This Old House

House Junk : an Envelope, a Sign and Cameras back in the day

2012-01-17T22:50:00.000+08:00

Time for another House Junk post.

Sometimes we have to wait a while to gather enough interesting stuff for a post. It's getting harder and harder now.

First up is this envelope we found. It was in the drawer of an old dressing cabinet and I chanced upon it while looking for old CD's.

Anyway the envelope was in good condition but was definitely old. The paper was a bit brittle and powdery at the edges and it smelled old too.

The small yellowing tag at the corner read "Sorrento - Scugnizzo". Italy right?

When I look at what was inside I found an old water color painting of what looks like the River Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Probably a street art souvenir from one of lolo and lola's travels. But if the envelope says Sorrento, Italy why is the painting a river scape of Paris,France? Perhaps we'll never know...

I also saw this book that I thought was interesting. Need a crash course in culture and the arts?

This book is like Cliffs Notes for opera world.

I wonder who stole this one from the food court of Divisoria Mall?

Marty found a lot of old rolls of film in storage so he rummaged around for the "players". There were several boxes of what looked like projectors so he brought them all out.

I just love the cases and the packaging these old machines came in. It was a lot more sophisticated and durable then. Things were really built to last and were expected to be used for a lifetime and It was reflected in the way they were manufactured. Pretty stark contrast in this age of planned obsolescence.

After releasing the locks at the bottom the entire top cover came off to reveal the projector.

La Belle, after a quick google search, turns out to be a manufacturer of SLIDE projectors. To the people born in the 1980's and beyond, this is what we used before Power Point and LCD projectors were invented.

Here it is with the lens and tray attached. The photographic slides went in the metal tray on top.

Next box... or should I say suitcase?

Another solidly built projector.

By the looks of it this one is for film. Moving pictures!

Sure looks awesome.

This might increase in value soon because KODAK is already filing for bankruptcy and might soon cease to exist.

Then there was this other mysterious box. It had a fabric cover...

... and a pretty solid wooden case.
It had a metal plaque with my grandfather's name on it.

When we opened it, it wasn't another projector at all.

There was a door at the side where you could insert and load a roll of paper.

The back has what looks like an air vent with a mesh cover.

It's a Viso Cardiette Electrocardiogram. Quick google search says: " Sanborn Viso-Cardiette is a portable (“portable” as long as you want an upper-body workout. It’s all-metal and very heavy) electrocardiograph, which is a machine that creates a “print-out” of a heartbeat. Its manufacturing company was founded by Frank Sanborn in 1917 and was bought out by Hewlett-Packard in 1961."

The machine has a stylus that moves up and down and leaves a mark on the rolling paper, the result is a visual representation of your heart beat.

The stylus needed to have the proper temperature to write properly and it needs to be kept dead center to have an accurate reading. These knobs fine tuned the stylus for that.

Garden Update Year 2 - Part 7 "Odds and Ends"

2012-01-17T07:10:00.000+08:00

OK so let's finish this off.

There is now specific order or theme in this post. These are just the miscellaneous photos that just didn't fit (or I simply forgot to include) in the other posts.

First up is the lone Canary Island Date Palm we have. This is a pretty common palm all over the world but it is actually pretty uncommon here in the Philippines. This one has about 2 feet of trunk already.

Copernicia fallaense. This is the largest and seems to be the fastest of the Genera. The leaves are about 4 feet tall now and exhibit the beautiful blue color it is known for.

Still just leaves coming out of the ground. The trunk will eventually be 2 to 3 feet across.

Strelitzea juncea or the leafless bird of paradise. This guys is about 2 feet tall and has already split into 2 growth points.

Caryota no, This is one of the few fishtail palms that grow into gigantic proportions.

A couple of birds nest ferns. The tree they are growing on dies suddenly and they have lost the leaves that usually provide them with shade. Lets hope they survive the summer.

Another tree died on this spot so I replaced it with a variegated 'kapok' tree. It seems to be doing well.

The Phoenix sylvestris we planted in the driveway is growing beautifully. It has a nice full crown of blue leaves.

The trunk is also starting to develop.

This planter gets intense afternoon sun exposure and has a balcony overhead that protects it from rain so it is an ideal spot for succulents. We planted a variety or arid plants here.

On one end we planted a mixed group of Aloes. i don't even remember which species these are but they all look nice and healthy.

Surprising development in the pergola at the upper level, we suddenly have a number of seed pods hanging from the full moon vine

This vine has been growing here for decades but this is the first time it has ever produced seeds.

I plan to relocate these agaves. We will fix this 'island' this summer- provide better soil and construct several levels to make it more interesting. Watch out for a post on that.

The Cuban Royal palms are growing steadily and their leaves continue to be a periodic hazard when they fall.

The triangle palms are getting along pretty well but obviously nowhere near as fast as the Royals. At one point in time they were the same size. They were all just seedlings when I planted them in the ground about 15 years ago.

Last but not least, a trio of Pinanga aristata that we just planted in the ground.

END OF THE UPDATE

Garden Update Year 2 - Part 6 "The Epiphytes"

2012-01-15T11:08:00.000+08:00

The Epiphytes are next.

Epiphytes are basically "air plants". They don't live on the ground and grow on anything that can support them and give them a more strategic spot in reaching sunlight.

Tillandsia is a Genera of plants closely related to the pineapple. These are usually grey or silvery white and though not colorful, usually have very weird looking leaves that keep them looking interesting.

The life span of many of the smaller Tillandsias are usually very short - usually just over a year. Once the mother plant flowers and dies it is replaced by several pups that pretty soon grow up into adult plants as well and this usually results in a small colony.

The shape of these colonies is typically a ball or sphere-- like this one.

The two Tillandsias here are example of the larger species. T. Hildae on the right takes about 10 years to bloom. It's actually the largest species of Tillandsia.

The one on the left is T. Xerographica and has a life span of maybe 4 to 5 years before blooming.

There is a wider variety in this group.

One of the weirder looking Tillandsias is T. Duratii. It's leaves are actually prehensile and can grab on to anything within its reach for support and stabilization. This one is still small though.

This other species looks similar to T. Duratii but is fuzzier and very white. Forgot the name though.

T. Funkiana pup. This species grows into long "little snakes"

Another species that develops a long body - but I don't know the name of this one. Notice that it is already producing several pups along it's length.

Some of the wood we used for the mounts had some boring insects and couldn't support the plants anymore. We have to work on these this summer.

This mount is in a shadier spot so Tillandsia's won't do well here. We mounted Aechmeas instead.

On the large Mango tree we mounted this Platycerium bifurcatum a few months ago. It looks like it has established itself well.

On one of the tall 'Anahaw' palms we also mounted a lot of Tillandsias, which really look like they are doing well in this hot and exposed spot.

This one is a hybrid. It looks like a T. capitata crossed with one of the species that develops a long body.

A couple of small cuttings that haven't developed roots yet. In a few months these should be able to cling to the trunk on their own without needing any wires.

We mounted a lot of epiphytes on a trio of very tall Areca catechu near the gates.

Platycerium bifurcatum growing very well.

A Tillandsia ionantha, but I am unsure about the particular cultivar because there are so many. This one has quite a number of pups already.

