Wordless Wednesday: ESCAPE

Here is where I'd like to remain forever. At least for now.

Punta De Uian, San Antonio town, May 2010, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: BUBBLES

This is a detail on the window of a spa resthouse some 60 kilometers south of Manila. I can't help but reflect on how this feature mirrors my country which celebrates its 112th Independence Day today. With 90 million people, speaking 85 languages, living in a an archipelago with 7,107 islands, there is the inevitable fragmentation brought about by geography and culture on close scrutiny. However, if we pull back and see the bigger picture, we are but one colorful fabric, forming a cohesive state, unified by our differences, forged together by our welcome diversity. It's the only nation we have, so we have to make it work.

Sonya's Garden, near Tagaytay City, January 2009, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: PAG-ASA (Hope)

Dilaw ang kulay ng pag-asa ngayon sa Pilipinas. Ang dilaw na laso na ito, kung ating kakapitan, sama-samang tatangan at hahatakin, ang lubid na mag-aahon sa ating bansa, paalis na lusak na kinasasadlakan natin. Kung mananatili tayong kanya-kanya, makasarili, at mapanira sa bawat isa at sa ating pamunuan, ito ang tali na bibigti sa ating bansa.

PAG-ASA = HOPE

Yellow stickers abound in the Philippines. It is the symbol adopted by then-candidate Benigno Aquino III to identify his brand of politics and leadership. And now that he has been proclaimed as the President-Elect of the Philippines, this color yellow has become the color of hope. This yellow ribbon, if we hold on to it, grasp it altogether, and with all our might pull forward in the same direction, the Philippines may just emerge from the terrible muck it is currently in. However, if we allow discord and selfishness to reign, it could very well be another noose by which we'll orchestrate our own country's demise.

Sales Interchange, Taguig City, March 2010, using a digicam.

Wordless Wednesday: ALOFT

The Helsinki Central Railway Station is an icon of Finland's historic art nouveau / nationalist romantic architectural heritage. In it flows some 200,000 people daily enjoying the amenities of a modern train service, including Pendolino trains that fly on the rails at speeds in excess of 180 kph.

Helsinki, June 2010, using a digicam.