Wish you were here

Friday, December 30, 2005

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Photo credit: wlct.org

posted by Señor Enrique at 8:28 PM | 4 comments

THE CHIEF PROTAGONIST

When I enumerated the adverse effects of aspartame on my two posts — The Perils of Aspartame (12/7) and Side Effects of Aspartame (12/13) — the comments and emails I received conveyed a singular question: If it’s so bad why was it ever approved for human consumption by the government; specifically, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?

It didn’t require an exhaustive investigative effort to discover the chief protagonist: Donald Rumsfeld.

Rich Murray’s article, How Aspartame Became Legal - The Timeline, claims:

In 1985 Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle, the chemical company that held the patent to aspartame, the active ingredient in NutraSweet. Monsanto was apparently untroubled by aspartame's clouded past, including a 1980 FDA Board of Inquiry, comprised of three independent scientists, which confirmed that it "might induce brain tumors."

The FDA had actually banned aspartame based on this finding, only to have Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld (currently the Secretary of Defense) vow to "call in his markers," to get it approved.

On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, Searle re-applied to the FDA for approval to use aspartame in food sweetener, and Reagan's new FDA commissioner, Arthur Hayes Hull, Jr., appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry's decision.

It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision, but Hull then installed a sixth member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked. He then personally broke the tie in aspartame's favor. Hull later left the FDA under allegations of impropriety, served briefly as Provost at New York Medical College, and then took a position with Burston-Marsteller, the chief public relations firm for both Monsanto and GD Searle. Since that time he has never spoken publicly about aspartame.


Read more…


Below is another link for all to peruse and draw conclusions from:

Aspartame Gate: When Donald Rumsfeld was CEO of Searle


Photo credit: wizbangblog.com

posted by Señor Enrique at 10:34 AM | 3 comments

Thursday, December 29, 2005

A TRUE HERO

The following is an excerpt from Margarita Ventenilla Hamada’s article, Nation Mark’s Rizal’s Martyrdom, published by Manila Bulletin:


The core of Rizal’s nationalism is love for fellow-beings, not love for the Filipino proletariat alone. Rizal’s nationalism targets the immature, evil psyche as its enemy, not the immature, evil people (the imperialists and the elite) as its enemy.

Rizal’s nationalism is based on the whole of reality, not on fragments of reality. He saw wickedness in both master and slave, in both the rich and the poor, not just in the rich. Rizal’s nationalism is open to anything that could give his countrymen human rights; the basis for peace and progress; assimilation into a mature, foreign government included. It is not focused on just one independence or separation from any foreign government no matter how benevolent.

Rizal’s nationalism recommends a change from immature, defective thinking to mature, sensible thinking via enlightenment or revolution of the mind. He did not recommend a change of defective government systems or defective leaders via revolutions, rallies or strikes.

Rizal’s nationalism made him a man of courage who was not afraid to die for the cause of freedom, peace and progress, yet who will never kill nor inspire others to kill for mere political independence at the cost of freedom, peace and progress.


Read Nation Mark’s Rizal’s Martyrdom in its entirety.

About Margarita Ventenilla Hamada: Founder of Harvent Schools, Dagupan City and Lingayen, Pangasinan; author of "Swatting the Spanish Flies," a critical commentary on Philippine history, 2001, Giraffe Books

Related Links (must-reads):

There's The Rub : A Century Thence
by Conrado de Quiros

The Long View: Rizal's Pending Questions
by Manuel L.Quezon III

photo credit: Knights of Rizal

posted by Señor Enrique at 8:41 AM | 2 comments

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

THE WANNABE HERO

Featured in 2004 as one of Time Magazine’s People Who Mattered, Dr Hwang Woo-Suk is a veterinarian by training who began to research cloning to create a better cow. But his ambitions went beyond the farm.

With the help of his team at Seoul National University, he spearheaded a project to clone human embryos capable of yielding viable stem cells that might one day cure countless diseases. He raced to become the first man to prove that human cloning can be a fact of life. Hence he was dubbed the pride of South Korea for bringing the country to the forefront of stem cell and cloning research.

Dr. Hwang attained rock star-like status in South Korea even inspiring a book for pre-teens; an against-all-odds tale of a humble national hero it called "South Korea's No. 1 scientist." However, its publisher along with other firms who rushed to cash in on his fame by releasing 16 books about him — 10 of which were children's books — are now livid. Demand dried up after two of his university collaborators confessed that a paper they published in May 2005 for the U.S. periodical Science was based on fabricated data.

All those unsold inventory of books are being shipped back to their publishers while Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk will probably head back to the farm.

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:30 PM | 0 comments

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

HERO BY CHANCE OF FLIGHT 847

Uli Derickson was the only German-speaking flight attendant aboard TWA’s flight 847 in 1985 when two Lebanese Shiite Muslims barreled down the aisle of the plane with guns and grenades. They demanded the release of more than 700 prisoners held by Israel. The terrorists spoke no English but one of them spoke German, which meant Uli Derickson suddenly became responsible for ensuring the flight’s safety. She was at that time already 40 while the hijackers were in their 20s, a useful age for a woman dealing with two frantic captors.

It was a harrowing ordeal which lasted about 40 hours. Yet through it all, Ms. Derickson successfully convinced the hijackers to immediately release all women and children hostages. However, she was unable to prevent the shooting to death of one American passenger, Robert Dean Stethem, a U.S. Navy diver, when the plane was diverted and landed in Beirut. Eventually, all passengers and flight crew were released.

One of the two hijackers was never captured; the other, Mohammed Ali Hamadi was eventually apprehended two years later. He was tried and sentenced to life in Germany for the killing of the American passenger. He was quietly released last week when a German hostage, Susanne Osthoff, an archeologist, was recently freed in Iran.

posted by Señor Enrique at 1:04 PM | 2 comments

Saturday, December 24, 2005

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

posted by Señor Enrique at 5:00 AM | 3 comments

Friday, December 23, 2005

THE CHRISTMAS SONG

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:33 AM | 2 comments

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Featured Photo by DONDON

Don said “this sweet little girl was too shy because the other kids were looking at her while she was saying her Christmas wishes to the angel.”

Who could blame her? Who would want the other kids to be staring and straining their ears to hear what you have to say to the angel, especially when what you might want to whisper is a special toy or doll you’ve always wanted to have, right? This photograph was taken during Don’s recent trip to Australia.

A Filipino who lives in Japan but constantly travels all over the world partly describes Don. He is also an avid photographer. He claims to be an amateur, but his photo galleries at flickr suggest otherwise. From golden sunsets to sensuous raindrops, his compositions are simply mesmerizing; some with vibrant and breathtaking colors. Talk about photo therapy; I feel good every time I visit his galleries.

Visit don2g @ flickr and enjoy his collection of photographs.

posted by Señor Enrique at 4:12 AM | 3 comments

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

THE ITALIAN CHRISTMAS BREAD

When recently asked what holiday things I miss most from New York, being a carbo addict that I am, I quickly replied, Pannetone — Italy’s favorite Christmas dessert. It is a tall cake-like bread stuffed with dried raisins and candied orange and lemon peel. I love this bread! I’m sure our fellow-Filipinos in Italy will agree with me.

According to Nicole Martiche’s The Legend of Panettone, this bread has a rich and often varied history; that its birthplace is Milan. The most popular of the stories about its origins is a romantic tale that begins with a "Once upon a time." Ms. Martiche writes:

So it was that a Milanese nobleman and falconer, Ughetto degli Atellani, fell in love with Adalgisa, the daughter of a poor baker named Toni. To win her over, the nobleman disguised himself as a baker and invented a rich bread in which he added to the flour and yeast, butter, eggs, dried raisins and candied lemon and orange peel.