The very weird looking T. bulbosa. The pups are the two at the bottom

T.duratii

Another colony of T Ionanth. On this one the mother plant has competely disappeared.

There are a couple of Plumeria trees that we have mounted a lot of air plants.

This T. capitata is already the second generation. the original plant flowered last year and there are 3 or 4 offshoots that took its place.

Some of the freak mutant Polypodiums. This one is not quite established.

Another platycerium but I think this one is a hybrid. It doesn't quite look like the leaves of a bifurcatum

Another Platycerium.

This is another Plumeria tree nearby with more Platyceriums growing on it.

This one is really spreading all over the trunk now. In the wild these clusters of stag horn ferns have been known to grow so large that the branches they grow on sometimes break off from the tree from their sheer weight.

Another species of Platycerium but the name escapes me.

Some of our feeble attempts to establish orchids on our trees.

This is an interesting development. There are quite a number of volunteer ferns growing on the trunk of this palm. These are plants that just grew here accidentally probably by spores carried by the wind from nearby plants.

What's peculiar is that these seedlings seem to have come from some of the "mutant" ferns in our collection because most of their leaves are forked and split.

It's going to be pretty cool to see what comes out of these hundreds of seedlings growing all over the place.

Speaking of mutant ferns. This is the one with a "ball of lettuce" growing a the end

Some of the orchids that have survived neglect. This is a Phalinopsis or a butterfly orchid.

A hjodge-podge of epiphytes. Mostly ferns and orchids.

A closer look.

Another Platycerium bifurcatum. This one is mounted on the Dypsis decaryii in the middle of the main garden.

A dead orchid stem with a lot of off-shoots . Hopefully the babies will get established and grow into adult plants.

Platycerium pups that are beginning to cling.

We have a special bromeliad display which houses mostly epiphytes.

A couple of T. straptophyllum. The dryer they get the more twisted their leaves grow.

T. ionantha. These are turning red because they are about to flower and die.

These striped bromeliads are Aechmeas.

T. Funkiana developing a couple of clusters from the mother plant.

A mix of Tillandsias. I don't know the species names of these

Group shot! Aechmea at the back and Tillandsia xerographica in the foreground. The hair like curtain are are actually tillandsias too. I forgot the species name but I think these are also called Spanish moss.

The potted bromeliads in the ground are Neoregelias. Technically these are also epiphytes but they get so large that it is much easier to place them in pots. We don't plan them in soil though, we use fern chips.

Mother plant with children

These two are doing pretty well.

This one is T. Seleriana. I was told that this might not do too well in the tropics but this one seems to be happy

This one is a local hybrid - T. caput medusae x bulbosa. Really cool looking with the wavy tubular leaves.

Tillandsia Bulbosa and by the looks of it this is probably the 'giant form'. ordinary T. bulbosa would have flowered and died before getting any close to this size.

Another look at the Neoregelias

T. capitata in flower.

Tillandsia caput-medusae

T. xerographica and T. capitata

The largest Tillandsia duratii we have

My hand for scale.

END OF PART 6

Garden Update Year 2 - Part 5 "The Left Garden"

2012-01-13T19:33:00.001+08:00

OK so on with the update. Another part of the house - let's just call this the "Left Garden" for lack of a better term. It's a semi-shaded area covered by a wall on one side and a large hundred year old mango tree on the other.

This Philodendron 'burl marxii' is growing pretty well. Too well actually because it is running over a lot of the specimen plants that were suppose to stand out in this area.

Luckily this colorful Philodendron (I forgot the species) is able to grow above the invader.

Some are able to break out but a few others are struggling. The large heart shaped leaves are from an Anthurium faustino-mirandae, an eventual giant with 4 foot leaves.

A few other hybrid birds nest Anthuriums are doing great in this shady spot.

A couple of agleonemas filling in their pots very nicely.

This herringbone plant has established itself pretty nicely and looks nice and neat covering a large area like a carpet.

A trio of Asplenium nidus 'cobra" showing a little bit of sun burn but generally growing well. I think I want to move them to areas where they can be viewed more readily. The surrounding plants often grow over them and need to be trimmed for these guys to be seen.

Not everything we plant is successfully. This was once a Licuala mattanensis. i guess the sun gets too hot for this guy at certain parts of the day.

The one and only Johannesteijmannii magnifica that we have. This species has the widest leaves and silver undersides of the genera. looks like it needs some wind protection. Those leaves catch the wind like sails.

Another grouping of Caryota ophiopellis. These are doing much better than the other grouping on the opposite side of the property. These have been steadily growing bigger...

... and are beginning to show off the prominent stripes on their petioles.

Agleonema 'dona carmen' looking nice and lush.

More Caryota ophiopellis in the back and the two palms in front are Bactris militaris.

Somewhere in all the leaf litter I also planted a small seedling of Licuala mapu. It was struggling at the start but it looks established now. It's been able to get past the "strap-leaf stage". This was also suffering from the hot noon day sun (just like the now dead L. mattanensis)...

... so I placed a few potted plants beside it to shield it from the sun.

We also planted a few vines at the base of the large mango tree and it looks like they are jockeying for space.

Also in this area, I planted a large Cycas Debaoensis in the ground about a year ago. it shed most of its leaves except for this last one...

... but it looks like it is getting ready to push out new leaves soon.

In the more exposed area of this "island", we planted a lot of arid growing species.

The Agaves are generally doing good like this variegated cultivar.

The Agave potatorum do not get the nice compact from that they would normally have if you grew them in a shade house and away from the constant rain. but they are healthy enough to produce a lot of offshoots.

Agave paryii var. 'truncata' getting bigger but also not showing the typical compact "artichoke-like" form. maybe in the dry season this will improve.

The Fucracea macdougalii is getting bigger but is still lanky. The base seems to be fattening up to maybe a trunk will form soon and it will already begin to grow more vertically.

This Strelitzea reginae is growing very well and has already split into 4 growing points.

The several Dioon edules are doing OK too. I guess it will take several more years to get well established and then they will grow more rapidly. Cycads are generally extreme slow growers.

The real tragedy for this area are the Trachycarpus wagnerianus. I planted three of these beautiful but cold tolerant palms in the ground just as an experiment to see if they can survive.

I guess they can't. I have seen photos of these plants growing in the tropics so, I guess it is still possible to grow this species here, but I have to choose a more sheltered positioned i guess.

OUCH!

These two are still surviving but i am not sure if they will live through the summer.

I have several for of these in the shade house and they are doing much much better than these guys.

Planted this grouping of Calyptrogyne ghiesbregtiana and Burretokentia veillardii. These are still all under a foot tall. They look a bit burnt and could probably use a bit of shelter from the afternoon sun.

A Dypsis saintelucei that looks like it is struggling. This one is suppose to be sun loving. maybe it just doesn't get enough water.

Another pathetic looking plant. This one is a Cycas panzaihuanensis. Understandably struggling because this is a cold climate cycad.

The Attalea butyracea is growing nicely. Still a baby but the leaves are progressively getting taller. can't wait fro this to get really really big!

From the other side of the Attalea, we have a pretty interesting group of plants.

The pair of Aiphanes horridus is doing really well. Beautiful full crown of wavy leaves...

