Thursday, April 30, 2009

Gushing Over Pork... Asia's Best Pig Ever!



No I'm not talking about the swine flu, I was refering to the lechon. I can't resist but post this article on the Philippines's pambansang ulam. Last Saturday my family went to a children's birthday party in Maryland and the host served a medium sized lechon. Mga pinoy talaga, big-time talaga kung maghanda, children's birthday party lang yon.

Anyway, on our way home, I mentioned to my wife the excitement I felt at the presence of lechon at the party (O.A diba?). Lechon brought some kind of emotional thrill to me (minsan lang kasi ako makakain nito) and It does made my mouth water at the site of the golden brown roasted pork. My initial instinct was to get as much lechon meat and crispy skin on my plate and cover it with the warm sarsa (made of pork liver) until I realize that too much of it is bad for my health. Di bale na lang muna, makatikim man lang uli ng lechon just to satisfy my cravings. Kailan kaya uli ako makakatikim?

Click here to see what Time magazine and renowned TV Chef Anthony Bourdain say about our very own lechon.

(image from Philstar.com)


Monday, April 27, 2009

Mar Roxas & Korina Sanchez's TV Romance


Is this TV’s most shocking moment or what? Mar Roxas and Korina Sanchez confirmed their engagement live on Wowowee. I don’t understand why ABS-CBN News allowed this stunt to happen specially with their top news anchor and journalist.

Yes, they are human beings to and they deserve to be happy, but one cant avoid thinking that their TV appearance is linked to the 2010 presidential election no matter how much Sen. Roxas denies it. Is it mere coincidence or politically planned?

Unfortunately, there’s no kilig factor on their public display of affection for me, in fact their lovey-dovey moment made me cringe and was appalled by the timing of it.

As for Willie Revillame, I know his public service intention to bring all presidential candidates to his show is good. But I hope he can do better than that next time. To help Filipinos know their presidential candidates, let set better standards to educate and inform them and not settle for palengke-style campaign. Because in choosing the next President, Filipinos need substance and competency not another love team.

Now, I wonder whats cooking on Eat Bulaga to top that.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Annabelle Rama, Ang Tanging Ina Nating Lahat?


Annabelle Rama, the infamous mom and talent manager of the Gutierrez siblings is at it again. It seems that her name graces every showbiz news and talkshow I come across. She is simultaneously juggling two ugly lawsuits against PEP editor JoAnn Maglipon and GMA 7 executive Wilma Galvante igoogle nyo na lang kung for more details kasi wala akong time mag explain, but read at your own risk baka kayo ma hook.

Please tell me the Christian perspective on news surrounding the feisty Bisaya. Is her aggressiveness or walang inuuruang attitude justified because she's a mother and talent manager doing everything for the welfare of her children and artists? Or is it borderline narcissism because of the entitlement behavior displayed by Annabelle and others involved in her legal case? I just can’t understand how one can live his or her life under constant bickering with other people with matching daily trips to City Hall for court hearings. Is Annabelle a good example to other mothers, talent managers, aspiring artists, or Filipinos in general?

I got a good laugh from The Professional Heckler who got it right and will be the final words of this post... It’s official! Annabelle Rama has replaced Kris Aquino as the Filipinos’ favorite pastime.

(image from My Monster Mom movie, pep.ph)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The Ted Failon Tragedy


Big news in the Philippines this week is the death of Ted Failon’s wife Trina and the involvement of the veteran broadcaster as one of the main suspect of the case. But what's more interesting and unexpected was the brutal conduct of the Philippine National Police during the arrest of the suspects without proper warrant (as reported on the above video) and the media's poor exhibition of journalism ethics as questioned by journalist and blogger Tony O. Cruz.

When God breathe life to humans, He meant it to be sacred. Thus, loss of human life (tragicy or not) is serious and deserves somekind of respect and dignity. I echo Tonyo’s final sentiment… We are already shocked by the incident and we do not wish to be shocked further by cruel and incompetent police actions and by media spectacles that trivialize the loss of a life. Even as the police must spare no effort to ferret out the truth, our law enforcers must also allow the affected family members and the nation to grieve.

Remember to pray for Ted Failon's family.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Brad & Angelina to Adopt Next Baby from the Philippines, Top 10 Christians in Hollywood


Totoo ba 'tong nabasa ko? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to adopt next baby from the Philippines? Siguradong, pagkakaguluhan ang mag-asawang ito at the same time experience great hospitality from the Pinoys kung sakaling dumalaw sila sa Pilipinas para mamili ng batang aampunin. Ang hilig pa naman ng mga Pinoy sa mga artista lalo na pag foreigner.

Since nabanggit ko na rin ang hollywood, here are the top 10 Christians in hollywood according to christiancolleges.com blog. The site explains these "10 celebrities have proven that success, money and fame don’t have to equal a depraved lifestyle. They continue to pray, attend church, and support religious and social causes while working on top TV shows, Broadway productions and films."