The duke of Milan, Ludovico il Moro Sforza (1452-1508), agreed to the marriage, which was held in the presence of Leonardo da Vinci, and encouraged the launch of the new cake-like bread: Pan del Ton (or Toni's bread).

But according to another tale, the Panettone though invented in the court of the Sforzas, was spawned in entirely different circumstances. It was Christmas and the court cook had no dessert to offer. So the guests were given sweet bread baked by a mere kitchen boy, called Toni, which won general praise. Rather than steal the praise for himself, the cook congratulated his assistant and named it after him.

Other historians claim to have found references to "pan del ton" as far back as the 1300s. In those days some families made a thick bread with wheat flour called "pan del ton", which meant "luxury bread" in Milanese dialect.

Whatever its origins, it was only in 1919, just after the end of World War I, that Panettone became widely known thanks to a young Milanese baker, Angelo Motta, who gave his name to one of Italy's now best-known brands. It was also Motta who revolutionized the traditional Panettone by giving it its tall domed shape by making the dough rise three times, or almost 20 hours, before cooking, which is what makes it so light.

The recipe was adapted shortly after by another baker, Gioacchino Alemagna, who also gave his name to a popular brand that still exists today. The stiff competition between the two that then ensued led to industrial production of the cake-like bread.

So by the end of World War II, Panettone was cheap enough for anyone and soon became the country's leading Christmas sweet.

Read entire story …


Link

The Legend of Panettone
by Nicole Martiche
CHRISTMAS FARE

Panettone Baking Recipe
Gifts From Your Kitchen

Photo Credit: Cyber Italia Online Store

Pinoy Blogs Directory

posted by Señor Enrique at 12:08 AM | 4 comments

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

The Story of "SILENT NIGHT"

180 years ago the carol "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht" was heard for the first time in a village church in Oberndorf, Austria. The congregation at that Midnight Mass in St. Nicholas Church listened as the voices of the assistant pastor, Fr. Joseph Mohr, and the choir director, Franz Xaver Gruber, rang through the church to the accompaniment of Fr. Mohr's guitar. On each of the six verses, the choir repeated the last two lines in four-part harmony.

On that Christmas Eve, a song was born that would wing its way into the hearts of people throughout the world. Now translated into hundreds of languages, it is sung by untold millions every December from small chapels in the Andes to great cathedrals in Antwerp and Rome.

The German words for the original six stanzas of the carol we know as "Silent Night" were written by Joseph Mohr in 1816, when he was a young priest assigned to a pilgrimage church in Mariapfarr, Austria. His grandfather lived nearby, and it is easy to imagine that he could have come up with the words while walking thorough the countryside on a visit to his elderly relative. The fact is, we have no idea if any particular event inspired Joseph Mohr to pen his poetic version of the birth of the Christchild. The world is fortunate, however, that he didn't leave it behind when he was transferred to Oberndorf the following year (1817).


Read complete article…

SILENT NIGHT: The Song Heard 'Round The World
by Bill Egan, Christmas Historian



Art Credit: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne
Title: Adoration of the Shepherds, 1622
Artist:Gerard (Gerrit) van Honthorst (1590–1656)
Medium: Óleo sobre lienzo.164 x 190 cm

posted by Señor Enrique at 1:30 PM | 0 comments

A CHRISTMAS CONSCIOUSNESS

And Christ told us that we must some day discover that the old forever passes into the new. He told us that we should use everything that we have to the full and not bury our talents in the ground nor hide them lest they become moth-eaten and rust away into nothing. It is as though he had said: Life is a game. Life is a continual movement. Life is forever changing. But running through it all, if we learn the secret of living, there is an all-sustaining Law of Mind upon which we may rely. There is a Divine Presence with which we may commune. There is a kingdom of Peace into which we may enter. There is a joy that may be ours. If we live and think and act as though we were in partnership with God right now.

Ernest Holmes



Credits

Text: The Philosophy of Jesus for Today’s World
By Ernest Holmes
Compiled and edited by Willis Kinnear

Art: Musée du Louvre, Paris
Title: The Marriage at Cana (1563)
Artist: Paolo Veronese
Medium: Oil on canvas, 666 x 990 cm

Labels: Words of wisdom

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:25 AM | 0 comments

Monday, December 19, 2005

Featured Quote by WALT DISNEY

Labels: Words of wisdom

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:07 AM | 2 comments

Sunday, December 18, 2005

WHY GOD WON'T GO AWAY

I must admit that Lorimar usually comes up with incredible online finds which he posts on his site, The New (Online) Confessions. Most recent of which is his God is Hired-Wired into the Human Brain about Andrew Newberg’s article published by Quantum Biocommunication Technology.

The following is an excerpt of Is Religion Rooted in the Human Brain?

Most secular thinkers believe that religion is an entirely psychological invention—born out of confusion and fear—to help us cope with the struggles of living and comforts us in the face of the terrible certainty that we will die. But researchers Andrew Newberg and Eugene d’Aquili offer a new explanation, at once profoundly simple and scientifically precise: the religious impulse is rooted in the biology of the human brain.

Newberg and d’Aquili base this revolutionary conclusion on a long-term investigation of brain function and behavior as well as studies they conducted using high-tech imaging techniques to peer into the brains of meditating Buddhists and Franciscan nuns at prayer. What they discovered was that intensely focused spiritual contemplation triggers an alteration in the activity of the brain that leads one to perceive transcendent religious experiences as solid, tangible reality. In other words, the sensation that Buddhists call "oneness with the universe" and the Franciscans attribute to the palpable presence of God is not a delusion, or subjective psychology, or simple wishful thinking. Rather, it is triggered by a chain of distinct neurological events that can be objectively observed, recorded, and actually photographed.

Read complete article…



Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief (Paperback)
By Andrew Newberg, Eugene d’Aquili and Vince Rause

Labels: Featured book

posted by Señor Enrique at 9:55 AM | 0 comments

Featured Article by CONRADO DE QUIROS

My own belief is that our peculiar version of Catholicism contains humongous elements that are inimical to both morality and progress. The most patent of which is its obsession with ritual and form at the expense of interiority and substance. Our entire concept of salvation is investing in heaven. The "investing" is completely literal: People who donate to the building of churches and charitable works by the Sisters of Mercy imagine themselves exempt from having to live exemplary lives. We hear Mass, go to confession and receive the sacraments, and imagine that, like taking a bath, we are cleansed of our sins, enough to go back to lying, cheating and stealing with a vengeance. We flagellate ourselves during Good Friday, managing to become an episode for Ripley's, and imagine ourselves entitled to commit bloody murder all the other Fridays of the year.

Read complete article…

There's the Rub: Goodness Gracious
11/23/05 Philippine Daily Inquirer






Link

Conrado de Quiros There's the Rub blogsite

An Interesting Discussion of "The Prodigal Son"
Journey to Honeyville

Labels: Featured Writer

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:43 AM | 2 comments

Featured Quote by GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:20 AM | 0 comments

Saturday, December 17, 2005

IDEAL HIDEAWAY

Neiman Marcus comes out with a Christmas catalog every year, which suggests special gifts for those who have everything. Well, I don’t have everything; besides, I wouldn't know where to put them all. But once in a while, especially on Christmas holiday season, I'd fantasize about an awesome gift. So, Santa, if you should happen to read this, I wouldn’t mind getting one of these for Christmas! Oh, yeah, make that complete with a home theater system so I could watch the DVD edition of the new King Kong movie when it comes out.

