Where is the Spirit of EDSA?

This month, Filipinos or, to be exact, those who care are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the first EDSA People Power Revolution. As usual, local television are bombarding televiewers with photos, video clips, sound bites, testimonies and commentaries that showcase the peaceful revolution that toppled the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Though TV, newspaper and radio keep on reminding us the importance of the first EDSA people power, one thing is clear --- the Spirit of EDSA is dead or, at the very least, already forgotten by the Filipino people.

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I never experienced the first EDSA People Power. I was inside my mother's womb when the Filipino people braved the tanks and guns to join the crowd demanding for change at EDSA. I believe that majority of the Filipinos in my generation are in the same situation as me. We didn't experience the first People Power but we are exhorted to be proud of it. The question is how can we be proud of the first People Power when the same corruption that supposedly toppled 25 years ago still exists? The very ills that our fathers and mothers fought against at EDSA are still thriving. How can we feel the importance of EDSA People Power when what our generation had is the mob ruled EDSA II that creates division instead of unity?
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"Buhayin and diwa ng EDSA" (relive the spirit of EDSA), this is the theme of the mainstream media. "Buhayin..." it is as if the media confirmed that the Spirit of EDSA is really dead. Yes, that Spirit is really gone and it is lost to the Filipino youth.
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Great Graphic Logo Design Equals Good Business

When starting a business, there are many things that you should consider. First is, you have to consider the financial aspect of your business. You have to ask if you have enough capital or if your profit will be enough to make your business venture sustainable. Another aspect that you should also consider is the marketing aspect of your business. You start a business not to make it hidden from the eyes of consumers but you create a business that will draw crowds to purchase the products or avail the service that your business is offering. This is where a great graphic logo design becomes handy. Great graphic logo design makes your business stand out from your competitors. Great logo design makes the people remember your business and memory recall f your business is quite vital for your business to prosper.

Think of McDonalds, Microsoft, Google and other large businesses, all of them have great logos that are easily recalled by the public. McDonald’s logo, for example, is so good that if you just see a double arch, McDonalds’ will instantly come to your mind.

So, if you are planning to start a business, don’t just about the financial aspects but also think about how can you market your business and one of the ways to do that is to have a good graphic logo design.
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Discover My Favorite Hopia

In an old post about Polland hopia, I said that I will try to compare that hopia to other hopia that is being offered by other stores. Guess what, I finally visited the most famous hopia shop in town and I got the taste of their special hopia. I also discovered my favorite hopia, which I tell you later.

The shop that I am talking about is this:
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This is Eng Bee Tin, the most popular Chinese food shop not only in Binondo Chinatown but also in the City of Manila. During the recent Chinese New Year, many people flocked to all branches of Eng Bee Tin to buy tikoy.
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People lining up for tikoy.

As I had said, Eng Bee Tin is also the home for best hopia.
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A rackful of hopia!

Eng Bee Tin offers hopia with different kinds of flavors. There is the original red mongo hopia and the hopiang baboy. Other flavors are the ube hopia, mocha hopia, wintermelon hopia, choco hopia and other flavors that I never thought would be good for hopia.
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Mochipia and hopia red mongo.

Last December, My Beloved's parents (a.k.a. my future biyenans) visited Manila. As a pasalubong for their grandchildren in Davao, I bought a basket-full of hopia.
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There I discovered my favorite hopia and that is pastillas-ube combi hopia. It became my instant favorite because I love pastillas and it suits my addiction to sweets.

Sadly, I also discovered my most unliked hopia and that is pandan hopia, which tastes bland.

Compared to Polland's hopia, Eng Bee Tin's hopia is softer and tastes better. So, whenever I crave for hopia, I prefer Eng Bee Tin's hopia than Polland's hopia.

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Visit Ahab Reviews and Tips and read about the shops where you can buy the best hopia.
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Let us Offer Spiritual Bouquet for Pope Benedict XVI

Dear friends, especially to all of my Catholic brethren, may I ask a great favor from you. May I ask that you offer a spiritual bouquet for the Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict XVI.

Considering the great cares of the Holy Father for being the leader of the Catholic Church, I am sure that he need all the prayers of the Catholic faithful to keep him strong and guard him from his enemies.

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I remember the time when the Pope was attacked left and right when his words, in a interview book, was twisted to suit the stand of the secular media, with vested interests, regarding the use of condoms. I remember how the Pope was insulted and used his words to sow confusion among the Christian world.

