4 million, according to Zillow, down from $1.9 million when Zuckerberg moved in.
Call him the half-a-million-dollar man - and not in a good way.
Though, I don't suppose he loses any sleep over it: He created the second-most visited site on the Internet (behind Google) and has an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion, earning him the No. 35 spot on Forbes' list of the richest people in America.
Funny, for all the privacy violations he's been accused of, his own privacy seems to be very closely guarded. The owner of the property treated him like Lord Voldemort, refusing to even mention his name, and instead delivered one of the most boring interviews in the history of interviews, mumbling about the "expensive area" and "square footage," before lamely asking to be excused from the conversation like a boy who finished his supper and wanted to go outside and play.
And, while most real-estate agents are usually a raging sewer of self-promotion and salesmanship, even Arjani hurriedly hung up the phone the first time after the mention of Zuckerberg's name. Only on the second call, when the conversation was focused solely on the local real-estate marke t did she open up. And Gawker points out that the "street view" image of the home has been taken down from Google Maps.
Of course, all that secrecy just makes you want to snoop around even more, doesn't it? See if maybe he left behind a phone bill. A to-do list scrawled on a crumpled post-it note. A love note to his girlfriend, who also lived there. Anything, really, that would make you feel like somehow you invaded his privacy - even just a little bit.

via yahoo!

There's a lot to be thankful for for Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This is the national day for us to reflect and say our piece of appreciation to everything that has happened to us for the past year. To my kababayans and to all the OFWs who are continuously sacrificing for their family and bringing pride to our country, I salute you. Much appreciation goes to all the readers of this blog, thank you for supporting us.

Whatever goes on your table to celebrate this holiday, be it lechon, manok or if you're into traditional Turkey feast, Here's a Happy Thanksgiving to all us!

Survey: WoW versus Kay Ganda

2010-11-19T14:43:00.000-08:00

"Wow Philippines" has been the country's slogan for quite a long time now and many agrees that the slogan is better enough to compete alongside neighboring Asian countries like "Malaysia: Truly Asia", "Incredible India", "Amazing Thailand", "Uniquely SIngapore" and so on. With the new "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" branding by the Philippine Tourism lead by Secretary Alberto Lim, many of us are wondering why do we need to change our country's slogan. Why fix it when it is not broken?
According to the media interviews of Sec. Lim, the new slogan appeals to the foreigners, specifically to Americans and Koreans (I think they're the top foreign visitors of our country) and as long as DOT receives positive feedbacks from the foreign visitors, the new slogan will remain (or maybe until Campaigns & Grey comes up with a better slogan).

For this matter, I wanted to ask your opinions, what do you think of these two slogans and which one appeals most to you? Please feel free to leave a comment.

1) WoW Philippines

2) Pilipinas Kay Ganda

Presenting the Multi-Million Project: Pilipinas Kay Ganda

2010-11-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

Just one day after the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) presented the new tourism slogan and logo, they have received public backlash and scrutiny amongst media members, critics, bloggers and concerned Filipino citizens around the world. Many are saying that the new tourism branding is boring, unattractive and not well-researched considering this is a multi-million project (online report says P200 million budget is alloted to this project).

The government has contracted the advertising company Campaigns & Grey to do the branding and research for the new DOT logo, and their research brought them to as far as Poland to get their inspiration.

The slogan also suggests that the President's administration is "too Kapamilya", aside from the fact that all Filipinos know that the President's sister Kris Aquino works for the Kapamilya network, the new DOT slogan "PIlipinas Kay Ganda" is obvously a close clone to that of a Kapamilya morning show called "Umagang Kay Ganda".

It's not surprising that one day, because of this four-month long well researched and multi-million pesos project, we'll see the new face of Department of Tourism greeting tourists and balikbayans at the Airport.

Philippine Rice Terraces among the Top 10 World Heritage Sites

2010-11-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

Philippine's Rice Terraces has been included as one of the recently concluded Top 10 World Heritage Sites. The nomination has been announced by the National Geographic Channel few weeks ago for their site's new online travel guide wherein people all over the world can vote for their favorites through NatGeo nomination page and social media sites Facebook and Twitter.

Aside from the Rice Terraces of the Philippines, among the top 10 Heritage Sites are Chichen Itza (Mexico), Santa Cruz de Mompox (Colombia), Phoenix Island's Protected Area (Kiribati), Borobudur Temple Compunds (Indonesia), Petra (Jordan), Taj Majal (India), Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Angkor (Cambodia) and Machu Picchu (Peru)

Here's the Philippine Rice Terraces article as reproduced as is from here:

Site: Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

Location: Philippines

Year Designated: 1995

Category: Cultural

Criteria: (iii)(iv)(v)

Reason: This ancient, living cultural landscape beautifully illustrates human harmony with nature and serves as an example of sustainable agriculture with traditional techniques.

* * *

For 2,000 years the mountains of Ifugao province in the Philippines have been carefully cultivated with a seemingly endless series of terraced fields that climb thousands of feet.