... and an impressive array of thorns!

This Dioon spinulosum is also starting to look impressive.

One of the more scientifically significant palms that I have-- the second Tahina spectabilis. I planted this in the ground a year later than the first. It is growing well but has not really had a growth spurt yet. Maybe it is growing a lot of roots at this stage.

A pair of Cypophoenix nucele about a foot and a half tall now. The native habitat of this rare palm is threatened.

A Marojejya insignis. This will grow to be a huge palm but so far it is just under eight inches tall.

Agleonema dona carmen and the Philodendron are doing great.

I also planted another J. altifrons here but the leaves looks a little bit bleached. Needs a bit of sun protection here.

More bad news-- the second Licuala mattanensis not doing well at all. hanging by a thread actually. This needs more shade - the old leaves were burned to a crisp!

I planted this Cycas Longipetiolula in the hopes that it's health would improve.

It has a heavy scale insect infestation. Hopefully by the next flush of leaves this will improve.

I planted a couple of Iriatea deltoidea in heavy shade but they are growing very slowly. I think we have to trim the trees above to give them better access to light and rain.

Dypsis crinita opening a new red leaf.

Some things are better seen from a different angle.

The Cycas longipetiolula in the large pot is growing up pretty fast. It is now putting out 3 leaves every time it flushes. The leaves, I estimate are 12 feet tall each.

One of the Dypsis pinnatifrons is finally able to grow over the variegated bamboo. There are three of them there.

This Euterepe edulis is gaining ground.

The Philodenfron gigantea and the variegated Monstera deliciosa are battling for the sunlight too. In any case they both look nice and healthy.

END OF PART 5

Garden Update Year 2 - Part 4 " The Far End"

2012-01-11T21:07:00.002+08:00

The past year we have been working on the far end of the main lawn a lot.

The pair of Johannesteijmannia altifrons are growing pretty steadily. Those leaves are about four and a half feet tall now.

I also planted a J. perakensis in between. This is the species that develops a trunk. It seems to be the slowest of the species. The leaves are only about eighteen inches long but are getting a little wider.

Another grouping of Pritchardia pacificas.

Another J. altifrons was planted here a couple of months ago. The plant in front of it is Anthurium gemanii.

Amherstia nobilis is probably 20 feet tall now. Has a lot of new leaves-- those are the reddish drooping things. This tree flowered for the first time last year, hopefully it puts on a bigger show this year.

The lone Caryota zebrina is doing well. Seems to be putting out leaves much faster now and is carry 5 leaves at the moment. These typically carry only 3 leaves at any given time.

We transferred this Anthurium splendidum on this spot under the A. nobilis a few months ago. Looks like it is doing better here. The new leaves are bigger than the previous ones so that's a good sign.

Philodendron 'sante-lucie' is looking nice and lush under the Wodyetia bifurcata palms.

The vine's roots are nicely established on the trunk.
Philodendron 'peacock' is also beginning to climb

In this area I planted a lot of low growing understory plants. Not exactly ground covers and the leaves on these are big on color.

Agleonema 'red gem' are distinctly red. These are kind of expensive but easy to propagate. all you need is time. You just top cut these plants and stick it in the ground and after a while you will be able to cover a wide area with this plant.

I planted a grouping of Licuala 'mapu' in this area too. I am not confident on how they will do so I just planted the worst looking ones.

This is the best looking one the leaves are about 5 inches across...

... and this one is the worst. The leaves haven't even fanned out yet.

Zamia neurophyllidia with a pair of new leaves just hardening off.

The Licuala pre-ati is doing great.

Also planted a number of Philodendron moonlight. The new leaves come out yellow. But these seem to be the vine forming cultivars so the leaves tend to be small. Somewhere in the middle is a tiny seedling of Licuala orbicularis-- need to look a little closer to see it.

Here's a close up of the L.orbicularis. This will eventually grow into an impressive specimen palm but that will be years from now. The leaves on these are only 3 inches long and still pretty narrow.

Closer to the wall I planted a group of Caryota ophiopellis. I wanted to have an impressive "wall' of these palms but not all of them did well after their transplant.

Some are doing great ...

... but a few just died off inexplicably. I am guessing the soil was not to their liking.

Chamaedorea ernest-angustii growing well in front of a couple of Burretokentia veillardii.

I planted this Johannesteijmannii lanceolata but it gets too much sun exposure here and the leaves get burned. I have to put potted plants around it to give it some shade.

One of the large Cycas debaoensis i put in the ground. Looks like it likes this spot but it hasn't shown new growth yet. cant wait to see how big the new leaves will be. The current ones are about 10 feet long.

A group of Bactris militaris on the left and a Dypsis 'orange crush' on the right.

Variegated Japanese bamboo growing really well.

So well that it is overgrowing this Dypsis 'mealy bug'. I'll probably have to trim the bamboo to allow this eventually large palm to grow.

Planted these Dypsis brevacaulis a few months ago too-- just because they were not doing well in pots. they haven't sped up in the ground either but maybe it just takes a bit more time for the roots to get established.

The trellis is getting well covered by vines. We have two vines growing here a red jade vine and a Bauhinia kockiana.

The B. kockiana looks like is has established well and is getting really bushy.

A group of Livistonia decora growing pretty rapidly I think the largest one is developing a trunk already.

Underneath the Livistonias I planted this Zombia antillarum. The leaves are a bit stretched out because it was getting too much shade but we trimmed the palms above it so its appearance should improve.

Cycas longipetiolula on the left and another Cycas debaoensis on the right which was only planted a couple of weeks ago. there is another cycas in between but I am not sure of the species-- maybe when it mature we can identify it. the palm in the back is an Areca vestiara.

Arenga hookeriana again on the left. Those leaves are distinctive. The palms on the right are Pinanga maculata, a native Philippine palm.

A closer look at the chocolate/maroon colored crown shafts.

End of Part 4

Garden Update Year 2 -Part 3 "Perimeter Plantings"

2012-01-09T07:49:00.001+08:00

Now lets tackle the plants positioned on the periphery of the property.

This pair of Bismarkia nobilis are doing particularly well. I think they get the best sun exposure here and they really love soaking up the rays.

The have a bout a foot and a half of trunk so I expect them to speed up even more this year.

The smaller Bismark palm has a variegated yucca for a neighbor. They should look pretty good together when the palm finally towers above and the yucca starts branching out.

This grove of Pritchardia pacificas are the survivors of from when a van crashed into our wall. You can see the repaired wall in the background. There was fourth Pritchardia, the biggest one actually, but it dies a few months after the incident.

Crossing over to the main yard, we have a number of noteworthy plants planted near the gate.

This Metroxylon vitiense will eventually grow into a giant. Those leaves are about 15 feet tall and the palm doesn't even have a trunk yet.

The leaves are just growing out of the ground at this point. The spines are beginning to look impressive now.

The two Licuala elegans are growing pretty well. The leaves are about 5 feet across now. and the y have about 2 feet of trunk. The leaves tilt towards the house. i am not sure if they are following the sun or if this is caused by the winds.

Underneath all the large palm trees we planted we have an understory area--which is why these pictures have poor contrast. we are shooting in shade people.