If your childhood included a tree house, it was likely a simple structure of 2' x 4's that Dad hammered together to provide a leaf-shrouded hiding place with a bird's eye view of the back yard. Artisan/builder Roderick Romero believes adults should have a similar getaway— but his vision is as different from the typical tree house as redwood is from boxwood.

A former musician (with the 1990s indie rock band Sky Cries Mary), Romero designs and constructs breathtakingly naturalistic sculptures that nestle into branches as if they had grown there. The self-taught designer has built more than a dozen tree houses from California to Tuscany, for a list of clients that includes Donna Karan and Sting.

His first creation was a nest-like construction for an art show in the Pacific Northwest, but he has gone on to develop remarkably diverse, site-specific environments that rest on a system of steel rods (called the Garnier Limb). Romero utilizes indigenous wood from naturally fallen trees whenever possible and has incorporated musical elements for some of his branch dwellers.

Each structure is unique, and all embrace the majesty of the natural world. If your loved one has practically everything, this might make a wonderful gift.

Prices start at $50,000.00

For more information, check out Neiman Marcus

posted by Señor Enrique at 11:29 AM | 1 comments

DOING THE HOLIDAY PARTIES

Regardless of our complaints about the country’s gloomy economics, there’ll still be a Christmas party or two to attend, or as what Conrado de Quiros would refer to as “an existential hazard in this country at this time of year.”

And we all know what are usually at these parties — glorious foods!

But for those who prefer to stick to their disciplined and sensible eating habits or maintain their current weight, here are some worthwhile tips I’ve learned from friends, as well as from some online fitness gurus:

* Delight on interacting with your friends and relatives more so than with the buffet table. Make the people as your priority instead of the lechon and leche flan.

* Do not arrive at any of these gatherings famished. Plan ahead by munching on protein-rich snacks like boiled eggs or a piece of chicken, and drink plenty of water so you will have that feeling of fullness not starvation when you get to a party.

* If it’s pot-luck-style party, aside from the usual dish you intend to bring, add a hefty bowl of fresh vegetable salad, some protein-rich and salt-free nuts, and fresh fruit.

* Be mindful of those alcoholic drinks because of the sugar they contain. Better yet, stick to water.

* Do not claim any particular chair or part of a sofa as your personal territory. Get off your butt and mingle, mingle and mingle!

* If there’s music and dancing, well, by all means jump into the festive celebration and dance away the calories you had just consumed.

* Do not be tempted to bring home doggy-bags of those delicious but fattening foods because you’ll end up eating them when you get home.

* Resist the temptation to indulge in sweets or to have more than one serving.

Ah, but what the heck! It’s the holiday season, go and have fun!

Photo was taken at the prepared foods section of Suki Market at Mayon Street in Quezon City. For a fee, they will also cook any fresh meat or seafood that you purchase from the market's stalls.

Labels: Featured food

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:51 AM | 0 comments

Friday, December 16, 2005

Featured Photo by CARLOS BRAVO

Kahlil Gibran once wrote, “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.”

Beautiful words of wisdom, indeed, but if these three beautiful children were mine, I’m afraid that I’m going to find the Prophet’s words hard to take. When I saw this photograph on Carlos’ site at flickr, I immediately sent him my reaction: “a colorful yet subtle celebration of innocence.”

I told him I chose Independencia to feature on my site simply because it speaks of connection, harmony and unity. And since Carlos is from Monterrey, Mexico, I added that I’ve always considered Mexicans and Filipinos as cultural cousins as well. So, this is indeed the ideal photograph for me to spotlight as a way to introduce him to my readers.

However, don’t let Independencia fool you and think of Carlos as a mere portrait artist. He happens to also excel in conveying surrealism, horror, culture, wit and playfulness in his other photographs. He’s indeed multi-faceted with his camera.

Please visit his galleries, but make sure you have plenty of time to browse around and fully appreciate his photographs.

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:47 AM | 12 comments

Thursday, December 15, 2005

HIGH SCHOOL ALLOWANCE

This is exactly how much I used to get a day in allowance — one peso.

My jeepney fare to and from school was twenty cents, and that would leave me with eighty-five centavos for lunch. I would sometimes get one siopao and a bottle of Coke for seventy-five, and I would have five centavos left for the jukebox. Marcos was on his first term as president then.

During my third and senior years, I tried lobbying for a raise, but my father would give me this long spiel about how he used to walk to and from his college campus. He also waved off my argument that his walk from where he was living in Ongpin to FEU (Far Eastern University) was idyllic compared to my walking it from our house near Espiritu Santo Church in Tayuman to MIT (Mapua Institute of Technology) in Doroteo Jose Street near Recto.

My failure to receive an increase in allowance wasn't such a pitiful experience after all; it honed my skills in negotiating for a raise and extra fringe benefits from my jobs later on in life.

Anyway, at a sari-sari store in Manila the other day, the only thing I can buy with one peso is one piece of candy (Menthos, X. O., Kopiko, or a piece of Stik-O). Most other candies are now three pieces for two pesos.

I wonder how much allowance others used to receive while in high school.

Labels: Growing up memoirs

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:15 AM | 4 comments

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

SOUR NEWS FOR SUGAR LOVERS

The holidays mean lots of goodies on the table, including sugary sweets, but the price of sugar is going up because of crop damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And hurricane damage to U.S. oil production is now forcing higher prices for anything wrapped in plastic.

Since the recent hurricanes, wholesale sugar prices in the United States have increased from 28 cents per pound to more than 40 cents per pound, according to the Department of Agriculture.

And it's not just sugar you'll pay more for this holiday season. For instance, Hershey is raising its candy prices one percent because of higher packaging and transportation costs. Kraft and others are, too. Some shoppers say the best way around higher food prices is to buy generic instead of name brand.

Read more…


Hurricane Damage Driving Up Sugar Prices
Story by MATT PENE
KCEN-TV

Labels: health issues

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:27 AM | 4 comments

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

SIDE EFECTS OF ASPARTAME

Dr. Janet Starr Hull, author of Sweet Poison and creator of the Aspartame Detox Program holds a Doctorate in Nutrition, a Master's Degree in Environmental Science, is an international geographer and geologist, a former university professor, firefighter and Hazardous Waste Specialist and Emergency Responder. She is a Licensed Certified Nutritionist, certified fitness professional, author and aspartame victim.

She almost died from aspartame poisoning in 1991. She has documented the history of aspartame, government reports and Senate Hearings on aspartame safety, case histories, including death, and provided a list of products aspartame is found in, along with the 92 symptoms of disease aspartame creates. Sweet Poison also includes nutritional recommendations for restoring your health naturally.

Dr. Hull's diverse background supports her unique approach to contemporary nutritional issues. She has dedicated the past ten years to sharing with others her life-threatening experience and natural recovery from aspartame poisoning.

The following is an excerpt from her Sweet Poison Web site which enumerates the perils of aspartame:

There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption. It seems surreal, but true. How can one chemical create such chaos?

Aspartame dissolves into solution and can therefore travel throughout the body and deposit within any tissue. The body digests aspartame unlike saccharin, which does not break down within humans.

