Castro Blogs

Wow, after cheating death, here is Fidel Castro, blogging... What he's saying makes sense, although I am wondering what is it like in Cuba?

His analogy and criticism could also be applied to what other people in power have been doing. Dito na lang sa Tokyo where the Governor is campaigning for the Olympics, which I think is a lost cause considering that the next Olympics will be in Beijing, an Asian city, tapos London, I don't think the next venue will be in Asia again, haaa?! pancit nanamannn?! Anyway, I think the huge amount of money earmarked for the proposed Tokyo Olympics could be put into use for improving mother and child care and equally important, elderly care facilities and policies here. I believe that any sensible policy on these issues would also impact on the current anik-aniks of the Philippine government, one of which is to send caregivers by the planeload to Japan.

Going back sa mga pinag-gagawa ng Bush Administration, malaki rin ang impact nito sa Pinas. Even if there is a ban to "deploy" Pinoy overseas workers to Iraq, Filipinos still go. Iraq no fun? There's Lebanon, Nigeria, Israel and Afghanistan. Contact your nearest illegal recruiter.

Castro has outlived several US presidents, how many? 8 Presidents, hmmm, eight, infinity. Yep, I hope he outlives Dubya. Thang-na, ano kaya ang bitamina at minerals ni Lolo Castro? Penge nga jan!

Art blogs

Surfing the web after lunch brought me to this website featuring some Japanese artists. Ang galing nila! Heto pa ang isa, this time naman puro artists ang may-ari ng mga blogs dito.
Next time, hanap ako ng Pinoy equivalent ng website na ito. Sana may mag-tayo ng ganitong online na samahan para naman sa mga Pinoy.

Andrea Echeverri

I just got this gem of an album by Andrea Echeverri, and it's been my pam-pagising sa umaga, kasi parang may piyesta ang dating ng mga tugtog. Latina flava kasi - pero hindi naman mala-Shakira na super-genki. There are also a couple of albums/sets I am saving money for, halimbawa yung kay Seu Jorge, where he covered Bowie songs and sang them in Portuguese, soundtrack rin ito ng the The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, nan dun rin siya playing the songs.

Siyempre di ko makakalimutan ang aking kabataan kaya't kelangan nasa koleskyon ko ito! "A Life Less Lived" check out the featured songs!

Tatlong Pinay sa tuktok ng Everest

Wow, ang galing! Pero bakit walang heroes' welcome?
nag-congrats naman daw! Talaga nga naman...
Anyway at least wala nang maipag-yayabang ang mga macho Pinoys! hehehe, kayo na ang manganak tapos ng ilang buwan ay UMAKYAT sa Mt. Everest! kaya ninyo yun?

Buti na lang di sila nakaranas ng sakuna, tulad ng isang babaeng Nepalese na natagpuan at sinagip ng isa paring babaeng Canadian sa bundok na ito. Suwerte pa rin nya, kasi biruin mo may isang team ng British docs na nagsasagawa ng high altitude medical studies malapit dun sa binagsakan nya!

bitten by the bakasyon bug

hayyyy, heto nanaman ako yearning for the sun, sand, and sea. Thanks to a couple of my friends' blogs which are exploding in full colour with their recent trip to Boracay, etc, etc... sige mang inggit pa kayo.

There's this article at the Guardian website, "Where the spirit of '67 lives on". I wonder if we have some places like these in Pinas.

I have never been to any of the places mentioned in the article, though there are 2 places that I can actually visit without the hassle of applying for a visa. One is in Laos, the other in Indonesia.

Ang Supot

I have been bringing my own "supot" for several years now and endlessly telling store clerks not to overwrap things, be it in a supermarket or a department store. Dito kasi when you do grocery, the fresh stuff like a bunch of asparagus will be in a plastic bag, and the same goes for one tomato, tapos your wine bottle will also be wrapped in paper or styrofoam sheet, your sanitary pads in a paper bag... etc, etc. I disrupt the cashier's almost mechanical way of packing things at the check out counter since I tell him/her, "no plastic or paper bags please, I've got my own bag, thanks". At least this one phrase in Nihonggo that I have mastered perfectly.

Japan may be a G7 country but it sure is no match to Bangladesh when it comes to basic eco-friendly policies. The bag on the left is a typical grocery bag, not many people really use this since there is the convenience of bagging everything in plastic bags. The cloth "sack" on the right is a typical grocery bag used in Bangladesh, and I heard that one does not have a choice, since plastic bags are banned here. WOW.

Well, to be fair there is now a law that allows stores in Japan to charge for plastic bags, BUT only a few stores do this. Besides, TONS of plastic packaging is still being used! Some stores encourage the "my bag" policy, you earn points and then redeem it for a paltry 50yen! ANG CHEAP naman!

The store clerk usally asks me for the "my bag" point card but I always tell them that I don't have it and I don't need it. One store-clerk honestly remarked, "yeah, I guess so, since you only get to redeem a really insignificant amount of money!"

Now that the Philippines and Japan have both sealed the deal on some kind of trade agreement that allows this G7 country to DUMP its industrial toxic refuse (I am sure that tons of plastic grocery bags are included) on our country, I guess it would be a good advocacy for all Pinoy expats here in Japan to start curbing their use of plastic bags.

thynchronized thwimming tscheds

Sa wakas, natuloy rin yung date namin, sa pool! Wednesday was perfect, my partner and I hit the pool and boy did we get one helluva workout, well relatively. Grabe, HINGAL KABAYO SA ASCOT ang dating ko eh kalahati pa lang ng 25 meters yung nalalangoy ko... ito yung pakiramdam na naninigas yung leg muscles mo hanggang parang no matter how much you struggle to swim, you seem to be going nowhere! I looked at the lane to my left and saw streamlined, graceful swimmers pass me by while I choke in their wake...ackk, aahhckk..langoyyy, langoyyy aso!

We found ourselves in an IZAKAYA (a Japanese pub) after our pool debut --- BAD!
But I earned big points for not drinking any alcohol! A cup of hot green tea lang!

Today was no different re the muscle fatigue, BUT I feel my blood reaching some parts of my brain now. Halata ba, heheheeee...AND I have been sleeping so well, kahit siguro lumindol sa Tokyo ng M8, I would wake up in another life na siguro.