Lets just hope that these celebrities will continue to shine their faith and be a good influence to everyone. In the meantime, let's all try our best to show off our baby faces to impress Brad and Angelina. Baka mapili tayo! :)

(image from poplife.biz)

Monday, April 13, 2009

Filipino School Girl Told to Choose: Country or Parents



A Filipino family is making news in Japan not because of any extraordinary skills or abilities but of legal matters that left a 13 year old girl separated from her parents. Parents of Noriko Calderon violated Japanese immigration laws and are now paying the price for entering and working in Japan illegally. Noriko was asked to choose between her parents and the country she considers her home. Part of me feels bad that this has to end this way. This could be very traumatizing for a 13 year old. However, part of me also feels that somehow, justice has been served for the parents who have broken serious immigration laws in Japan. They should have known that their actions have consequences. But who am I to judge? We were somehow in a similar ethical dilemma a few years back with our US immigration status. Its a tough decision, but we decided abiding US immigration laws is God's best for our family than violating it.

What do you think? Is this justice served or not? In any case, this family deserves our prayers.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

"Stand By Me" from Around the World


Thought this video is worth the share. "Stand By Me" performed by musicians around the world. It's part of an award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music." More info at www.playingforchange.com.

Be inspired!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Supreme Court chief to Filipinos: Fight government corruption

I like today's headline from Edu Punay of the Philstar.com.

Supreme Court chief to Filipinos: Fight government corruption

As the nation enters the Holy Week, Chief Justice Reynato Puno yesterday reiterated his call for a moral force and asked Filipinos to work together to combat widespread corruption in government.

Some Supreme Court justices who support Puno in this initiative are expected to name before Thursday members of an advisory council that would push for the movement toward moral transformation in government.

Speaking at the launching of the moral force movement of the Manila Episcopal Area (MEA) of the United Methodist Church (UMC) in the Philippines of which he is a member, Puno lamented how the country is now perceived in the world as a “moral pariah.”

He said Filipinos have witnessed moral decadence and leprosy, referring to corruption in government that he likened to the corruption in England at the time when John Wesley founded their church in the 1700s.

“We are cast as a moral pariah. What a tragic social landscape for the only Christian country in Southeast Asia,” he said.

“Corruption in the country has been deforming all its institutions, undermining our stability and security and preventing our socio-economic development. We can arrest this social decadence through a moral force,” said Puno.

Other religious groups, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, the Philippine Bible Society and the Ecumenical Bishops Forum, expressed solidarity with the Methodist Church in Manila at its launch.

“They are part of the moral force movement,” Puno said of the Catholic hierarchy, adding that there were CBCP representatives during the launch.

“However, I expect the CBCP will have its own brand of moral force movement,” he added, referring to a similar activity at which Catholic leaders would launch their own moral force initiative.

Bishop Lito Cabacungan Tangonan led UMC Manila Episcopal Area’s launch of the moral force at the Central United Methodist Church in Manila.

“We see the moral force as prophets of our time – people who feel the urge to expose and denounce the debilitating ills in our society, especially those generated by the structural system that promotes, breeds and spawns corruption,” read the UMC-MEA’s handout on its area-wide moral force movement.

Puno said yesterday’s activity in Manila wasn’t the first launch of a moral force movement.

The Chief Justice earlier called for a moral force movement nationwide to arrest corruption in the country while maintaining an apolitical stance, saying a council should be formed to spearhead the campaign.

Members of the moral force council would include credible leaders from “business, church groups, youth and the media.”

The core group would “set parameters for the moral force movement with the purpose of making the people aware of what’s been happening and to do something about it.”

Puno earlier vowed that the movement would not be anti-administration or pro-opposition but rather “a positive-neutral constructive” force.

Monday, April 6, 2009

God's Hand Across the Universe


This picture taken recently from a NASA space observatory amazes me. It looks like a God's hand reaching out to outer space. Just a cool reminder that the hands reaching across the universe, is the same hands that is holding you and I. May mas lalaki bang problema kaysa sa Kanya?

(image from Foxnews.com)

Friday, April 3, 2009

Pinay Red Cross worker recovered

Some good news greeted me this morning when I logged in PhilStar.com. Filipina Red Cross worker Mary Jean Lacaba was rescued from her Abu Sayyaf kidnappers in Sulu. Though this is a good reason to celebrate, the ordeal of the other hostages is far from over and it looks like more than 4,000 families will be affected by this problem.

This story reminded me of Martin and Gracia Burnham the missionary couple kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf in 2001 and was held captive for a year. Their story ended in tragedy when Martin was killed by "friendly fire" during a rescue attempt by the Philippine military. But God's grace was present through their ordeal, Gracia remained faithful to God and have even showed compassion and forgiveness to her captors. Gracie is now an author, public speaker and is currently running a ministry that serves persecuted Christians and missionaries.

Let just hope and pray that the current kidnapping in Mindanao will end in peace and no human being will be hurt in the process.