We planted several Caryota ophiopellis or snakeskin fishtail palms. The stripes on their leaves will sort of match the wave patterns of the spines on the leaves of the Metroxylon beside them. These are about 3 feet tall now.

This is a Zombia antillarum. Like most Cuban palms these are extremely slow growers.

For an Encephalartos, E. ferox are suppose to like shade but probably not this much shade because this one has fallen way behind its sibling. The caudex is probably just an inch across now.

Also hidden by the larger palm tress are these two, variegated Adonidii merilii. They benefit from the shade protection because their variegated portions can easily get burnt but then again we hardly get to see them. Maybe when the other trees get even taller their leaves will eventually grow above these smaller palms.

An unknown species of Cycas. All I know is that they come from Thailand. The new leaves come out blue. Really cool looking.

Above the Cycad you can see one of the variegated Adonidiis I mentioned earlier.

Further on we have an area where we recently planted a few more plants.

A rather wide leaf Johansteijmannii altifrons. This was planted about 4 months ago and is doing well but it hasn't gone through a summer yet so we have to watch out if it will need sun protection.

We also planted a Cycas diannanensis. Those leaves are about sic feet tall and the pot in the background use to be its home. Hopefully this guys shoots up now that it's roots have been set free.

That impressive new leaf is from a Cycas debaonsis that is in a large pot, since it seems to be doing well in this area we might as well plant in on the same spot. that;s a project for later in the year.

A pair of Kerriodoxa elegans. Yes I meant 'pair', the second one is hanging on to life by a thread. You can still see the tattered leaf and the black petiole on the lower part of the photo.

This Philodendron is surviving but not flourishing. maybe we should move it.

Just a shot of the far end of the pond.

To one side of the pond we have a couple of eventual giants...

Another Metroxylon vitiense. This is about as tall as the earlier one but much more lush.

This palm is a Carpoxylon macrospermum, a palm that was once thought extinct.

Still a few years from an actual trunk but the base is fattening up.

Mauritiella aculeata growing well and has actually split into 2 trunks already. Nice and silvery so it stands out in the shade-- like a ghost.

Back to the Metroxylon, here's a shot of the "trunk"

There are a couple of other Metroxylons in this area. They are not as large probably because they are in the shade and do not get enough water.

Here's the third Metroxylon.

Not to be outdone we also have 2 other Carpoxylons nearby too. Also not as big as the one by the pond probably because of water and light too.

This is our lone surviving Pigafetta filaris. This is suppose to be the fastest growing palm but so far it has just grown at average speed for me. Maybe as it matures. It supposedly can grow 20 feet in one year.

Pigafettas are extremely spiny!

Closest to the wall I have 2 more Pelagodoxa henryanas. The are doing better again but they always take a beating every summer.

Another recent planting, our one and only Cycas multifrondis. This species is similar to C. debaoensis but the leaves grow more upright and are about 4 feet longer. It was in a small pot for a very long time I hope it really shoots up now that it's been let loose.

Right beside the C. multifrondis is a large Cycas debaoensis. It recently shed it's older leaves...

... but

END OF PART 3

Garden Update Year 2- Part 2 "The Main Yard"

2012-01-07T22:12:00.001+08:00

Moving on to another section of the garden.

This is the variegated Red palm we put in the ground this year. It's consistently setting out leaves with variegation...

... but I am still hoping that the variegation will find it's way into the crown shaft. None so far.

The dwarf Areca catechu.

It has about eight inches of trunk now.

Close up of the crown.

One of the more developed "islands"

The Cocoloba rugosa has gotten pretty tall but looks kind of lanky. Its about 20 feet tall by my estimate.

It's started several new growth points which will help "fill it out" and make it look more bushy.

The Areca ipots are doing fine and stopped putting out stunted leaves.

New seeds coming soon!

Calyptrocalyx sp. and Verschaffeltia splendida.

Philodendron looking nice and lush in the foreground and the Arenga hookerii I think has reached it's maximum size.

Licuala ramsayii setting seed.

The Pelagodoxa henryana is getting really huge now.

Has about 2 feet of trunk now.

Kerriodoxa elegans has leaves about 6 feet across now.

The grove of Chambeyronia macrocarpas are doing great.

They are all developing trunks now.

Cycas siamensis is just waiting for a new flush of leaves

The small palm on the left is Acoelorraphe wrightii and the large one on the right is the Tahina spectabilis, which is gaining serious height. Still no trunk in sight but the leaves are about five feet high now.

Still the Tahina from a different angle showing how large the leaves are now. They are about 6 feet across.

Encephalartos ferox growing very well in it's spot. Gets late afternoon sun and a lot of shade for the rest of the day which is exactly what it likes.

The Hydrastelle flabellata is doing good. It now has 4 stems in varying heights.

In this group Dypsis lastellenata, Arenga hookeriana and Adonidia merillii golden form.

A shot from the other side shows the height of the different trunks.

The second Cycas siamensis. This one looked like it was dying at one point in time but is doing pretty well now.

The variegated Wodyetia bifurcata looking a bit ragged but growing steadily.

The palms in front of the triangle palms were suppose to be Coccothrinax borhidiana but they didn't turn out to be. They might be a totally different species altogether but more likely they are hybrids. Whatever they are they are growing well.

Several bunches of Rhaphis multifida here. They are growing a bit slow because they are in deep shade.

END OF PART 2

Garden Update Year 2 - Part 1 "The Cuban Section"

2012-01-07T10:40:00.001+08:00

Another new year another update. I find it hard to believe that I've only been monitoring the progress of the gardens for 2 years, it feels a lot longer to me.

Anyway, first up is the Cuban section.

And we start off with a little bad news. Sometime in October we had a storm with pretty strong winds and it left a number of palms leaning to one side including the one and only Coccothrinax crinita

Last October we had a storm with strong winds and it actually tilted a number of palms trees to one side, including our one and only Coccothrinax crinita that has been planted in the ground. The force of the wind must have snapped a few roots because after a few months the damage manifested in the leaves. the last few leaves that have come out are brown and dry. Even the new emerging spear looks dead. I don't know what to expect with this development-is this dead or will it bounce back to life? I guess only time will tell.

I still have a spare old man palm to replace this one but I think I will wait a while to see what happens.

That's something to look forward to for the next update.

From the worst to the not so bad.

This is the Copernicia cowelii that we planted some time this year. the good news is that the latest leaf is wider than the previous. The bad news is that's the only development with this seedling in the last six month! This is one of the slowest palm trees in the world !

We have mixed reviews with the Agaves.

Agaves mostly come from Mexico and are adapted to desert conditions and we are testing their adaptability to the opposite extreme here in the tropics.

The Agave 'victoria reginae' did not fare so well. This is the lone survivor from the 4 that we planted in the ground. I guess these are best kept in pots away from the constant rain.

These Agave Peryii var 'truncata' are faring better but still not ideal. These are suppose to look like giant artichokes but I guess the constant moisture is screwing with their appearance. Maybe in time they will develop the typical compact form.

This Aloe marlothii is doing very very well by the looks of things. Nice and steady growth.

Another one of the super slow growers -- Copernicia hospita. At least the leaves are wider and stiffer now.