The multitude of aspartame side effects is indicative to your genetic individuality and physical weaknesses. It is important to put two and two together, nonetheless, and identify which side effects aspartame is creating within you.

The components of aspartame can lead to a number of health problems, as you have read. Side effects can occur gradually, can be immediate, or can be acute reactions. According to Lendon Smith, M.D. there is an enormous population suffering from side effects associated with aspartame, yet have no idea why drugs, supplements and herbs don’t relieve their symptoms. Then, there are users who don’t ‘appear’ to suffer immediate reactions at all. Even these individuals are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by excitatory amino acids, phenylalanine, methanol, and DKP.

Adverse reactions and side effects of aspartame include:

Eye
blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision, pain in one or both eyes, decreased tears, trouble with contact lenses, bulging eyes

Ear
tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment

Neurologic
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and some severe dizziness, unsteadiness, both confusion, memory loss,
both severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors

Psychological/Psychiatric
severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias

Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure

Gastrointestinal
nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing

Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma

Endocrine and Metabolic
loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS

Other
frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection

Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all
death
irreversible brain damage
birth defects, including mental retardation
peptic ulcers
aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
hyperactivity in children
severe depression
aggressive behavior
suicidal tendencies

Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio SyndromeLyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

These are not allergies or sensitivities, but diseases and disease syndromes. Aspartame poisoning is commonly misdiagnosed because aspartame symptoms mock textbook ‘disease’ symptoms, such as Grave’s Disease.

Aspartame changes the ratio of amino acids in the blood, blocking or lowering the levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. Therefore, it is typical that aspartame symptoms cannot be detected in lab tests and on x-rays. Textbook disorders and diseases may actually be a toxic load as a result of aspartame poisoning.

Ever gone to the doctor with real, physical symptoms, but he/she can’t find the cause? Well, it’s probably your diet, your environment, or both.

Aspartame is the common denominator for over 92 different health symptoms at the root of modern disease. The Aspartame Detoxification Program demonstrates the most effective way to reverse disease symptoms is removing the underlying cause - aspartame.

For additional information visit Dr. Janet Starr Hull’s Web Site, Sweet Poison.

Labels: health issues

posted by Señor Enrique at 5:51 PM | 6 comments

Monday, December 12, 2005

Designed by ALEXANDER GUSTAVE EIFFEL

The Order of the Agustinian Recollect (OAR) Parishes Manual cited that the San Sebastian church “is the first all-iron church in the world, the first iron edifice in Asia and the second in the world after Eiffle Tower.” It has its beginnings in 1621 when Don Bernardino Castillo, a generous patron and a well-known devotee of San Sebastian donated his lot for the dream of having a steel church in Asia become a reality.

The original church, which was made of wood, was burned in 1651 during a Chinese uprising. The succeeding structures were destroyed by fire and an earthquake in 1859, 1863, and, 1880 destroyed the imposing stone of the church. The exasperated parish priest, Fr. Esteban Martinez approached the Spanish Architect Genero Palacios with a plan to build a fire and earthquake-resistant church made entirely of steel.

Ambeth Ocampo states that the present San Sebastian church was ordered knockdown in steel parts from the “Societe Anonime des Enterprises de Travaux Publiques in Brussels, Belgium. The Societe cast all the parts and shipped them piece by piece to Manila, (as what Eiffel did in most of his designs). Two Belgian engineers supervised the construction of the church which was later completed and inaugurated in 1891.

Read more…



Credits:

Historical background: Artes de las Filipinas

Photo credit: Cesar in Nicaragua

Inspiration: Pinoy Travel Blog

Labels: Manila history, San Sebastian Church

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:05 PM | 6 comments

GOT TO GET IN TO GET OUT

As they say, one’s anger can breathe life to a not so innocuous murmuring, and with the help of others with similar sentiments, turn it into a full-blown gossip. Regrettably, whosoever is the target of such rumor is doomed with a double whammy: correcting the wrong said and in so doing accuse the culprits of outright lying.

For a man well-known as reserved, though affable, the last thing Tito Romy would want to do is to publicly engage in a verbal battle against these women — the self-proclaimed social historians of the neighborhood. Besides, there is some truth in what they’re talking about -- that he has been enjoying a sort of afternoon trysts with the local beautician, while his wife, Tita Nely, was abroad.

It all started with his having patronized the neighborhood unisex salon. On his second haircut, he received a complimentary massage on the head, nape and shoulder areas. And by the fourth haircut, there was a more private full body massage session behind the floral curtains. Had Tito Romy been more discreet, the neighborhood historians wouldn’t have noticed the ensuing twice a week haircuts.

When Tita Nely came home last week, the neighborhood historians seethed with jealousy upon seeing the balikbayan boxes being unloaded from the rented Toyota FX. They hatched a plan. Soon thereafter, Tita Nely was hearing insinuations of Tito Romy’s obsession for full service grooming by Chinita at the salon down the block.

Unable to contain her curiosity, one afternoon, Tita Nely walked over to the salon to get her nails done and perhaps, catch a glimpse of this infamous Chinita. Immediately upon laying her eyes on this “other woman,” Tita Nely stormed out of the salon and immediately sought her husband.

“Don’t you dare pull a Bill Clinton on me, you sick perverted animal!” she screamed at Tito Romy.

“But it’s true … that was all that happened. It was nothing. It wasn’t even sex,” he pleaded.

“Besides, she’s not even … ah, entirely … you know, a real woman … so, it doesn’t count.” he stammered.

Tried as she might, Tita Nely was too embarrassed and horrified by her discovery of her husband’s sexual proclivities that she could only break down and cry in disgust.

What was anticipated to be a joyous Christmas holiday has now become a gloomy reunion, especially for the couple’s only child, 12-year-old Jonathan. Since the couple’s quarrelling, all he has been doing after school and right after dinner is hang out in the arcade in Dapitan Street; coming home usually around 10:00 p.m. every night.

Jonathan was practically raised single-handedly by his father when Tita Nely went abroad to work eight years ago. Sadly, Jonathan tends to side with his father; blaming his mother’s absence for having caused the entire problem. Oddly enough, during the last two times she vacationed in Manila, Tita Nely had already noticed Jonathan’s growing aloofness. And despite all the wonderful clothes, high-priced sneakers and toys, Jonathan is evidently fonder of his father, Tito Romy.

The other day, Tita Nely evaluated their savings and investments made possible by her earnings as a nurse in Riyadh. Tito Romy, she admits, has done an exceptional job of raising Jonathan, as well as managing their finances. It hasn’t been easy for everyone — she was working abroad and perpetually homesick; Tito Romy was struggling to be a perfect Mr. Mom; and Jonathan was growing up without his mother. Tita Nely was soon becoming more understanding of her husband’s predicament. She thought of letting him slide this time.

She also realized that since they had put aside a sizeable saving, she’d return to Riyadh for only a year just to fulfill her contract, and then return home for good to start a small business with Tito Romy. Besides, she had already missed out enough of her son’s growing up years. She wants to establish a much better relationship with him before he enters adulthood. And the best way to do so, she decided, is by being there for him.

Tomorrow, she will pledge to God her forgiveness of Tito Romy and then after church, take everyone to SM Megamall. Over lunch, she plans to discuss with Tito Romy and Jonathan about this new plan that might benefit the entire family. It’ll be a wonderful Christmas for everyone after all!

Perhaps, the neighborhood historians had done more good than harm on this one after all.


