PhotoHunt: MEMORIAL

James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States of America, is honored here at the Genevieve Morehead Memorial Art Rotunda at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. President Polk is "the youngest up to the time, who managed to expand the borders of the United States to the Pacific Ocean, added three states to the Union, started the Naval Academy, the Washington Monument, issued the first postage stamp, and remains the youngest President to die outside those who have been assassinated" (from JamesKPolk.com).

Chapel Hill, December 2009, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: BILANG (Number)

Tatlong pangunahing kulay- pula, puti, asul. Mga kulay na nananahan sa disensyo ng dalawang parihaba na may nakalapat na isang tatsulok. Isang tatsulok na may tatlong tala at isang araw. Araw na may walong sinag. Ito ang mga natatanging kakanyahan ng ating kasalukuyang pambansang watawat. Kahit saang anggulo mo tingnan, saang lugar man siya makita, sa kung anumang dahilan man siya iwagaywag, nararapat siyang makatanggap ng pinakamataas na paggalang at pagtatampok dahil siya ang sagisag ng isang malayang bayan at pinagpipitaganang lahi.

Mga Pambansang Araw ng Watawat ang Mayo 28 hanggang Hunyo 12. Ang tamang pagwagayway ng watawat ng Pilipinas at iba pang alituntunin sa tamang pagtatanghal sa kanya ay mahahanap dito.

BILANG = NUMBER

Three primary colors- red, white, and blue. Colors that reside in two horizontal bands and an equilateral triangle. An equilateral triangle that contains three stars and a sun. A sun from which emanates eight rays. These are the unique characteristics of the Philippine national flag. From whatever angle it is seen, from whatever edifice it flies, for whatever reason it is unfurled, it must be accorded the highest honor and respect as it represents the indomitable spirit of an independent nation.

The National Flag Days are from May 28 to June 12 of every year. The correct ways of displaying the flag, among other protocols related to it, can be found here.

a Gawad Kalinga village in Daraga, Albay, April 2007, using a digicam.

Wordless Tuesday: MEETING

The waters of the South China Sea excitedly embrace the mountains of Zambales province in this beach resort some four hours north of Manila.

Punta De Uian beach resort, town of San Antonio, April 2010, using a digicam.

Tree for Three

Whenever we travel, we try our best to live by this mantra-

Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time.

We try to be as less obtrusive as possible as regards ecology, whether we are in an urban or a real jungle. Taking public transportation or walking instead of bringing our private vehicles. Bringing our own food and drink containers instead of buying pre-packaged and bottled ones. Reusing hotel towels until they’re threadbare. I would like to think that many of the photos in this blog where taken during trips wherein we made discernible efforts to be, well, green.

However, I wasn’t too keen on the reality that the green points we’ve earned in those trips get used up as I consume kilowatts of electricity while I write my entries and share photos online! Good thing there is now a means for me to declare that my blog is carbon-neutral.

A German initiative via the website Mach’s green promises to plant one tree for each blog owner that chooses to sign up in this website. This endeavor is made possible in partnership with several non-government organizations and publications dedicated to saving the environment using the most creative yet practical means. A report of the trees already planted as well as the sites for the planting of future trees can be seen in the website, among other details, in the spirit of transparency and accountability. The steps towards making your own blog carbon-neutral are very simple and they begin by heading over to Mach’s green.

And so, I celebrate this photoblog’s anniversary number 3 by securing for it a tree to make it carbon-neutral. May this be an auspicious start to more adventures in and more photos of a safer, greener, grander planet.

Litratong Pinoy: PAMILYA (Family)

Ang mga Simpsons ang isa sa pinakakilalang pamilya sa buong mundo. Higit sa 20 taon na ito sa ere at mukhang mananatili pa ito sa ating mga telebisyon. Nakakatawa talaga ang marami sa mga kaganapan sa buhay nina Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, Maggie, at kanilang angkan: ang iba ay hindi kapani-paniwala, ang iba naman ay tila salamin ng lipunang ginagalawan ng marami sa atin.

Ang ating mga pami-pamilya ay para rin talagang isang tsubibo sa karnabal: minsan nasa itaas, minsan nasa ibaba. May mga pagkakataon na gusto mo nang kumawala subali't hindi maaari dahil patuloy ang pag-inog nito. Gayunpaman, sa dinami-dami ng magkakahalong sakit at ligaya, sa dulo ng lahat, sa palagay ko ay pipiliin pa rin natin ang ating mga pami-pamilya.

Minsan di ko kayang mabuhay kasama sila, pero mas mas madalas, mahirap mabuhay na wala sila.

PAMILYA = FAMILY

The Simpsons would arguably be one of the most popular families in the world. For 20 years, their eventful life has unfolded inside our TV screens and they're likely to have another season starting in the fall. The lives of Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, Maggie and the rest of their clan are just hilarious: some scenes are outrightly inane and impossible, some are mirrors of our own (mis)adventures as families and societies.

Life in most of our families are like carnival rides: sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down. There are times you'd want to jumpship but you just can't because it just keeps racing up and down its tracks. Be that as it may, for its mixture of hurt and happiness, at the end of it all, I'd bet my neck most of us would still choose to be born into the families we are in now.

Families: can't live with them, can't live without them =]

Universal Studios Florida, December 2009 using a digicam.

Wordless Wednesday: SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED

One of the highlights of my 24-hour stay in Sweden is the visit to its Postmuseum, a veritable treasure trove of postal as well a philatelic delights that stamp geeks like myself swim into gladly. It has exhibits that creatively discuss the history of the postal system, replete with priceless memorabilia like mailboxes, postal workers' uniforms, stamps, among others. The time I was there, there were also special exhibitions on the letters of famed biologist Carl von Linnae and the philatelic exploits of one John Lennon- with items from his own childhood collection as well as stamps the world over which The Beatles have graced.

