Memo to self: File this in “Why I Love the Philippines”. Seriously, things come up every now and then which seem to me to capture the spirit, playfulness, sense of humor, and imagination of the Filipino people.
The college football season is off to a rousing start with enough good, compelling games scattered among the cream puff openers to make for at least a mini-feast. Following is a summary of the emerging storylines as the season gets started.
Just found this. Doesn’t seem like it’s been seen that widely. There are about 45 items identified as things you need to do to enjoy life properly. I agree with about 41 of them and the others aren’t bad either. Worth a look.
The college football season is off and running with a feast of games this weekend, and one of the games, Rice vs Texas from Reliant Stadium in Houston, has triggered a flood of memories.
I was an 8 year old third grader in 1961 when my father, a Captain in the U.S. Army, returned from […]
Now I know that the Miss Universe pageant passes by nowadays without causing much of a blip on most American folks’ radar, but those of us who are Filipino or half Filipino or married to a Filipino watch it and root for Miss Philippines to overcome the odds and become a sort of Manny Pacquiao […]
Few Americans are aware that there was a Philippine-American War that grew out of the 1898 Spanish American War, and which quickly deteriorated into a nasty guerilla conflict that presaged what would happen in Vietnam 60 years later. Fewer still know that an issue that stirred debate in America during that war was the use […]
I just came across the story of Freedom, a bald eagle, and Jeff, a cancer survivor. I checked it out on Snopes because it’s the kind of thing that is so fantastic it might be the stuff of urban legend — but it’s not myth, it’s true — the story of an extraordinary friendship between […]
Two Christmases when we visited my Mom I made a project of scanning hundreds of old family photos with the intention of getting them organized in some fashion, and saving them on the web and hard drives, etc. But before I got to do much with it, the hard drive I stored them on crapped […]
It’s been a few weeks since Orange Beach Charter Captain William Allen “Rookie” Kruse took his life. There was a natural tendency to assume that it was the oil spill that had driven him to do it, but he didn’t leave a note and details at the beginning were sketchy. Was it really the oil […]
It’s July 4, 2010, and I’m continuing to reflect on Independence Day and what it actually means beyond hamburgers, hot dogs, and fireworks. Is there truly something to celebrate here, and if so, what is it?
Like everyone, I was taught the Declaration of Independence in grade school and high school, and every 4th of July I give it a passing thought or two. This year I decided to actually take 5 minutes and read it, going through it slowly and contemplating each point it makes. It is truly a majestic […]
I’ve been getting some “did you die?” queries because I haven’t posted here as regularly as I normally do. Nope, not dead yet. My bad for not explaining things previously. For the past month or so (actually almost two months) I’ve been consumed with a couple of new projects that have taken all my blogging […]
Saudi poetess Ayda Al-Jahani has defied the political and religious leaders of her country by competing on Abu Dhabi TV’s Millions Poet and and performing poems which strike out against Islamic extremism. She’s made the top 5.
People who aren’t boxing fans probably never heard of Edwin Valero until today. Those of us who do follow boxing knew him as an extraordinarily exciting fighter — 27 wins, no defeats, 27 knockouts, and a risk-taking, take-no-prisoners approach that was as entertaining as anyone in the sport save Manny Pacquiao. And it was Valero […]
From its stirring beginning with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus hitting the ceremonial first drives on Thursday, to the incredible moment of Phil Mickelson hugging wife Amy so long it seemed like he would never let her go, this was a Masters which–with all due respect to the likes of Zach Johnson and Trevor Immelman–will […]
All day I’ve been struggling to communicate to “regular” people who aren’t connected to Poland, just what the plane crash this morning that took the life of the Polish President, First Lady, and political and religious leaders means to Poland. The NY Times just came out with an article that does it far better than I can.
The plane crash this morning that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and members of his country’s military, political and church elites is an almost unspeakable tragedy to anyone who contemplates why a planeload of Polish elite were flying on a Soviet era airliner in the first place
The full Masters Theme Song and Tiger Woods’ Famous Chip-in
Day 1 at the 2010 Masters has to go down as the most compelling first day in the storied tournament’s history, with so many storylines to follow that Tiger Wood’s much ballyhooed return to competitive golf may have been dwarfed (or at least put in perspective) by 50 year old Freddy Couples who took the tournament lead at 6 under, and 60 year old Tom Watson who was just one shot behind. And then, to add a bit more ageless zip to the proceedings, there was 70 year old Jack Nicklaus joining 80 year old Arnold Palmer to hit the ceremonial first ball. It was feast for the boomer and beyond crowd — and then of course there was Tiger Woods, beating expectations by shooting his lowest first round ever at the Masters and placing himself firmly in contention, two shots back at 4 under par.
Manny Pacquiao shows class by accepting Adam Carolla’s apology.
Well, I wasn’t around to see this one when it happened, but I just watched the whole game on ESPN Classics so now I feel like I have finally experienced Yankee Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series. The broadcast they had on the air on ESPN was the Dodger broadcast, which means […]
Naturally I have various google alerts about Manny Pacquiao and the Philippines and so I woke this Easter morning to a headline from ABS-CBN News that read: “US Comedian Calls Pacquiao ‘illiterate’, bashes Pinoys”. As I read the article in question I did have a bit of anger rising up inside me, but mostly I […]
Today’s is Final Four weekend, so perhaps it’s not entirely random that I came across a terrific interview by John Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood who led UCLA to unequaled success back during my formative years. I have always been intrigued by Wooden — such genius yet such balance, and humanity. The talk I found […]
Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Avatar has ended its run in China after 90 days with Box Office Gross of $193m, making China the second largest market after the US for the James Cameron blockbuster. This seems logical, given China’s population — so if Avatar can pull in 193m or 15% of its worldwide total […]
Studs Terkel’s interview of Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay (that’s the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima for those too young to know about it) has been making the rounds of the internet as an email attachment. It’s strangely compelling — a “peek under the tent” at one of the […]
Today is Good Friday, which means if you google “good friday philippines” you’ll come up with hundreds of stories about the annual ritual in which dozens of Filipino Catholics are nailed to the cross (real nails, right through their hands) in a reenactment of Jesus’ suffering.
Paul Rich concludes it is the “march of demographics” that so threaten the white male ruling class that as to turn the Republican party into “the party of angry old white men.”
One of the things that makes life on the edge (that may be an exaggeration) interesting is that you get to meet some people who have made truly remarkable choices in their lives – who have escaped the ordinary and found a different path.
Consider Paul Mockler. First of all let’s look at the humble […]