Links

Mr. Moms
Dedicated to Single Fathers Everywhere

Men as Mothers
INSIDE PCIJ

The Mr. Mom Myth
By Greg Downs

Labels: Fiction

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:10 AM | 8 comments

Sunday, December 11, 2005

FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY

Whenever I passed by some of Manila’s impoverished areas, I would find myself wondering at times if fear had a lot to do with their inability to advance in their lives. I would also wonder if theirs are so overwhelming that succumbing has become a more common practice than confronting their fears. And for those who strive to better their lot, what support system or information resources have they got? Where do they go for inspiration? Encouragement?

I once saw the book, Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, by Susan Jeffers displayed in the window of a bookstore, and its title intrigued me. I later found out the book “offers readers a clear-cut plan for action that, when followed, should help them unlearn their misconceptions about fear and replace them with attitudes of strength and conviction.”

I was rushing to get home that evening and had no time to get a copy for myself. I wish I had because there were many times I felt fear—applying for a much more challenging job, traveling alone to a foreign country, undertaking a new task, replacing a team member with someone else, and so on and so forth. There were also times I was so anxious over something that I’ve lost sleep over it. Yet, in spite of those surmounting apprehensions, I managed to survive or achieve what I set out to do.

I soon realized I was responsible for adding on to the hindrances by giving additional power to my fears—by indulging in them and wasting a lot of energy in the process. From that time on, I’ve learned to focus on proactive solutions, as well as acquire the necessary skills to resolve a dilemma or achieve the desired results. As with most things in life, it took some time but well worth the effort; I was learning to empower myself rather than my fears.

Indeed, the unresolved fears we carry around with us can cause paralyzing anxieties—fear of getting hurt, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of being laughed at, and worst of all, fear of losing what we never had to begin with; whatever that may be.

According to Ron Kurtus’ Overcoming Unnecessary Fears, “You can overcome fears by gaining confidence in your ability to do such a task. That is usually done by doing something difficult and seeing that the consequences of failure are not so bad or that the chances of failure are not so great.”

He then concludes, “People fear physical harm or ridicule. Sometimes the danger is not as bad as it seems. Taking a little step in overcoming the fear can go a long way in increasing your confidence and erasing other fears.”

I was once told by a mentor that the pain of failure is not as bad as the pain of someday saying to your self, “I should have.” I had since made that a personal mantra as I prepared to pursue a bigger challenge in life. Certainly, I failed on numerous occasions, but those failures only honed my skills to better manifest my visions, as well as attain some wisdom to guide my future journeys.

And knowing we only pass by once in this lifetime, heck, why not feel the fear and do it anyway, right? And as incentive, we ought to add another line to Bertrand Russell’s quote above — “And wisdom begets prosperity.”

But one question remains: How do we share this information with those living in impoverished areas of our cities?

Labels: Featured book, Words of wisdom

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:07 AM | 12 comments

Saturday, December 10, 2005

FRIED CHICKEN ala MAX's

For those who might want to deep-fry a whole chicken ala Max’s Fried Chicken, check out this recipe:

- Thoroughly wash a whole chicken with salt as usual.
- Fill pan with water (chicken must be totally immersed in water)
- Add 1 tablespoon of whole black pepper and 3 pieces of star anis (sangke)
- Add sliced ginger and salt according to taste
- Boil chicken for 10 to 15 minutes using low fire
- Drain and deep-fry

That's it!

posted by Señor Enrique at 9:04 AM | 29 comments

SPAMMED

When SpamJam in Glorietta opened with great fanfare—touting Spam as its main ingredient in most of the dishes on its menu—I could only say to myself, “They have got to be kidding!” Well, apparently not; the place remains open to date. Its owner must have struck a chord with the Filipino’s insatiable penchant for it.

Supposedly, over five billion cans of this pork-shoulder-and-ham concoction have been delivered across the globe, and 3.6 pieces more are churned out every second by Hormel Foods.

Some New York friends seemed revolted when I used to bring my lunch of Spam sandwich prepared at home. These were friends whose fathers fought in the war and most probably had nothing to eat but Spam while fighting the Nazis or the Japanese in the Pacific. So, they had grown to dislike it intensely, and after the war, passed on their disfavor of it to their young; much like an aunt who refused to eat any more bananas after coming down from the mountains during liberation, and refused to have any of it inside her house ever since.

But a more poignant if not outright tragic piece of family history that involved Spam also occurred during the liberation period when Macarthur’s men had just finished carpet bombing Manila into smithereens.

An uncle who adroitly escaped the death march in Bataan and hid up in the mountains of Subic, Zambales was exuberant upon learning from another guerilla contingent that the Americans planned to make a couple of food drops in the area. These were crates filled with emergency medicines, blankets and foodstuffs. At that time, the area was not fully secured by the GIs from the Japanese forces.

One night, upon seeing a crate parachuting from a plane, he precisely gauged where it would land and ran over to the area to meet it. Unfortunately, the other guerrilla unit failed to inform them to stay away from a food drop until it has landed; its sheer weight could burst open the crate, and its contents of canned goods could become deadly projectiles. Well, lo and behold, a can of Spam hit my uncle right smack on his forehead which almost cracked his skull wide open.

How did they know it was Spam that did him in? Well, the can itself was semi-embedded on his forehead when he was later on found sprawled on his back—his mouth agape and eyes open with horrific expression. The can of Spam was nestled firmly on his forehead as if contrived for an advertising photo shoot for Life Magazine. It was a closed casket service, but the Spam was fried and served along with other foods right after his burial.

Be that as it may, our family never espoused any resentment against Spam and would always have a couple of cans readily available along with some sardines and corned beef in the cupboard. My uncle’s tragic rendezvous with a can of Spam was considered an unfortunate happenstance, but no minute of silence was ever deemed necessary to observe whenever we enjoyed Spam with garlic rice and slices of tomatoes or as pandesal sandwich.

Labels: Featured food, Local culture

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:17 AM | 6 comments

Friday, December 09, 2005

DON’T DAMN THE JAM

Labels: life in Manila, Local culture

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:04 AM | 10 comments

Thursday, December 08, 2005

THE NIGHT THE MUSIC DIED

It was a night similar to this photograph—Christmas lights adorned some parts of the streets; there were steam coming out of manholes; some buildings’ were gaily lit; and giant billboards featured beautiful women promoting newest trends.

It was nippy outside when I stepped out of my Tai-Chi training center on Sixth Avenue and 43rd Street near Bryant Park. It was really late; they had a special demonstration conducted by a master from the West Coast that featured some of his students. I was compelled to sit through the entire performance; amazed by their disciplined forms and techniques. After which was the courtesy chit-chat with the visitors.

As I headed towards a bus stop on 42nd Street, a man came out of a Blarney Stone bar shouting, “He got shot! He got shot!” A couple of other patrons trailed after him; their faces seemed aghast from the breaking news broadcast that interrupted a football game on television.

I dismissed the commotion and kept walking towards the bus stop thinking the victim might be a Mafia kingpin or some Washington figurehead.

It was a slow night for buses. I must have been standing there for a good twenty minutes when a young couple walked over to wait for the same bus. The guy turned to me and asked if I heard the latest development—that he just lost too much blood to survive. When they told me who it was, my knees weakened; I just sat on the cold curb. The couple knew how grief-stricken I was.

"Damn, Lennon is dead," I whispered to no one.