I love how this museum is organized, into compact, discrete levels and areas that give the visitor a sense of "completion." Interestingly, the exhibits, though, are not that mutually exclusive, as they somehow flow coherently into the next. There was also an abundance of written guides and materials for intrepid museum explorers. I also liked that I can take photos inside the museum, something that is not welcome in many local museums here in the Philippines. (Just make sure you have a back-up camera in case your digicam conks out- like mine did! huhuhu This explains why this welcome mat is one of the very, very, very few decent pics I have of/ in the the museum!)

If you do find yourselves in Stockholm's Gamla Stan - Old Town- head on over to the Postmuseum and have a deeper appreciation of the beauty and complexity of the mail, especially now in the age of instant messaging, blogs, and Facebook.

Visit the Postmuseum at: Lilla Nygatan 6 T-Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Write to them: Box 2002 SE-103 11 Stockholm / postmuseum@posten.se
Call:+46(8)781 1755
Fax: +46(8)20 90 21

Stockholm, September 2007, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: HALF

Should you meet a Prince, please tell him that we found Cinderella's missing shoe. No wonder she took it off: this footwear's five-FOOT-high heel must really be a killer. Prince, head on over to Finland to claim it. And claim her heart.

Shoe Museum, Museum Center Vapriiki, Tampere, August 2007, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: ESTRANGHERO (Stranger)

Pihadong kilala na sya ng mundo- o kahit sana ng kanyang mga botante- sa dami ng kanyang mga nakapaskil na poster para sa halalan. Nanalo kaya siya?

ESTRANGHERO = STRANGER

Most probably, the world knows him already- or at least hopefully the constituents whose votes he is courting- with this huge number of election posters. I wonder if he won...

along Airport Road, City of Paranaque, May 2010, using a digicam.

Wordless Wednesday: TERMINAL

This is an abandoned train station in one of the districts of Manila. I have a soft spot for trains and train stations because my grandfather was a train engineer for more than three decades. His job (plus my grandmother's homemaking acumen) sustained a brood of 6, giving them lives much better than theirs, college diplomas and all.

The train service in our country has suffered a steady decline over the last several years- this station a sad symbol of which. However, recent efforts- from acquiring new trains to repairing dilapidated railways- have renewed interest in this once-efficient and uber-reliable means of moving people and improving commerce.

Maybe it's not a terminal case after all.

along Quirino Avenue near Pedro Gil Street, City of Manila, May 2010, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: MOTHER

This hardy-looking, wagon-driving, tough-as-nails pioneer mom seems out of place in Brooklyn. But I guess as mothers are wont to do, they conquer new territory for their cubs, blaze trails for us and with us, prying open portals to opportunities they've never had, ushering us into lives that are far better than theirs.

Because of or despite having kids like these-



Thank you to all moms for all that you do. Thank you for putting up with our tantrums and inanities. Should it be meant for us, may we become even just half as great a parent as you have been to us-

somewhere in Brooklyn, May 2008, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: BULAKLAK (Flower)

Nagkalat sila nang biglaan, umuusbong sa halos kahit anong sulok, sinusubukang kuhanin ang ating pansin sa pamamagitan ng kanilang kulay, nagsusumamong lapatan ng kahit na saglit na sulyap. Nguni't sa halip na kagiliwan, marami- kundi lahat- sa kanila ay nakakainis, nakakasira sa ganda ng paligid, dumaragdag imbis na iniibsan ang dumi ng lunan na kanilang nilalapatan...

Sino sa kanila ang bulok na at dapat nang itapon? Sino ang sariwa at karapat-dapat na ating itampok at bigyan ng pagkakataong pagandahin ang Pilipinas? Ang paghahambing sa mga kandidato ay makikita sa http://www.scribd.com/cfgomezmd.

Habang tayo ay nag-aaral nanhg mabuti kung sino ang iboboto, nagsasanay magkulay ng mga bilog, atbp, tambalan rin natin ng pagdarasal ang ating mga praktikal na paghahanda para sa nalalapit na halalan. Ang Panalangin ng Botante ay maaaring mahanap dito.

BULAKLAK = FLOWER

They're everywhere, blossoming in every free available space, attempting to grab our attention with their burst of color, imploring for us to grant them more than a millisecond glance. But instead of delighting us, most- if not all- of them are just plain irksome, as they add to the already polluted environs they are stuck on...

Who among them do we ought to pluck out of our system? Who among them refreshes our sense of hope for our country? The candidates compared can be found here http://www.scribd.com/cfgomezmd.

Inasmuch as we are studying the profiles of candidates intently, practicing our shading skills, etc, let us not forget to seek the guidance of Divine Providence in this democratic exercise. The Voters' Prayer can be found here.

along the National Highway, Taguig City, February 2010, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: BLACK

Aside from the fact that it IS a BMW vehicle, the interesting artwork surrounding this bike warrants from visitors in the BMW Zentrum in Spartanburg a second look. This exhibit is called The BMW Art Bike: Freedom on Two Wheels Through the Eyes of Native American Artist Lynne F. Burnette. Mr Burnett hails from South Dakota and is of Sioux ancestry. This bike is just an example of his love for his native culture and art, largely influenced by his youth in the Rosebud Reservation in White River, SD, spent under the care of his grandfather Eagle Leader. But, arguably, Mr Burnette's most important work is the National Native American War Memorial in Charter Oak, Iowa, a collection of art pieces honoring the Native American who passed away in the service of the United States Armed Forces.

Spartanburg, January 2010, using a digicam.