Filipina Soul

I belated learned of typhoon Milenyo last night, and Maricar posted here how bad the storm hit Metro Manila and other provinces in Luzon. Center gusts of the storm were up to 150 kph (93 mph) but it was travelling slowly at 17 kph (10.5 mph).
We called (and texted) our parents in Laguna and a brother in Negros Occidental but couldn’t get hold of them until 11 p.m. last night (US; EST). They texted that there were fine, but we wonder what damage the storm caused our parents’ house.
What about your family? How did they fare? We hope that they’re …read more

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Typhoon Xangsane left behind scenes of destruction in a quick but very intense path that hit Metro Manila directly.
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

Typhoon “Milenyo” (international name: Xangsane) brought Metro Manila to a near-standstill with all flights and sea travel in and out of the region canceled. It also forced officials to suspend operations of two commuter train systems.
At least 18 persons were reported dead in the cities of Muntinlupa (2), Makati (1) and Legazpi (1), and the provinces of Albay (8), Quezon (3) and Antique (3) in the wake of the typhoon.
Eleven were confirmed dead in the five-province Calabarzon area …read more

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Aside from the usual riddles/bugtong, I also found some cool trivia about the Philippines. This time, the theme is all about “cool places”
A. Which town in Bulacan is famous for its festival, which is characterized by streetdancing of childless couples asking for their own child?

Norzagaray
Malolos
Obando

B. Where is the thanksgiving fiesta held in Bulacan province which features oiled, perfumed carabaos (water buffalos) paying homage to the town’s patron saint?

Pulilan
Plaridel
Palawi

C. What island, which stands guard the entrance to historic Manila Bay, figured significantly during World War II by derailing the Japanese Imperial Forces’ timetable of Asia-Pacific conquest and is …read more

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Ooops I guess we didn’t tell you, dearest FS readers. We “enrolled” in the Pinoy Top Blogs last month! It’s a project owned by Abe Olandres that tracks blogs written by Filipinos, and ranks us based on the unique hits or visitors to our sites, plus the votes that our readers give us.
We only joined last month and yehey! we’re at #52 already, out of maybe a 1000 blogs. And that’s all because of you, oh readers of FS. We deeply thank you for putting us in the top 100.
What good does this do? Well, primarily that we get to …read more

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I love this… I went in search of new Filipino riddles , and came across this set of old ones. See if you can guess them, and we’ll announce the winners in our FS Bugtongan Hall of Fame (you’ll be the first too!)
1. mahaba ang bituka at itoy lumilipad
Kapag hindi mahangin ito ay tinatamad
(the entrails are long and it’s able to fly; but if there’s no wind then it gets lazy)
2. May dila nga ngunit ayaw namang magsalita,
kambal silat laging kasama ang isat isa
Itali o igapos kahit higpitan mo pa
tiyak silang sa iyo ay sasama
(it has a tongue …read more

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The Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company is on a coast to coast tour. The tour, managed by Columbia Artists Management (New York), started on September 15 and will continue through December 3, 2006. Their first set of shows will be in various venues in California. Then on October 3, they’ll go to Las Vegas, then on to other cities all over the U.S. and a couple of cities in Canada.
Reviews of the tour include:

The dancers were designed as much as choreographed, featuring constantly changing patterns and groupings and multiple entrances and exits… the pieces were short and fast-moving, performed …read more

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In case you’re in the mood to visit the blogs of some well-known Filipinos, here are some of the ones I visit:
* SharonCuneta.com – It’s the real deal, although the site is mostly written by her staff. Shawie does write the occasional post, in response to letters from her fans.
* KC Concepcion’s lemon chamomile chronicles her life as a fashion student in Paris and her various activities. The site has lots of photos of the lovely KC.
* Writing on Air by Jim Paredes of APO fame. He’s living in Sydney with his family now.
* Francis Magalona’s A Free Mind is …read more

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How I wish I’m in Saipan this weekend… or even in Guam.

For our Saipan and Guam readers: the APO Hiking Society is knocking on your doorsteps, and greeting you, “hello, kamusta po kayo!”
They will serenade Guam tomorrow, September 22, and will be joined by the alluring Ms. Rachel Alejandro and mainstay Nanette Inventor, a.k.a. Dona Buding at University of Guam field house. On Sunday, they’re at the Hopwood Junior High School Northern Marianas Island, Saipan.
The “Kumustahan Asian Pacific 2006 Concert” brings back the trio of Danny, Boboy and Jim, who have been entertaining and inspiring us musically for some …read more

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I was browsing the full list of submissions of how-to posts at the Problogger group writing project. ACZafra submitted her take on How not to Ruin Your Day While Driving to Work (The Philippine Connection), described as:

dedicated to my fellow 8-5 employees who go through to the ordeal of getting to their work not only on time but safe and sound as well, 5 days a week. Specifically folks, who traverse the long strecth of EDSA (the Philippine capital city’s premier national road), on their way to their offices mostly located in the northern part of Metro Manila, Philippines. Here …read more

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Admittedly and with much pride, it is difficult to shake off our “Filipino-ness” – in heart, looks, speech and manners. But after years of living as an expat in the US, it’s easy to lose touch with our culture. For a start, my disclaimer: I find nothing wrong with acculturating and embracing your adoptive country’s culture, because you have to, and you want to, in order to survive and fit into your new life. BUT, if we’ve lost touch, and want to recover the cultural heritage we left behind… how do we do it? Here’s my take:
1. Get a Filipino …read more

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