I grew up in a household of diverse music. My father favored Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway, and Xavier Cougat to name a few; my mother loves George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Rogers and Hammerstein; my eldest sister adored Pat Boone, Paul Anka, Doris Day, Patsy Cline, Johnny Mathis and Nat King Cole; my brothers would rock to Bill Hailey, Fats Domino, The Platters, Chubby Checker, Little Anthony and the Imperials and of course, the king; but when the Beatles came along, I immediately declared possession. For the first time in my life, I have music to call my very own.

So, when Lennon died that night it felt as if all music died as well.

He was my idol. I was always amazed by his quick wit, as well as by his courage to speak his mind. When the White House took him on as a nemesis, he fought back just as fiercely. But most important, I was in awe of his words and music. He was to me the finest wordsmith.

The first time I saw him in person was in Manila. He was seated at the back of a white Cadillac; George on his left and Paul on his right. When he noticed me and some friends running towards their car from a distance, he must have asked the driver to slow down a bit to allow us to catch up. He then bent forward and waved at us with a big smile on his face. When we all dropped on the grass as if struck by an invisible force of his gesture, they all laughed—amused by our antics. The white Cadillac then picked up speed, made a u-turn and headed towards the yatch club.

I would run into him many a times since that afternoon; usually around the Upper West Side. On a couple of times inside a café in the 70’s between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West. I would always greet him with, “Hi John!” And just like an old friend he would say hello back while meeting my eyes. That would be it. No small talk, autograph requests or pictures to take. He was considered a neighbor and that was it.

He was always with his baby, pushing his stroller. Inside the café, after giving the baby his bottle or letting him nap, he would lose himself in a book while he sipped his cup of tea or coffee. No one bothered him. Almost all of New York granted him that kind of respect; treating him as an ordinary citizen just out to enjoy the day with the baby. Always, the locals would greet him either with a quick hello or a simple knod of acknowledgement, which he would reciprocate in kind.

Wikipedia’s profile of him claims, “When asked once in the 1960s how he expected to die, Lennon's offhand answer was ‘I'll probably be popped off by some loony.’ In retrospect, although he might have meant it as a joke and did not expect it to happen, the comment turned out to be chillingly accurate. Another chillingly accurate comment was made in his last interview, where he mentioned that he often felt that somebody is stalking him: first it was federal agents in the 1970s trying to deport him and later the obsessed fan in 1980.”

New York has a handful of celebrities as its residents, but none compared to John Lennon in terms of integrity, madness, brilliance and influence. But most striking was his deep longing for peace for all of mankind.

Labels: Featured artist, Life in New York

posted by Señor Enrique at 4:35 AM | 2 comments

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

FRUIT OF THE GODS

One of my friends in New York loves fresh fruit. The weekend before Thanksgiving, she would have already ordered online and delivered at her apartment an ample supply of apples and oranges. She would put them in large baskets near her Christmas tree. The scent of which would add magic to her apartment beautifully adorned with Christmas ornaments. As for the grapes, nuts and cheeses, she would just walk over and buy them at Zabar’s on Broadway and then have them delivered. Zabar’s, by the way, is a gourmet Epicurean emporium much like Gourmet Garage (photo of which accompanies this blog post).

To her friends, her apartment has become a sanctuary of sorts during the Christmas holiday season. Depressed by a feeling of emptiness or strung-out by the stress of preparations for it, most friends would stop by at her place to recollect their senses or regain the needed emotional balance even if for a couple of hours. She would serve tea or wine and of course, fresh fruit. I always favored the apples and cheese.

As a kid in Manila, the Christmas season was always filled with great anticipation and sheer joy. But as I got older in New York, I became more aware of how adult issues gave the Christmas holiday season an entirely different meaning; that instead of jovial excitement, a feeling of depression, loneliness or anxiety may manifest instead.

For some, financial constraint is the reason — unable to give every one the ideal gift or prepare the usual festive banquet for the entire family and relatives. Others, on the other hand, may complain of their inability to be with their loved ones or close friends; ironically, it is during these times when stressful family and relationship issues would often arise. And in such instances, forgiveness is the key element to survive the holiday blues. That instead of devising ways to get even, forgiving the culprit may in fact deviate any one from harboring negative emotions.

In her new book, Heal the Hurt: How to Forgive and Move On, Dr. Macaskill guides her readers how to come to terms with issues around forgiveness. She explains, “We often find it very difficult to forgive people for the things they have done to us, we carry around hurt, anger and sometimes fear and can spend large amounts of time and emotional energy brooding over the wrongs done to us. Bad feelings can escalate, particularly around Christmas-time, when financial difficulties, relationship issues and family problems appear to be magnified. This can prevent us from getting on with our lives and can ultimately make us ill. I argue that in refusing to forgive or at least to put the hurt behind us we are frequently allowing the perpetrator to continue to hurt us. I introduce the reader via exercises and examples to strategies to help them to deal with the resentment and anger linked to the perpetrator so that they can out the events behind them and get on with their lives.”

There are many published books out there, as well as online resources to help those afflicted by this seasonal disorder. If you know of any other effective measures or resources, please share them with us. Having them to pass along to afflicted family members or friends may turn out to be the best Christmas gift that we can give to them. Along with some apples and oranges, of course!


Links

Heal the Hurt: How to Forgive and Move On
By Dr. Ann Macaskill
Sheldon Press

Surviving the Christmas Blues
Tips by psychotherapist Beth Mares

Tips for Reducing Christmas Stress
Better Health Channel

Photo credit: NoelG
Nclicks @ blogdrive

Labels: Life in New York, Words of wisdom

posted by Señor Enrique at 8:01 AM | 0 comments

THE PERILS OF ASPARTAME

This came as a shock to me. All along I thought I was making a better choice by drinking diet Coke instead of the regular soft drinks. I didn’t realize that one of the artificial sweeteners used in the manufacture of Diet Coke is actually worse to consume than sugar. And that this compound is very powerful and can cause severe biological effects in the human body. It is called ASPARTAME.

The following is an excerpt from Rino Soriano’s article, Sugar Lovers Beware:

What you are about to discover is information that has been known for quite some time by various health organizations. Please take this information seriously because there are agendas in place to hide this truth and to use it against you.Aspartame (nutrasweet) is actually worse to consume than sugar.

This technical name includes the following brands of sweeteners- (equal, nutrasweet, spoonful and equal measure).Be advised that these compounds are very powerful and can cause severe biological effects in your body. To say that they are toxic is an understatement. The manufacturer of these compounds knows of the dangers in consuming regular amounts of aspartame substances. As I have already said there is an agenda for putting these compounds into various products.If you want to know the true agenda then research it for yourself.

I am not one who attempts to prove anything to anyone. I challenge you to do your own research and see if you can prove what I am saying wrong. In trying to prove me wrong, you will prove me right.The Breakdown of AspartameAspartame is a volatile substance, meaning that it breaks down very readily under normal storing conditions. Primarily, all aspartame compounds break down into methanol (alcohol), which is a known neurotoxin. The methanol in time then will break down into formaldehyde that is a highly reactive chemical that is damaging to the cells and genetics of the body.

This process can cause a number of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, lupus, multiple sclerosis (MS), and Parkinson’s disease. The methyl alcohol that forms from aspartame is thousands of times more potent than the alcohol found in a normal alcoholic beverage.Reactions to aspartame products include the following: headaches, nausea, depression, fatigue, heart palpitations, slurred speech, breathing difficulties, memory loss, seizures and even death. Consuming high amounts of aspartame can also increase your cravings for carbohydrates. I explained earlier that consuming high amounts of empty carbohydrates (refined flours, pasta, rice, chips) will lead to weight gain.