The Ifugao Rice Terraces, which follow the natural contours of the mountains, only enhance the region’s rugged natural beauty. They also epitomize a harmonic, sustainable relationship between humans and their environment. These fields, and the knowledge to farm and sustain them, have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.

The structures' original builders used stone and mud walls to carefully carve and construct terraces that could hold flooded pond fields for the cultivation of rice. They also established a system to water these plots by harvesting water from mountaintop forests. These incredible engineering feats were done by hand as was (and is) the farming itself.

The rice terraces have long been central to the survival of the Ifugao peoples but they also occupy a central importance within their culture. Entire communities cooperate on cyclical, seasonal systems of planting, pest control, and harvest, which are tied to lunar cycles and sometimes accompanied with religious rituals.

But the world is changing and this region is not immune. Increasing numbers of young people are migrating toward urban areas in search of a far different future. With few left to work the fields according to the old ways their future is uncertain. Some 25 to 30 percent of the terraces are abandoned and beginning to deteriorate, along with irrigation systems.

Due to these threats the site was placed on the list of World Heritage in Danger in 2001 and it remains there today. Sustainable tourism may offer hope for conservation. In fact, the region’s value to the nation as a tourist destination likely exceeds that of its rice production.

How to Get There

Others are just as lovely but the Banaue Rice Terraces are the most famous of the lot. Banaue is some 216 miles (348 kilometers) from Manila (perhaps eight to ten hours with stops and mountainous terrain), and daily buses make the trip.

When to Visit

During summer and fall abundant rains can sometimes cloud views of the slopes. Winter may be a more reliable period for sightseeing. June is harvest time, so the landscape is golden and activity levels are high.

How to Visit

Not surprisingly, hiking into the terraces is a popular activity among visitors to the region. But the emerald hillsides appear lovely even without the walk and outstanding picnic spots abound. Plenty of guided tours are available in Banaue.

You can check the Nat Geo site for the complete list.

Manny Pacquiao, a big credit to US Senator Reid's victory

2010-11-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

US Senate Majority Floor Leader and Bob Arum's Friend Harry Reid has won his fifith term as a Senator for Nevada State, after a fierce challenge from Republican candidate Sharron Angle.

Prior to Tuesday's polls, Senator Reid was uncertain about his chances for reelection, as challenger Sharron Angle threatened to pull away in several election survey results.

Filipino boxing superstar MAnny Pacquiao flew to Las Vegas last Thursday on invitation from his fellow politician and U.S. Senator Harry Reid.

Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum, who is a friend of Senator Reid said the Filipino champ's presence at the Reid rally could influence a sizable Filipino-American community and help tilt the balance in favor of the Democratic Senate president, who has been facing the fight of his political life.

Fanhouse's reports:

"That was a great thing that Manny did for Harry, who is a very dear friend of mine. I think that Harry is really important to this country and that he has gotten really such a bad rap because of all of these Tea Party people," said Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum. "So, you know, I explained to Manny what Harry stands for, and that's what Manny stands for, and so they really bonded together well."

"Manny Pacquiao and I came from different parts of the world, but we came on the same side of the street," Reid said of Pacquiao, who is being interviewed by 60 Minutes for a feature that will be aired on Nov. 8, the Sunday prior to his bout with Margarito.

"Manny fights for those who cannot fight for themselves," said Reid. "It's not enough to fight yourself. It's not enough to want to be a champion. We want to be champions for others."

Bob Arum must be very pleased with Senator Harry Reid's reelection and knew Pacquiao played an important role in his friend's election victory.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gives a victory speech during a Democratic election party Tuesday at Aria.

Senator Reid is expected to acknowledge Manny Pacquiao's role in his election victory as soon as his victory officially proclaimed.

via bleacherreport

San Francisco Giants is the 2010 World Series Champion

2010-11-02T02:24:00.000-07:00

More than a half-century after moving West, the Giants are taking the trophy to the city by the Bay for the first time since 1954.

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants on defeating the Texas Rangers 4-1 in this year's World Series. Tonight's final was 3-1, as Nelson Cruz struck out to end the game.

Edgar Renteria was named World Series MVP after hitting three-run home run inning of game 5 against Texas Rangers, November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas.

Pinoy-pride Tim Lincecum, gets a ride on teammates' shoulders after winning a pitchers' duel against Ranger's Cliff Lee for the World Championship.

Manny Pacquiao duets with Will Ferrell on Jimmy Kimmel Show

2010-11-02T01:52:00.000-07:00

Manny Pacquiao made his third appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! late night show, unfettering his boxing gloves to sing “Imagine” on Monday (Tuesday, in Manila).

The Fighter of the Decade sang along with comedian Will Ferrell, drawing a large applause from the studio crowd during and after the performance.

“Imagine there’s no country. It isn’t hard to do,” Pacquiao crooned in the duet.

“No, it isn’t,” replied Ferrell while inserting humor in the song.

Pacquiao’s appearances on the show have been regarded to signal good results in his upcoming fights.

He first appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in November 2009, just 2 weeks before deposing Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto as World Boxing Organization king in the 12th round.