I ask you, dear brethren to offer a spiritual bouquet for him. A simple prayer will be good but there other ways or things that we could offer for our Pope's sake.

Head to Fr. John Zuhlsdorf blog and join in offering spiritual buoquets for our Pope.

The Enemy of the Lord is amassing his forces and his poised to atack. The only way to destroy his plan is to faithfully ask God for help to protect us and also the guide the Pope.

Looking for Venetian Blinds

It is the time of the year again for the most inconvenient position of the sun in relation with our office. Every morning, the sun’s rays falls directly on my office table and also falls directly on my back. Too bad that the office window is just made of glass jalousie, which is a not too perfect material to block the direct hit of sunlight.  What I actually need are blinds that I could hang on my office window so that I could be spared from the direct hit of sun’s rays. My only problem is that our office “don’t have money” for us to acquire blinds that could save me and my other office mates from sun burn and darkening.

Made to measure wooden venetian blinds could be found on local home or office furniture shops. Also, they could be ordered via the Internet. It is very easy for our office to purchase Venetian blinds, as long as we have the funds for it.

I guess, what I should lament is not the sun’s rays or the lack of Venetian blinds but the lack of funds for our office. I can only wish and hope that the office can have extra cash so that we can buy Venetian blinds to block this direct sun’s rays and make us comfortable while we are doing our work.
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Angelina Jolie: Changeling

Last December, when I am aboard a vessel, I decided to borrow a DVD movie from the ship’s store. I am bored and because I don’t have much to do, I browsed the ship’s store collection, looking for good movies to watch. I am glad that I found this:
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The movie that I found is “Changeling,” which starred Angelina Jolie. I am not a fan of Angelina Jolie, even though some say that she is the prettiest Hollywood actress. I have watched her movie Tomb Raider and Beowulf. Tomb Raider is ok but Beowulf is not. It is not Angelina Jolie’s acting that made Beowulf bad but the whole movie is bad. I also watched Angelina Jolie adopt many children around the world and she became more popular because of that. I guess if she ever goes to the Philippines, I will go to her and tell her that she had to adopt me. Anyways, I am glad to have found Changeling because I watched in TV shows that Changeling is a good movie.

The movie does not fall to my favorite genre of war movie or the genre where there’s sword fighting and large-scale sacking of medieval castles. The reason why I got attracted to this movie of Angelina Jolie is the plot. Changeling is a movie based on the true story of Christine Collins who found her son missing after she returned from her work in a telephone company. Her case became popular and the corrupt police officials, in a bid to fix their public image, speedily “located” her son and returned her son in front of the media. The story could have ended there, but the twist is that the police gave her the wrong child. Christine Collins tried to tell the police that she got the wrong child but she was just ignored and made look like an evil mother in front of the public. Christine Collins’ struggle to find her son became a struggle to clean the corrupt police institution.

This is the best Angelina Jolie film that I watched so far. I like the way she portrayed Christine Collins. I like how the whole movie re-lives the Los Angeles in 1928. The movie has the right amount of tension that the audience interested throughout the film. I like the way how the movie tackled corruption, murder, trust and the great love of a mother for her child.

This Angelina Jolie movie is great. However, its end is sad because Christine Collins did not found her only son.

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Visit France for a Vacation

Ah! France. The land that is rich in culture and history. France is notable for its famous historical figures like Saint Joan of Arc and Napoleon Bonaparte. France is also famous for its wonderful architectural feats like the Eiffel Tower and the Arch of Triumph. Also, France is also the place where Our Lady of Lourdes showed herself to Saint Bernadette. These are the reasons why I want to visit France even just once in my lifetime. I want to see the Cheznous Holidays in France. I also want to see their other Holidays.

Like what I am doing here in the Philippines, I also want to visit the old churches around France. I am sure that France has churches that date back to Medieval and Renaissance Eras. I also want to visit French museums and learn more about France, its history, its people, its culture and its contribution to the whole world. I also want to taste authentic French cuisine so that I will have inkling on why the French cuisine had that great influence on formal cuisine all around the world. I also want to visit old castles and historical sites around France so that I can re-live the historical events in the country, like the rise of Charles Martel, the reign of Charlemagne, the Hundred Years War, the bloody French Revolution, the Reign of Terror, the Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and the dealings of France during the two World Wars.