Primarily, the effects of aspartame chemicals in the body seem to alter key hormones thus creating imbalances in neurotransmitters and blocking other hormone precursors. So, why haven't you heard about these dangers before now? Let's see, the diet industry is a trillion dollar market to many organizations. Obviously, they don't want this secret information to get out to public ears if you know what I mean.

Children love to consume sweets on a daily basis. Many of the food products that these children are consuming have aspartame sweeteners in them. I would advise all parents to get their kids off of aspartame food items. These foods are not healthy for them. There are plenty of healthy alternatives for any of the items that they enjoy.

Read more…


Sugar Lovers Beware
by Rino Soriano
Carderock Springs Web

Labels: health issues

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:14 AM | 3 comments

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

SOHO (South of Houston Street)

I had recently asked Noel, should he find himself in Soho, to take a couple of shots of the neighborhood. And much to my great delight he obliged me with five wonderful scenes. I was so overjoyed because they evoked many fond memories of the city that I love (other than Manila).

They say the isle of Manhattan is in a constant state of renaissance, and how true it is. This photograph shows Gourmet Garage at Broome Street and Mercer. This wasn’t here when I left New York. The reigning food emporium around here then was Dean & Deluca on Broadway and Prince Street.

Incidentally, the photos that Noel sent me were mostly of this specific area of Soho I have in mind (West Broadway and Broome), but never mentioned it to him. He could have gone to Prince Street which I had alluded to when I spoke of Dean & Deluca on my email. But as if some stroke of magic, he took some shots of the very spot I would always find myself whenever I went to Soho. Call it my starting point, if you will.

Walking west from this Gourmet Garage store—on the southeast corner of West Broadway and Broome Street—is Kenn’s Broome Street Bar where my friends and I would meet after work before heading to an art exhibit opening in the area or somewhere in the Lower East Side. It was also in here where we would all meet if we decided to have dinner in Chinatown, which is walking distance from here.

Directly across the street on the second floor is The Kitchen (Center for Video, Music, Dance, Performance, Film & Literature) where I saw Robert Fripp perform the early series of his Frippertronics repertoire as inspired by Brian Eno. Robert Fripp, as we all know is the lead guitarist for the English art rock group, King Crimson with Bill Bruford on drums.

Also, from Kenn’s Broome Street Bar, walk south down a couple of doors is where The Cupping Room is. It used to be a small café where we would hang out on Sunday mornings reading The New York Times’ Sunday edition while having a cup of coffee from various exotic countries. Subsequently, The Cupping Room was expanded to occupy the space next door when it became vacant. It is now a spacious fine restaurant.

When we first started hanging out in Soho, it was still mainly a district of various factories. But when the manufacturing industry moved elsewhere—predominantly in Asia and Mexico—like most of Manhattan, Soho was eventually transformed into a posh neighborhood of fine restaurants, clothing stores, art galleries and stunning loft residences. It was a gentrification process resented mostly by the previous residents of fine artists who got evicted out of their cavernous loft studios. Most moved to the Lower East Side. When it, too, got gentrified, they crossed the river to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn; other artists found home in Hoboken, New Jersey.

I will post the other pictures Noel had sent me in the next few days. For now, go visit his site, NoelG, and check out his truly unique style of photography. He’s currently featuring a series of Philippine provincial life photographs; one of which inspired my blog post, My Life With A Pig.

Once gain, many thanks, Noel!

Labels: Life in New York

posted by Señor Enrique at 6:26 AM | 6 comments

Monday, December 05, 2005

A GRAND MOTHER

Aling Rosalinda was down in the basement folding the clothes from this morning’s wash. From where she was, she could hear her son, Willy, and his wife, Ishang, upstairs—still at each other’s throat. Arguments between husband and wife have been happening more frequently since Willy’s unemployment benefits had run out and the cash from his severance package began to dwindle.

With their older son attending college in Ohio and the youngest a senior in high school and a member of the hockey team (the most expensive sport in terms of equipment) the boys’ school expenditures are eating up the family’s cash reserve at an alarming rate. They have staggering loan payments that must be duly attended to, plus the monthly utility bills. The couple is at their wit’s end; constantly scrambling which obligation to prioritize.

At 48, Willy is enduring a growing frustration. His resume was unable to generate any promising leads. To make matters worse, his profession as a medical technologist has basically gone extinct; recent advances in technology has made his job obsolete. He knew this was coming 15 years ago yet, he remained complacent.

Ishang on the other hand is tired. She’s no longer as agile as she once was to handle recalcitrant geriatric patients. Her physical resilience is also being gnawed at by her nagging back pains. If only she could, she’d put in less hours at work. Nursing, she would now concede, is for the young.

There was a time Aling Rosalinda would receive the brunt of the couple’s quarrels. To spite her husband, Ishang would take it out on her with silent treatments and condescending insinuations. Lately, however, the $700.00 a month supplemental income she receives from the government has earned her leverage in the family’s power structure. The couple has begun to depend upon her monthly check to help defray their household expenses.

Aling Rosalinda had a comfortable life in Manila. When widowed at sixty-six, Willy convinced her to sell everything and move to New York with him and his wife. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be as auspicious as she had expected it to be. Willy had borrowed most of her money and lost them all in get-rich-quick schemes and half-baked business start-ups. To date, Willy has not paid any of it back. Worse, when the boys were born, Aling Rosalinda became their fulltime nanny; a job she had never done before in her entire life. Her own children were raised with a couple of hired help. It was a pitiful sight to see the ageing Aling Rosalinda nervously running after those hyperactive tots.

When the boys began going to school, with her newfound free time Aling Rosalinda started taking care of the laundry, cleaning the house and cooking the meals. However, whenever she would make a mistake or forget things at times, the couple would tease her relentlessly as if she were a paid help. There were many tearful nights that lulled Aling Rosalinda to sleep ever since living in New York.

Last year, her daughter who lives in California took her to Manila for vacation. She was appalled to discover most of her old friends had passed away; whereas the cousins she grew up with had migrated to the States or Canada as well. After having been gone for nearly 20 years, Aling Rosalinda had become a stranger in her own land. Her dream of spending her finals years peacefully in the city that she loves proved elusive.

She’s nearing her 90s now. Talks of nursing homes would come up every now and then, but her supplemental income benefits, once she moves into one, will be sent directly to the nursing home as payment for her care and lodging. Willy and Ishang cannot afford to give up this monthly check at this time; at least, not yet. Actually, they have been scrimping at almost every turn. To reduce their oil bill this winter, for instance, Willy calibrated the thermostat for lesser consumption even if it resulted to being cold inside the house.

Aling Rosalinda is mostly by herself in this chilly cavernous abode nowadays; lonely and isolated from the daily grind of life. Willy has found himself a temporary job at The Home Depot; Junior doesn’t come home from team practice until early evenings; and Ishang would usually stop by the supermarket and won’t get home until 5 p.m. just before Willy.

Aling Rosalinda has the La-Z-boy lounge chair for comfort, a thick blanket for warmth, and the TV for company. She has no one to reminisce with; to talk about those days when she was an enchanting socialite from Malate whose gentlemen callers came regularly. One of them swept her off her feet and offered her a charmed life; it was Willy’s father.

As she approaches her final years, Aling Rosalinda finds herself with no one to water her roots or warm her soul. She has only opportunistic ailments that come calling regularly. Secretly, she wishes one would just whisk her off to a fabulous afterlife.