He made a return in the late-night show in March 2010, before winning a unanimous decision over Ghana’s Joshua Clottey.

The boxer is set to battle Mexico’s Antonio Margarito at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas this November 13.

Click the picture above to see Pacman's performance as uploaded in Youtube or here.

source:abs-cbnnews

Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito: Tale of the Tape

2010-11-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Pacman fever is alive once again as Pinoys all over the world are all excited and getting ready to cheer for our very own 7 Division title champ and Pound for Pound King Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao who will fight against Antonio "Tijuana's Tornado" Margarito for the vacant WBC Light Middleweight Championship title scheduled this coming November 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

The Tale of the tape is in favor of Margarito but of course I believe Pacman will win this, without any doubt.

In an interesting note, there are reports that Michael Buffer will introduce Manny as the “Fighting Congressman of the Philippines" in this upcoming fight.

Let's see how the Tornado will fair against our Pacman.

Happy Halloween Kabayan!!!

2010-10-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

Holiday is here again, a day very sacred to us Pinoys to remember our deceased loved ones by paying a visit to their graves and offer prayers. This is also a great time for workers from the metropolitan area and even hardworking kababayans abroad to come home and reunite with their loved ones living on their provinces.

While Halloween is not that of a big deal here in the US (which means "trick or treat" and mostly costume parties) compared in the Philippines where it means "vacation", most pinoys never forget to pay tribute and pray for our loved ones on this special day and most likely have the weekend to call their families back home in the Philippines to have some kumustahan or maybe send padala so their families will have something on their table for a small salo-salo.

That's how pinoys abroad life is and that reflects our Filipino tradition of how knitly close our family ties are.

Whichever way you want to celebrate it, I hope everyone will have a peaceful, and blessed Holidays!

Philippines abbreviation: PH not RP

2010-10-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that it will officially adopt the abbreviation "PH" in compliance with international ISO standards, eschewing the traditional and long-standing use of "RP".

In Department Order 16-10 dated Oct. 20, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo directed the DFA’s 67 embassies, 23 consulates general and four permanent missions to drop RP in favor of PH or PHL.

The ISO developed the ISO3166-1 codes for countries, territories, and special areas.

The new codes are already being used in airline ticketing, passport issuances, currencies, and internationally traded shares of stocks, among others.

In fact, most pinoy internet users are already familiar with PH that's why they believe this shouldn't be a big deal anymore. Web is surrounded with PH referring to the Philippines, all URLs ending with ".ph" are all referring to Philippine domains.

The best way to implement the use of "PH"

The best way to fully implement the use of "PH", in my opinion, and so Pinoys in general will become familiar and used to it is that the government should require all commercial media to use "PH" every time they make a headline referring to the Philippines.

As you may well observed, "RP" is very well represented in prints and broadcasting news
headlines that's why every tabloid readers and news-hungry pinoys are getting used to see "RP".
You will see sports news headlines always goes with "RP Team", "RP golfer", "RP delegates", and the list goes on.

History of the 'RP' acronym

According to Manuel Quezon III, Undersecretary of Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning, the acronym "RP" was first popularized in 1946 following the declaration of Philippine independence.

"(It was used) after we became independent, to eliminate the colonial 'PI' or 'Philippine Islands'. Actually, under the 1935 Constitution, we formally abandoned the plural 'Philippine Islands' and adopted the unitary 'Philippines' to emphasize that we're a single country," Quezon explained.

The use of "RP" predates the establishment of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1947 in an effort to establish internationally-accepted industrial and commercial standards.

Aside from it's sound being more formal than RP (which many jokes about it relating to Halloween's RIP), we should all use PH following a code set to an international standards.

Tim Lincecum, Fil-am pitcher of San Francisco Giants

2010-10-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

2010 World Series will be played by San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers starting today. It's interesting to note that neither team was considered a World Series contender prior to the 2010 season but here they are and one of them will be taking home this year's World Series trophy.

Leading the pack of Giants is part-Filipino Tim Lincecum. The 26-year old ace pitcher will start the World Series opener this Wednesday to a home crowd at AT&T Park.

2010 World Series opener will start pm 4:30 pm PST/7:30 pm ET.

Read Tim's sports bio here and here.

Amanpulo named as One of the World's Most Romantic Islands

2010-10-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

Amanpulo resort in Pamalican Island, Palawan just made the list along with other beautiful and romantic destinations around the world like the Barbuda and St. Lucia in the Caribbean, Santorini in Greece, Catalina Island in California, Capri in Italy and many other beautiful and very romantic islands around the globe.

Accoding to Yahoo! Travel website:

"You’ll find only one resort here—Amanpulo, set on its own private island southwest of Manila with just 40 secluded pitched-roof traditional villas, strung along a pristine beach with sand so white it’s blinding. Beachcombers can navigate the entire island on foot in less than two hours, keeping their eyes out for baby sharks, kingfishers, and sea turtles, which lay their eggs here between March and October."

For complete list, see Yahoo's World's Most Romantic Islands list.