There are many things to see in France, that is why it is one of the places that is on the top of my list of the countries that I want to visit.
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Business Web Hosting

Surveys show that more and more people around the world are tuning into the Internet for many things like looking for information for the products and services that people want, watching videos and reading blogs, buying items online, playing online games, social networking and many other things. Because of this, more and more businesses around the world are opening their websites so that they could reach out to thousands of potential customers.

As a person planning to open up a business in the future, I believe that it is very important for me to set up a website for my future business. Setting up a website for your business is tricky and entails a lot of work. It requires you to look for good business web hosting, never ending website marketing, designing of your website and populating your website with contents that will surely entice your customers to buy your products or avail the services your company offers. Having a website for your business entails a lot of hard work but the reward is plenty because through your website, you will be able to reach your current customers without them going personally to your shop. Also, your business’ website can be used to reach for more customers.

If you have a business, I suggest that you create a website for it now.
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Do You Need an Eye Wear?

Last week, my mother got the chance to upgrade her eye wear. Our neighbor and friend told her that there is a free eye check up in the Health Center near the Municipal Hall. The line is quite long because many people lined up to avail a free eye check up and also get a free eye wear. My mom is lucky because she was able to have her eyes checked and she also got free eyeglasses. It is good for her that she went to the free eye check up because she discovered that her old eyeglasses do not match the eyeglasses that are needed by her eyes.

Availing an eye check up is important so that we can gauge the health of our eyes. Many people do not know that their eyes already have problems and the worst thing that may happen is that many of these people become blind. Availing an eye check up is also important so that you will know if you already need an eye wear or eyeglass.

Summer is coming and the heat is bad for our eyes. I guess that it is good to have an eye check up before summer comes so that you will know how to properly protect your eyes from the intense heat and the intense radiation coming from the sun. Wearing suitable eye wear during the summer season is one of the best ways to protect our eyes.
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The Obvious Bias of Philippine Mainstream Media

My trust in the Philippine mainstream media dropped further when media entities obviously showed their bias when they totally ignored the pro-life and anti-Reproductive Health (RH) Bill rally staged by various organizations at the PICC in Manila last Sunday. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, GMA Network, ABS-CBN and TV 5 intentionally ignored the anti-RH rally of 20,000 people or so.

What is more irritating is that these media entities gave column space and air time to a pro-RH rally staged in front of the Philippine Congress. This rally was held by a certain party list and just attended by 50 people or so.

The bias is very obvious. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, GMA Network, ABS-CBN and TV 5 can't give time and space for a rally held by thousands of people coming from various organizations, yet chose to entertain the rally of few people coming from one organization.

With this, I have only one conclusion. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, GMA Network, ABS-CBN and TV 5 are untrustworthy media entities. They are biased and submit themselves to propaganda. They don't fairly air both sides of the issue, especially the issue about the RH Bill or the consolidated RH Bill.

They are disgusting, especially whenever their news anchors says their gasgas na mantra: "walang kinikilingan," "walang pinoprotektahan," "tahanan ng katotohanan" whatever. Now, I will always subject to doubt all "news" the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, GMA Network, ABS-CBN and TV 5 air. Sensationalized and biased, that's what these media entities are.

To better understand what I am saying about, I suggest that you visit the post about the Filipinos Unite for Life Rally in Filipinos for Life website. Also, read about the article from People for Media that exposed the obvious bias of Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, GMA Network, ABS-CBN and TV 5.

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Another Taste of Wham! Burger

For the last stop of the Filipino food trip of my Kamayan, I took him to SM North Edsa so that he could taste the yummy Wham! Burger.

Before going further, let us have a recap of the Filipino foodtrip with my blogger friend. First, I took him to Kamayan and filled our stomach with meat. We also tasted Kamayan's dessert. Next, we went to Plaza Miranda, in front of Quiapo Church, wherein my friend braved the kwek kwek and balot. The last stop, as I had mentioned, is Wham! Burger.

I already talked about Wham! Burger in one of my old posts. Wham! Burger is delicious because 100% real beef is used for the patty. Fresh vegetables are also used, which makes Wham! Burger juicy.
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For this visit, we ordered a Wham Burger. This burger costs 108 pesos a piece.

As usual, Wham Burger tasted good. It is delicious and juicy, which is expected for a Wham! Burger my only complaint is that the beef patty is slightly charred. But other than that, my second Wham! Burger experience is good.