Another Copernica so it is another slow grower. Looks about the same from the last update.

These are suppose to both be Coccothrinax miraguama but I think they are both hybrids. They certainly don't look the same anymore.

Aloe castanea also looks like it is doing will. This species will eventually branch out forming a sort of bush.

The Cycas cairnsiana nearby is starting to shed it's old leaves (drying up and turning brown). The crown seems to be bulging so I guess a new set of leaves are about to flush.

A couple of weeks ago we also planted this scrawny Yucca rostrata. It should speed up now that it's in the ground. I think it stalled when it outgrew it's small pot.

The Aloe ferox on the right also looks like it is doing OK. There was also an Aloe dichotoma planted nearby but it rotted away during the rainy season.

This Brahea armata also comes from Mexico and so far it is surviving.

I don't know what species of Agave this one is but it is doing pretty good.

The Dioon edule are also growing pretty well.

Towards the other end of the Cuban section...

Despite the periodic damage cause by the 15 foot long leave of the Cuban Royal palms crashing from 40 feet above, the Copernicia Baileyana is doing pretty well. The leaves are about 6 feet tall now and the base is getting fatter well on it's way to developing a trunk.

This Bismarkia nobilis is one of the other palms that was tilted down by strong winds, even worse than the C. crinita actually, but it recovered without missing a beat.

Nanorrhops richtiana slow but sure.

Variegated Agave americana looking a bit lanky. Probably too much water

I don't know the species of this agave but the leaves are opening up so it look like these will be blooming soon.

Somewhere in the back over run by the Agaves is a second Copernica macroglossa. It actually looks like it is doing much better than the one up front. It's about double the size. We will get a better view of this one once the Agave's in front of it die out after flowering.

Hmmm... I just realized that the last section of the Cuban area doesn't have anything Cuban at all.

This Hyphaene coriacea comes from Africa and is the only genera of palm that forms branches. It started out with two trunks but the smaller one died out...

... and since then the main trunk seems to be growing a lot faster.

This is an Agave salmiana var' ferox' and this grows into gigantic proportions. The leaves get up to 12 feet tall. Like most agaves this is from Mexico.

The two Chambeyronia Macrocarpas are doing well too. The come from New Caledonia.

To one side the Dioon spinulosum, despite being crowded in by the Copernicia baileyana is growing pretty well. It recently hardened off its new flush of leaves.

Towards the middle of the garden these unidentified Coccothrinax are also growing well under the Dypsis decaryii. The leaves of these are circular and are very very stiff.

They were sold to me as Coccothrinax miraguama but they are obviously not. Perhaps the thatch patterns on the leaf bases can shed light on their identity???

END OF PART 1

Second Coolest Christmas Gifts Awards - part deaux

2011-12-30T01:10:00.001+08:00

Cool people choose to arrive fashionably late to parties, likewise some of the coolest stuff arrived a few days after the 25th of December, hence the need for this additional post.

Here's another cool gift, part one of the graphic novel "All Star Superman". So for those of you who are alienated by geek stuff let me elaborate a bit- graphic novels have be come the affordable art for my generation. Though package as a "childish" format in the 1940's, comic books have evolved into a legitimate literary form. Admittedly it is not mainstream but that's part of it's cool factor.

A graphic novel basically collects a group or a series of individual comics and puts them together into a book format.

Even for a graphic novel, All Star Superman is pretty special. The series won several Eisner Awards (that's the equivalent of Oscars for the comic book industry) and it was created by the brilliant team of Grant Morrisson and Frank Quitely.

This one was given to me by some of my exchange students.

Last year there were two cool shirts and I thought there wouldn't be any this year but then this one came along. This is a gift to me from the same exchange students that gave me the graphic novel. Kaching!

We watched theTin Tin Movie a few weeks ago and they picked up this souvenir shirt for me when they went to Cambodia. I love the fact that it's an obviously imperfect copy and almost looks amateurish (particularly Tin Tin's face) -- that actually makes it cooler.

This one made me laugh. This was give to us by Dad's friend Al Guerson. It was a bit of a mystery when it arrived.

It came all the way from Davao City and it's from a bakeshop so this must be one special jelly roll.

But when I opened it , It was a roasted pig!

Lecon de leche all the way from a Davao bakeshop. WTF!

I went out for the night but when I got back I told the family to eat it immediately, but the maid pointed out to me that it wasn't a pig at all -- it was bread.

That is the most bad ass loaf of bread I have ever seen!

Last but not least an ultra portable speaker from my good friend Erwin.

Check this out:

Flash Mob in the House

2011-12-27T07:11:00.002+08:00

We always have a special dinner on Christmas day. It's not a big affair, just the usual suspects ( Tita Len's family and also Tito Mac's) and of course it's all the food that will raise your cholesterol levels and your weight.

The typical change to the roster every year are the "additional guests" which typically defines the flavor of the night. Usually it's family or friends who are visiting from abroad (if they haven't been invited elsewhere already), this year I invited some of my exchange students -- quite a number of them, actually.

We were almost done eating and one of them wanted to use the bathroom so I voluteered to show her the way. Some of the others wanted to explore the house a bit too so I said I'd show them around as well.

Girls take some time in the bathroom so people were just bumming around in the sala. Christmas carols were playing in my I-pod but it was a bit on the boring side so I switched it to the "Groove and Funky" playlist. After a few minutes THIS happened:

The Second Coolest Christmas Gifts Awards

2011-12-25T12:41:00.001+08:00

I won't have a top 3 this time. The gifts this year were cool on their own quirky ways so there is no comparison.

First up is a cool looking key chain. It's a gift from Marty and Liza to me...

..but its also a USB.

Next up is a Cartman (from Southpark just in case you didn't know) Bobblehead.

It talks! He says "sweet!" everytime he starts to bob his head:

This one is a super cool gift that feels right for the house. A commemorative tin Coca Cola Lunchbox and it comes with a replica bottle of Coke. In a world where everyday stuff is made out of plastic its really nice to feel something different. It also reminds me of the old lunchboxes I had in grade school. I need to keep this away from dad. this is the kind of thing that he'll steal for himself and stash in his man cave.

Thanks to Jackie for this one!

This one really made me laugh out loud. It's a gift from Marty and Liza to dad.

It's a pair of slipper that together say "SPOILED BRAT". Very apropos!

Dad gets all the coolest stuff! This is a Predator face mask. Carlos' gift to dad.

This is what a Predator looks like if he doesn't work out!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!

Because it's Christmas and I love Calvin and Hobbes

2011-12-16T15:39:00.000+08:00

I wonder where Bill Watterson is now?

Stories behind some of the Christmas Decorations1.1

2011-12-15T22:39:00.002+08:00

OK this is a catch up post.

Christmas comes a bit earlier this year.

Nikola Firmhoffer, a German exchange student who stayed with us last year sent us a small package and it arrived today.

I like it when something comes in the mail-- it's not virtual.

We got chocolate, a really charming Christmas card (but the note inside was what was really heart warming), and a couple of Christmas ornaments.

So now Nikola also becomes part of our Christmas tradition too. I promptly place the ornaments in the tree.

They are in there somewhere.

I promise.

