PhotoHunt: CARD

Following this PhilPost truck one time made me think of the lost art of letter-writing. In the age of emails and Twitter, how many of us have received birthday cards by mail lately? How many are still excited when the mailman swings by to unload a bunch of letters (minus the bills, of course)?

on the road to work, March 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: INFORMATIVE

Stamps are a window to a country's soul. They are my favorite snapshots into its psyche- the serious, the whimsical, the historic, the sporty, the mysterious, the business side of a nation- all can be captured, one image at a time in a 2-cm by 2-cm frame.

As we celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of our national hero, Dr Jose Rizal, I hauled out of its 15-year hiding place these stamps which commemorated the centennial of his martyrdom in 1996. These series of stamps contain vistas of his life, including: his portraits from childhood to adulthood; the places he visited, including his home-away-from-home in Heidelburg, Germany; his many eclectic loves, including sculpture, and; most importantly, his masterpieces- Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, both of which stoked the embers of a fledgling nation's desire for independence, which resulted to a conflagration of a revolution that paved the way for our freedom, albeit short-lived, but no less significant in the eyes of our citizens, of Asia, and the world.

Stamps are my favorite souvenirs to take home whenever I travel to a country outside my own. However, revisiting my Philippine collection is also a worthwhile journey to take, if only to rediscover how truly blessed I am to emerge from a lineage of heroes, how blessed I am to be Filipino.

June 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: TRIANGLE

Hoisting the Philippine Flag this week in celebration of the 113th Anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence on June 12th. This one is courtesy of a paratrooper from the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the opening ceremonies for the hot-air balloon festival last year.

From the National Historical Commission of the Philippines:
After the ratification of our independence in 1899, Gen. Aguinaldo in his speech in Malolos, Bulacan explained the meaning and symbolism of our national flag. According to him the flag “it has three colors, three stars and a sun, the meaning of which are as follows: the red color is symbolic of Filipino courage; the blue carries an allegorical meaning that all the Filipinos will prefer to die before submitting themselves to the invader; the three five pointed stars indicate the solidarity of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and allude to the islets and rocks falling under their jurisdiction; and lastly, the eight beams of the sun stand for the eight provinces of Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite”


In a week's time, we'll also be celebrating the 150th Birth Anniversary of the Philippine National Hero, Jose Rizal. Some of his words of wisdom applicable to citizens of any nation are as follows:



Clark Field, Pampanga, February 2010, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: PRENO (Break)

Gaano karami pa kaya sa atin ang tumitigil upang magbigay-pugay tuwing mapapadaan sa isang paaralan, opisina, o palatuntunan na itinataas ang ating watawat at kinakanta ang ating pambansang awit? Gaano karami pa kaya sa atin ang napapatigil upang isipin, sariwain, ipagpasalamat, ipagpatuloy ang pagpupunyagi ng mga nauna sa atin upang makamit ang kalayaang ating tinatamasa sa kasalukuyan?

Isang paalala mula sa ating Pambansang Bayani, Jose Rizal, sa panahon ng paggunita sa ika-150 taon ng kanyang kapanganakan:



PRENO = BREAK

I wonder-

How many among us stop and pause when the national anthem is being sung and our flag is being raised at a school, office, or program?

How many among us stop to think about, reminisce, be thankful for, and continue the efforts of those who came before us to fight for the freedom we enjoy today?

Please see the reminder above from the Philippines' National Hero, Jose Rizal, on the occasion of his sesquicentennial birth anniversary celebration-

inside Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, June 2011, using a digicam.

Wordless Tuesday: PATIENCE

Enduring this volume of traffic everyday, twice a day, until the repairs on this bridge are finished in August. Hopefully of this year =]

along South Super Highway in Makati, 2011, using a digicam.

PhotoHunt: DIRTY

Whenever the light turns red at this intersection about 10 minutes away from our office, I find myself looking at this distressed-looking house. Despite the ravages of time, its beauty is still quite visible, the intricacies of the architecture and workmanship more obvious when one gets nearer this still-imposing edifice. It's probably a century old but a few touches here and there, it may just sparkle like the way it did in its heyday.

Quite frankly, I'm suprised that this house is still standing. Many similar homes in the area have been torn down to give way to modern high-rise buildings. And to think that it sits on prime real estate! But I'm glad this home continues to exist; being old should not be automatically equated to it being dispensable. Too many buildings have suffered that fate. Economics and heritage can co-exist and should not always be each other's antithesis.

corner of Laong Laan and Lacson, Manila, February 2011, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: PANGLINIS (Cleaning material)

May isang paniniwala na kung anuman ang gagawin mo sa unang araw ng bagong taon, ito ang magiging salamin ng kakahinatnan ng iyong buong taon. Ang mga baga-bagaheng ito basura ang tumambad sa amin matapos ang magdamagang kasiyahan sa pagsalubong sa bagong taon sa Gatlinburg. Masasabi ko namang hindi naging basura ang sumunod na 364 days matapos ang araw na kinunan ang larawang ito; sa dulo ng lahat, tayo pa rin ang magpapasya at gagawa ng paraan kung gaano kabulok o makabuluhan ang ating buhay =]

PANGLINIS = CLEANING MATERIAL

There's a certain belief that whatever you do or whatever happens on the first day of the new year, that will set the tone for the ensuing year. These bags of post-celebratory trash greeted us on January 1st in Gatlinburg. I can say confidently that the 364 days that followed this 'trashy' encounter is not the least bit trashy. After all, it is still up to us on how disastrous or victorious our lives will be =]

Gatlinburg, TN, January 2010, using a digicam.