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Filipino Street Food Challenge: Eating Balut and Kwek Kwek at Plaza Miranda

After eating at Kamayan, I took my Malaysian blogger friend to Plaza Miranda, which is in front of Quiapo Church. I took him there because I know that it is the place for Filipino street foods. My friend wanted to taste kwek kwek and balot.
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Quiapo Church

I hope you remember my previous post about kwek kwek. In Quiapo, we tried the balot kwek kwek and the penoy kwek kwek. I thought that my friend will never finish his kwek kwek and he will throw up. For those who do not know, balot (or balut) is a fertilized duck or chicken egg with nearly formed embryo that is boiled and eaten from its shell. Penoy, on the other hand, are duck or chicken eggs that are developed after 9 or 12 days. Penoy is also eaten like a balot, but the "scary" embryo is not there.

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Recycled photo of Kwek kwek.

Well, my friend managed to eat kwek kwek and he said that he like it. Kwek kwek costs 10 pesos per piece.

After that, we looked for a balot vendor. You know what? My friend did not gross out. He easily gobbled the balot.
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This is balot (a.k.a. balut)

Well, my friend is brave, unlike my friends from America who can't even finish half of balot.

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Image of balot taken from Cebu-food.com. Information about balot and penoy taken from Wikipedia.
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Chinese New Year in Binondo Chinatown

I can't resist going to Chinatown in Binondo, Manila to see the Chinese New Year celebration. The last time I visited Chinatown for the New Year celebration is in 2009. The Chinese New Year is the most joyous feast in Binondo and many people, tourists, and non-Chinese like me visit Binondo Chinatown to see what’s happening.

Ongpin Street, which is the main street of Binondo Chinatown, is well decorated. You will see that the Filipino-Chinese loves their New Year celebration.
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Entering Binondo Chinatown, you will be welcomed by this arch:
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Like the usual, Chinese New Year in Binondo is jubilant and noisy. Lion dancers were on Ongpin Street and visiting various establishments in Binondo Chinatown. Store owners let the lions in for good luck.
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There is also the fabled dragon carried by dragon dancers. The dragon kept on chasing a ball, which represents the moon.
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Chinese New Year in Binondo is not only about Chinese elements taking the center stage. I saw this big cross along Ongpin Street where Binondo Chinatown residents and visitors light josh sticks and say a prayer in front of the cross. Quite a blending of Catholic and Chinese elements in Binondo Chinatown. 

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While I am walking along Ongpin Street, I saw a clump of people watching lion and dragon dancers dance in front of a certain restaurant. I saw these people preparing firecrackers:
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After the firecrackers, the lion dancers and dragon dancers continued their dance.
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I guess Charlie’s Tea House will have good luck for 2011.
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Hmmm...I saw this inside the tea house:
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Looks delicious! Maybe I will try eating at Charlie’s Tea House in the future.

Of course, good luck charms are selling like pancakes on the streets of Binondo Chinatown.
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I don't believe in good luck charms so I didn't bother buying one. The popular good luck charms are the ones depicting a rabbit, which is very suitable for the year of the metal rabbit.
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Porcelain rabbits for 30 pesos apiece.

I walked along Ongpin Street until I reached the other gate of Binondo Chinatown and this lion statue said, "good bye."

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Visit Ahab Reviews and Tips and read how to reach the new location of Consular Affairs Office when you applying for a Philippine passport.
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Feasting on Kamayan Desserts

Previously, I talked about the Filipino dishes that me and my Malaysian blogger friend ate at the Filipino restaurant Kamayan. So, if there is a main course, there will be desserts and those are what we feasted on next.

Filipino desserts are just placed on one table.

Kamayan offers the usual Filipino desserts like palitaw, suman, turon, sweet banana, gulaman and ube halaya. Too bad I did not saw any sapin-sapin that day.

Because I like sweets, I never resisted Kamayan's dessert.
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On my plate are turon, sweet sago, palitaw, jelly and glutinous rice cake. Kamayan's dessert tastes good. However, I still prefer buying these desserts from kakanin vendors in the local market for a cheaper price. The price is cheap but the taste is the same as the ones in Kamayan.

My friend did not like the ube suman. I also tasted it and I did not like it. That is the only dessert that we dislike in Kamayan.

After a plateful of Filipino desserts, we tried the halo-halo next. Halo is the Filipino word for mix. Halo-halo is a mixture of crushed ice, be halaya, pinipig, sweet mongo and other ingredients. It is the favorite Filipino treat during.
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I like Kamayan's halo-halo because the ingredient is complete.

That's the end of my Kamayan experience. I recommend this buffet restaurant, especially if you are a foreigner who wants to taste Filipino dishes.

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