The tiny red tree...

... and the tiny red star.

Thanks Nikola!

Merry Christmas!

Stories behind some of the Christmas Decorations

2011-12-11T23:07:00.000+08:00

Busy, busy,busy!

It's almost mid December and I still don't have even just a few posts lined up.

So I guess I'll just dig a little deeper with this seasonally themed topic.

But first, a consumer report.

One of the really cool things that came out in the market this year are these bundled LED Lights. They have a cool " falling meteorite" effect. This is actually the same kind of technology used in the Hasbro Light Saber-- check that out in the "Coolest Christmas gift post"" I made last year.

They were selling these in SM department store for P1,000 for a string of 5 bundles and P2,000 for a bundle of 10.

Total rip off!

We found the same lights being sold in Divisoria for only P300 for a bundle of 5. That was the cheapest but they went up as high as P500. But like all things in Divisoria, you have to look for the best bargains and then haggle for the best price you can get. A word of warning though-- test the lights for a few minutes before you take them. Some of the ones we bought stopped working when we tried them out back home and its a real big inconvenience to go all the way back to Divisoria just to replace them.

OK these Christmas Lanterns or "parols" are dad's "thing". He really likes the simple 5 pointed stars that he grew up with and the soft glow from the Japanese Paper they use to cover them with. He really doesn't like the look of cellophane which is more commonly used these days.

But these aren't made with Japanese Paper though....

For a couple or years we covered them with paper but we noticed that they just couldn't withstand the strong afternoon sun. In just a few days, the lanterns already looked faded and worn out. Even worse, the rains seem to be creeping up later and later these past years and we actually get rains during the Christmas season. Not a good thing for paper!

So what we use now is some kind of plastic. We still get the "glow" that dad is always looking for and the lanterns get to survive a Christmas season or two.

You'll notice that in one of the tables there are dozens of Santa Claus ummmm... "things". Again this is dad's idea. Probably because he is a baby boomer and grew up just after the World War II when Coca cola was using Santa as a poster boy for the soft drink but he has this, I guess fetish for anything related to the jolly old man dressed in the red suit.

He gets this stuff in Bazaars. Mom often joins Christmas Bazaars to sell her linens and dad always visits to see how she is doing AND to shop. More often than not he brings home something Santa related.

This table is a culmination of his addiction... I mean collection.

There are also a lot of Christmas Village Houses scattered around-- this one is my sister Pompee's "thing". When we just moved into this house, these ceramic (of are these resin) houses were being sold in several stalls in the flea market in Greenhills.

Since Green hills is just 5 minutes away she had easy access and slowly built up a small village. They were really a good value because these were overruns.

Most of them were perfect but since they were overruns, some of them had defects. Like this "Antique Shop"- the roof is a bit deformed I think.
The lining on the edge of this roof is definitely a flaw, but who cares...

... the village as a whole really looks nice and adds charm to the living room.

I sometimes think that Christmas gets too commercialized and the focus is too much on gift giving.

Is Santa Claus evil? (but that's a whole other discussion).

Luckily there are some decorations that remind us about the true meaning of Christmas.

This Nativity scene or "belen" is pretty special. It was made by the Emilio Alvero himself, the artisan who helped create this house.

By now there are a lot of paper mache figurines sold everywhere but this belen was made way back in the 1930's.

He formed the figures himself and hand painted the features on the faces and hands- very subtle and refined.

It's pretty cool how he created some "special effects" on the clothing -- for the inner folds on the clothes of Mary and Joseph are wearing he colored it a darker hue. Basically he was enhancing the shadows and it makes things look deeper and richer than it actually is.

Through the years there has been one family friend who has gifted us with so many Christmas decorations-- Tita Anne Katigbak.

I remember that on one of the first years that we moved in she gave us this belen with not just the holy family but with the three kings as well.

The following year she gave us this angel.

On separate years she gave us the giant clear champagne glass (we just fill it up with red Christmas ball) and the ceramic angel.

Even our tree is filled with Tita Anne's gifts.

She gave us this silver painted glass tree ornaments.

This way the Katigbak Family will always be part of our Christmas traditions.

Wala Lang: Just made me smile

2011-11-20T08:49:00.001+08:00

Somewhere in Pasay city.

Travel: Balisong - It's a small town, It's a kind of knife,and it's an airport security incident (long story)

2011-11-02T22:01:00.001+08:00

One of the more specialized things to do in the Philippines is visit the small baranggay of Balisong which shares its name with a uniquely Filipino weapon.

Just to give a backgrounder:

The balisong is a traditional Philippine butterfly knife. The etymology of the word 'balisong' is derived from the Tagalog words 'bali' (bent or broken) and 'sungay' (horn) as they were originally made from carved water buffalo and stag horn. Like I mentioned earlier, Balisong is also the name of a barrio in the town of Taal, Batangas province, which became famous for crafting these knives.

A Balisong is basically a folding pocket knife with a handle in two parts. The handle parts fold over the blade and shortens the overall package when closed.

Opening and closing the knife can be done in a variety of ways and has actually grown into an art form and is one of the coolest things about this knife. If you think about it, a switch blade is faster to open and more practical but the balisong is definitely more fun to own.

OK so that's basically what this trip is all about-- getting really cool knives.

So it was long weekend and the rest of the metropolis already went out into the provinces a couple of days before.

We has the highways to ourselves!! This was a rarity in Philippine driving and to top it all off the sun was nice and bright. The conditions were perfect for a long and leisurely drive into the countryside.

I was enjoying the sensation of the van cruising through the rolling hills and the sun bathing the scenery in crisp golden hues.

... but some of us in the car were not.

After taking a turn at the Lipa exit the wide highways transformed into typical small town roads...

... where your cruising speed is dictated by the ubiquitous presence of tricycles.

These are the kind of sleepy little town where a traffic jam can be caused by baskets falling off a jeep ...

... or a bamboo pole crossing the street.

After a while though there were the tell tale signs that we were nearing our destination. Little balisong shops were suddenly popping up along the street.

They are really nothing more than small sheds with two or 3 display cases selling a variety of knives. We were looking for a particular shop called Giron's but we stopped at a few shops along the way just to get an idea of the variety of knives available and the prices as well.

These shops sell practically anything with a blade.

They have a variety of switch blades, katanas and kitchen knives.

... and of course the items that made them famous-- the Balisong.

They come in a variety of blades and handle covers. These are the more traditional varieties of balisong. The brown ones have narra wood handles and the white ones on the right have horse bone handles. These ones were prices at P250-- but as with a lot of things in the Philippines there is room to haggle.

Here's a closer look at a typical balisong. The handles fold over to conceal the blade and create a more compact package. When you fold out the handles fully they expose the blade and create full length knife. The handles opening and closing suggest the motion of wings hence the other name of the Balisong -- "butterfly knives"

They come in several sizes and the most famous is the 'bente nueve' or 29 cm knife. Personally I am more comfortable with something smaller.

The vendor was showing me a special knife that had deer horn handles. These were slightly more expensive at P300.

They even have gigantic balisongs measuring as much as 72 cm.

You can even customize your keys to form a balisong.

This is the key to lock the Balisong shop.

Slick!