Mostly alone and feeling desolate, Aling Rosalinda could only while away her time with daydreams of ballroom gowns and magical evenings. Indeed, a grand woman until the end.


Links

Caring for Elderly Parents
Immediate Help; Long-Term Hope

How to Cope with Elderly Parent Moving In
eHow

Burden of caring for elderly parent doesn’t have to be shouldered alone
By Jean Tarbett - The Herald-Dispatch

Labels: Fiction

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:13 AM | 6 comments

Sunday, December 04, 2005

MAINTAINING WEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS

This woman that I know of, Mrs. Luminada, had a good friend, Mrs. Rosario, a multi-millionaire who never enjoyed her wealth; always worrying that she might lose it all. At eighty years old, she lived alone in a big house without the assistance of a maid. She only had a driver, but no one lasted too long.

When she received an offer for thirty-five million pesos for a vacant lot she owned in a commercial area of Quezon City, she adamantly held out for forty. Three months later she died of a stroke. In the end, the only ones who enjoyed her many millions were her nephew and niece. When she was still living, she hated them and they hated her.

Mrs. Luminada, on the other hand, is about the same age as her friend who died but a lot richer. However, she lives miserly as well although her husband left her an enormous fortune when he died. Mrs. Luminada, by nature, derives perverse pleasure from profiting on the expense of others. Unsatisfied with agreed upon terms and conditions, she would use her shrewd and calculating ways to gain more profit from the other side irregardless of its legal consequences. In the end, she would waste more money on lawyers for her legal defense.

She also had a stroke, but didn’t die; she only became physically invalid unable to bathe and dress herself. Although she lives in a very affluent setting with her son and his family, his grandchildren are all spoiled brats who get away with murder, so to speak. They hardly talk to her. Ironically, she had already willed the bulk of her properties to them. I got to know of her when she had a falling out with a neighbor due to some real estate transaction that turned sour.

Both women, although bathed in a golden light of good fortune, deprived themselves of the true essence of a wealthy existence. They may have millions in the bank and impressive real estate holdings left to them by their husbands, but their lives are pretty much filled with worry about not having enough; a consciousness focused on lack. I’ve seen people with much less money who live a more abundant life than they do.

In Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff About Money, the author, Richard Carlson, states that “true wealth consciousness suggests a complete absence of money worries; an awareness that there is always plenty of money to go around. People who live with true abundance never worry about having enough—they know that creating wealth and affluence is a function of their own mind-set. Worry keeps us from feeling free and joyful. We are never truly free until we break the chains of fear. But once we do our lives will never be the same. A life without worry is a life of abundance, a life well lived.”

He argues that we tend to attract the experience that our mind is focused on. In essence, it would be virtually impossible to attract abundance in our lives if we constantly worry about not having enough of anything. That would be allowing our fears to interfere with “our means of creation.” On the other hand, he asserts that if we are free of worries, if we maintain wealth consciousness, money will flow to us in inexhaustible ways. And that we will literally create ways to keep attracting money into our lives.

He goes on to say, “Make no mistake about it: Wealth consciousness comes first! You will not suddenly develop wealth consciousness if and when you become wealthy. It is the other way around. You develop wealth consciousness by eliminating worry, by trusting in the universe and in your own resources. Once you secure your wealth consciousness, true abundance is just around the corner.”

Here’s an excerpt of a Wealth Consciousness affirmation I found online, Open Your Arms to Receiving by Patricia J. Crane Ph.D.:

Did you know that there is enough money on this planet for everyone (yes, everyone) to have a million dollars? So why is it that Bill Gates has BILLIONS, others have a million, and others have only a small amount? The answer is simple: CONSCIOUSNESS.

Each of us has played out the beliefs from childhood about deservability and money to create whatever we have in our lives right at this moment. If all the billions on the planet were redistributed tomorrow and no one changed their consciousness about money, it would all be back to the same people in the same amounts in about six months. Are you willing to change your consciousness RIGHT NOW about what you deserve to receive?

Read more…


Credits:

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff About Money
By Richard Carlson, Ph.D.
Hyperion New York

Open Your Arms to Receiving
By Patricia J. Crane, Ph.D.
Affirmations for Success

posted by Señor Enrique at 5:58 AM | 8 comments

Saturday, December 03, 2005

THE ULTIMATE COMMUTER CAR

You might say it’s the stuff of science fiction as in Harrison Ford’s air cab in Blade Runner, but a limited number of M400s is expected to be available within the next three years. If unable to wait, you can purchase the actual prototype now for $3,500,000.00.

Developed by Moller International, this three-wheeled, folding-wing craft is designed to be as safe, affordable, and easy to use as an automobile. It travels at 350+ miles per hour and achieves an environmentally friendly 21 miles per gallon on alcohol, a cleaner fuel than gasoline. Because most auto emissions occur at idle or low speeds, the M400 will produced less pollution by burning fuel more completely.

The M400 Skycar is the world's first personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, designed to elevate individual drivers above the headaches of commuting and the dangers of highway travel. In development since the 1960s, the Skycar has completed successful hovering flights, and its first manned, un-tethered flight is planned for Fall 2005.

To learn more about the M400 Skycar prototype, please visit Moller.

posted by Señor Enrique at 7:59 AM | 4 comments

Friday, December 02, 2005

A Filipino in Nicaragua

I discovered this seemingly mid- or late-19th century photo from Cesar’s gallery of historical Philippine photographs. He has an interesting collection, but somehow this one, Filipino Huts, warms my heart the most.

I guess, it reminds me of the barrio where I summered as a little child in Subic, Zambales. But when electricity, television and refrigerator came, the barrio began to lose its mystique. These technological intrusions stripped away the frightful elements imbedded by the older cousins in their nightly tales of aswangs, dwendes, and the headless friar that stalked the barrio’s chapel. The wonder years of our provincial summers got lost in the transition. Such is the downside of technology.

In our emails that ensued, Cesar told me that he was born in Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte, in Mindanao in 1970, but grew up in Missouri. He then moved to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua in February 2005, from Silver Spring, Maryland.

Aside from his collection of early Philippine photos, he also has a few galleries of his own photographs taken in Nicaragua, the United States and from his other travels. So, I am now adding his name to my list of talented photographers I have met online:

I will keep adding on this list as I discover more talents out there. If you know of any I should check out, please let me know.

Muchas gracias, amigos!

Labels: Featured photographer

posted by Señor Enrique at 1:37 PM | 5 comments

FEATURED QUOTE BY MAYA ANGELOU

Born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, she is an African-American poet, memoirist, actress, and civil rights activist. She is best known for her autobiographical writings I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings1969).

She was an unwed mother. To support her young son, Clyde Bailey "Guy" Johnson, born in San Francisco, she danced in night clubs, conducted cable cars, cooked at a Creole cafe, removed paint at a body shop, and was a madam and prostitute at a San Diego brothel. However, she soon returned home, to Stamps, Arkansas, then Louisville, Kentucky.

She was given a lifetime appointment in 1981 as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1993, Angelou read her poem On the Pulse of Morning at Bill Clinton's Presidential inauguration at his request.


Read more…

Labels: Featured Writer

posted by Señor Enrique at 4:52 AM | 2 comments

Life in Manila as observed by a former New Yorker who with a laptop and camera has reinvented himself as a storyteller. Winner of the PHILIPPINE BLOG AWARDS: Best Photo Blog in 2007 and three Best Single Post awards in 2008.

 

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