Further on we stopped at a larger shop that featured a wider variety of knives.

This shop has replicas of full size swords too.

A lot of the knives in this shop have a bit of ornamentation with details with the Philippine eagle theme.

There are a selection of blades too. Some are single sided and others are double edged. The curvy one in the the middle is a 'kriss' blade, which is based on an actual full sized sword found in the Mindanao region.

A Karambit

A Push Blade

We though that this was a super specialized type of knife used in an exotic style of hand-to-hand combat but it turned out to be a small shovel used for gardening.

We finally reach Balisong!

But it turns out that we had already gone past the shop we were looking for.

So for those of you who are looking for Giron's shops, which is reputedly the best balisong shop to go to for these knives, just look for the Flying-V gas station along the main road...

... Giron's Balisong shop is right across the street.

ummm... there is a butcher shop right beside it.

We saw the more traditional stuff that we saw in the earlier shops we visited but there was a distinctly wider variety of higher quality knives.

Thomas was famillar with this brand of Balisong. Benchmade is a balisong manufactured in the US(owned by a Filipino) and exported throughout the world and ironically enough including the Philippines.

OPEN

A switchbalde, a more practical corny-er option.

Shurikens or throwing stars. P200 each. The inner ninja in me was excited.

A Balisong comb! I think dad would like this.

They also have balisong spoons and forks

Thomas looks examines dummy swords.

It's a full length sword but the blade is not sharpened and is actually blunted down and rounded off - practice swords basically.

They had a variety of full length swords too. Some were replicas made from movies.

The lady pointed out the horse whip. What was it doing in a knife shop???

She explained that the whip actually concealed a blade.

The handle pulls out of the whip and holds a 'kwatro kanto' -- basically a four sided piercing blade. She says that you are suppose to keep it rusty to help promote infection on the wound.

Last but not least but one of the tiniest though was this ballpen knife. The blade is hidden in the shaft of the pen.

She points out that the ink is refillable.

They also had framed Balisongs, for the knife enthusiast looking to decorate his home.

We had another pleasant drive back home and since there was no traffic we had a lot of time to spare before we brought our friend to the airport.

Thomas made the best purchase of the trip ( I wish I had bought one myself)-- a dummy balisong knife. It had an unsharpened blade.

If you want to learn all the fancy moves for opening and closing the Balisong AND keep all your fingers this is the knife to practice with. I think it costs P220 each.

Oh yeah I almost forgot.

Notice the last part on the title of this post?

Well we were playing around with the dummy balisong in the car park of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and apparently that gets you a free ride in a police car.

'nuff said.

Shabby Chick my ASS!!!

2011-11-02T20:58:00.000+08:00

This one of our old chairs that was just rotting away in storage. I loved this chair. I had a lot of fun with it when I was a kid. It use to have caster wheels on ts legs and I use to plank on it with (my belly on the seat) and roll through our hallway pretending that I was Superman

The seat is long gone and the back seat is pretty much unsalvageable.

Worse yet, the legs must have stood in a few inches of water for a long time at some point.

Castor wheels use to be at the bottom of each leg but the water must have rusted out the wheels and the expanding metal damaged the end of the legs pretty bad.

Well I didn't want to just throw my childhood chair away so I had it sanded down, and sawed off the rotten parts of the legs...

... then I bought a decent sized cabinet door...

... laid the chair on its back and nailed the cabinet door on top...

So my old chair now has a new life as a table.

Pretty cool 'no?

Wala Lang: Freedom 90

2011-10-21T22:57:00.000+08:00

Freedom 90 by George Michael was one of the iconic videos of the 1990's. So without fail there was bound to be fans who in one form or the other make a cover version of the song and/or video.

It's pretty interesting what you can find on the internet.

Just to refresh your memory here's the Original:

George Michael - Freedom 90 by zocomoro

This one doesn't quite work:

This is pretty decent:

This one is good:

Love the attitude on this one:

And the best of them all:

Love the chubby Naomi Campbell

Manila Safari - Sort of: Odds and ends

2011-10-18T23:38:00.000+08:00

Just a few more pictures that I couldn't weave into the other posts, but still worth sharing.

Can you see it?

No need to comment. Agathe is Agathe. We are used to this by now.

Who has the better smile?

Kiichi is trying to make him burp but he farted instead.

That blue and gold macaw loved to try and bite things-- including my shirt!

Not everything went well with the birds.

We had a great day.

Manila Safari- Sort of: The Manila Zoo

2011-10-17T23:46:00.001+08:00

It was late in the day but after a short stop in Cartimar, where I didn't take the camera, we forged on to Manila Zoo before it got dark out.

Like I said, I hadn't been here in ages so I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

The elephant. The one and only that they had in teh Zoo. He came out in a commercial way back in teh 1970's and it's nice to see that he (or is it a she) is still alive. In the commercial he walked all over a mattress. I wonder if he received royalties for that.

My crew and the elephant.

Big crocodile ...

...near the boat rides.

Don't worry its a fake!

I didn't know that the Philippines had endemic squirrels.
Apparently we had Angry Birds too.

It was an odd hour in the day so the tigers were deep in their naps.

The remains of jejemon who were stupid enough to mess with the tigers.

The zoo had one Zebra...

... who was apparently raped by a horse. This is actually pretty cool- a Zebra/Horse mix. We were just talking about Ligers and Mules the other day, and we actually get to see another hybrid animal.

Large crocodile but I'd still love to see 'Lolong' some day.

We enter the herpetarium.

A common Philippine Cobra. It's nice that he flared up a bit for us.

Native sail fin lizards.

The longest python in the bunch.

The albinos really grab your attention.

Ostriches look look like God's joke for humanity to begin with but this one was actually bald! I am not sure if tit was moulting , has a disease or its feathers were harvested and sold but he really looked bizarre...

... and apparently scary to these two.

For an extra P100 you can enter a special section where you can interact directly with the animals. It was basically a petting zoo but the animals were more exotic than the usual barn yard animals.

Definitely worth the additional fee!

Well OK, there was this pig running around loose but the other animals were more impressive.

We see a crocodile, Agathe sees a bag and a pair of shoes.
This is Kiichis new neck tie! This is what is hot and stylish in Japan right now.

William was really creeped out by the snake but he still gave it a shot. I don't blame him-- it really does feel weird.

Parrots were much easier to handle. Me with one of my favorite birds-- a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. I always wanted one of these when I was a child.

Besides fish that clean your feet, Kiichi also has a fear of cute little brightly colored birds -- but at least he still managed to smile.

Group Shot!

Of course Agathe had to out do all of us.

I think that the birds find her annoying.

The birds are teaching them to speak in English.

Agathe is lost in her own world again

Not to be outdone by Agathe who kissed a sea lion, William attempted to french kiss the bird.

This looks like one very annoyed tortoise.

Sorry but we can't bring them home with us.

Horn Bills! These guys look mean and scary. Their faces are similar to the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park, but they turned out to be pretty calm and gentle animals -- except for the claws.

William made a friend.

Those claws are sharp and his grip is really tight.

Agathe's impression of the bird. Apparently, Kiichi is more afraid of Agathe than the horn bill.

That's an albino reticulated python around our necks...

... and sometimes he did not want to cooperate.

This baby gibbon was a real charmer. He is only two years old and still loves to be carried around.

If Kiichi and Agathe had a baby...

Perfect photos for a face book profile

In a day filled with great photo opportunities I think this is the best picture of the day.

Ok so the Manila Zoo isn't the best zoo in the world, but with good friends coming along you can still have a great time.

Life is what you make it I guess.

END

Safari in Manila - Sort of: The Fish Spa

2011-10-17T14:04:00.002+08:00

One of the attractions that was highly recommended was the fish spa. I wasn't really into it but the students were, so I said to myself "what the heck".

A few years back there was this "beauty craze" of using fish to exfoliate your skin. Well this is just the foot spa version of it.

Basically you have a shallow pool filled with hundreds of "Noble Fish" a species of Cichlid. You dip in your feet and just sit back as they nibble or rather suck on your skin eating the layer of dead skin cells.

It sounds simple enough but what they did not explain is that this was actually a form of torture!

TORTURE THROUGH TICKLING!!

We started out a bit apprehensive. We didn't know what to expect.

You dunk in your feet and the fish make a beeline straight to your feet.

Only a few at first. The first bite is kind of startling and if you flinch it scares them off a bit.

If you hold still, in less than a minute there will be a swarm of them.

This is when the torture begins because the feeling of a hundred miniature hickeys being applied to your feet is too ticklish to bare!

The attendant is amused by Agathe's hardship.

Kichii gave up after a while. It's particularly hard if the fish get access to the bottom of your feet.

The thing is - if you are able to bare the first couple of minutes you will get sensitized enough to just enjoy it. IF you can hold on for a few minutes. That's easier said than done!

Our big man, William also has his feet up.

Half the fun is watching your friends go through the ordeal.

This series of photos is William's baptism of fire:

He needed to get talked into it.

There is no audio for this photo but William was squealing here.

These photos were taken over a period of maybe 5 minutes

After a while he got over it.

A smile of satisfaction.

Now it's Kiichi's turn.

Kichii took the longest because he kept lifting his legs out of the water.

He tried one foot at a time a couple of times

The facial expressions say it all.

Nice to have some friends for moral support

Deep breathing helps!

Oh poor Kiichi

AAARRRRGGHH!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone else is amused-- hehe

Breathe in , breathe out, breathe in , breathe out...

Aaaahhhhhh.

Now Kiichi can enjoy it.

It was P120 for a 20 minute session.

Well worth it.

Bring friends.

Bring a camera.

Sit across from each other so you can laugh AT your friends.

Manila Safari - Sort of: The Oceanarium Part 2

2011-10-17T13:29:00.001+08:00

We finally reach the bigger displays.

I think these feature the open ocean species in contrast to the coral reef species that were featured in the smaller displays. The fish here aren't as colorful but they will WOW you with their size.

That is one big ass puffer fish. William was hoping to scare it so that it would puff up into a ball.

There was a lone barracuda hovering just under the surface of the water. These usually form large schools. He must feel out of place all alone.

In one tank there was an enormous saw fish in display. related to sharks, this species starts it's life in fresh water rivers and later on moves out into the ocean as it grows into adulthood. They can get up to 23 feet long and give birth to live young---yup, Animal Planet again

Agathe comes face to face with a Grouper

"ME HUNGRY!!!"

We enter the tunnel for the walk through tank.

Just a warning though- the domed shape of the tunnel creates a parabola therefore concentrating and amplifying sound. It can get really annoying when a dozen hyper active attention starved little brats start screaming and squealing--there was a field trip from elementary students.

Eagle rays "flying" in formation

Sting rays

Picture time

Its actually nice to just sit in the tunnel and watch the fish go by.

A moray eel swimming exposed out in the open

You can also walk in the big tank-- for a fee of course

On the far end is the shark tank.

A leopard shark

White tip reef sharks taking a nap.

William for scale.

The roof was also a tank filled with stingrays.

Just more goofing off.

Manila Safari-Sort of: The Oceanarium part 1

2011-10-17T08:48:00.000+08:00

Some of the retail areas in Oceanpark had retail stores similar to those you would find in Greenhills. Unfortunately the aggressive sales people are also there. This one hooked Agathe with a magic trick.

We just has a quick lunch in the small row of food stalls so that everyone could just pick out the food they liked. I had a burger the others has pizza.

We were sitting by the 4D theater and William and Kichii wanted to give it a try. Here they are goofing off with one of the characters that promote the ride.

You get a choice of 10 different simulations ( apparently Batman is one of them) but the guys chose the Volcano Eruption simulation as recommended by Batgirl. It's the best seller.

They video the passengers as they go through the simulation and show it on screens outside.

After our quick lunch and dessert of peanut brittle, meringue and cotton candy (we were all sugar high) we proceeded to the main feature of Ocean Park : the Oceanarium. If I remember correctly the entrance fee is P400. They have different bundled packages though which gives a pretty big discount if you take several of the exhibits together.

Of course before we enter our crew just has to ham it up for the cameras again.

Sugar high--remember!?

The first thing that greets us inside is this huge tank filled with impressively large fish!

Arapaima gigas the largest species of Fresh water fish. These are found in the Amazon and I think that the locals eat them. I wonder how large an Arapaima steak is.

A face only a mother could love.

This one is an Arrowana

Giant gourami

The hanging red string are aerial roots from a vine. A pretty cool setting for the crocodile display.

This croc was about 8 feet long, A far cry from 'Lolong', the 6 meter crocodile that was recently caught in Agusan.
Its funny how this crocodile daintily stretches her fingers

Kichii marvels at the tank that is filled by what looks like piranhas. There was no sign identifying the species but I think these are Red Pacu, a common aquarium fish that is related to the actual meat eaters

The cow skeleton on the extreme left adds to the illusion.

Another large tank filled with large fresh water fish,

This one has mostly large catfish and Giant gouramis

In the pet trade this is called a hi fin hammer head but is actually just a catfish - one of thousands of species.

Near by there was a salt water petting tank. ( all the fish I have shown so far are all fresh water species) Epaulette Sharks also known as hooded sharks

One of the start fish species you can find in the Philippines

Koi Feeding- P300 to feed them and a photo. I have these at home so no thanks.

They use a baby bottle to feed these guys.

Kiichi admires a tank filled with Cichlids ( the genera of fish that your common Angel Fish and Tilapia belong to) from Lake Victoria and Malawi in Africa

These lakes are important to science because these unique environments have the highest occurrence of speciation. The Cichlids in these lakes have evolved to to fill different niches and the result is hundreds if closely related but distinct species of fish.

Yes, I watch a lot of Animal Planet.

The next are are small tanks with marine/salt water species.
This large angel fish was opening up its gills and letting the smaller fish clean it. Symbiosis at work.

A Moorish Idol

I didn't take notes on these so just enjoy the photos.

A surgeon fish or "Dory" from Finding Nemo

A Cow Fish

Puffer Fish

A clown fish-related but not the same species as Nemo.

A grotesquely bas ass and extremely venomous Stone Fish. They have a spine on their dorsal fin that secretes a venom.

Another type of puffer fish

A Lion Fish

End of Part 1